On Mother’s day, I thought about those we’ve loved and who are no longer with us. I am fascinated by how we remember and honor the departed. I will take you on a journey around the world to visit graveyards, spirit houses, and moments of remembrance. The image above is a visit to the gravesite of my Mother’s relatives at a cemetery in the Berkeley hills. My Mom is now at peace here as well.

A few years ago my grandson was able to visit his great-great grandfather’s grave with my Mom. He is named after him.

I’ve always taken my grandsons to visit their past relatives on trips to California. It is a way for them to connect with their heritage.

Paxton and Logan visit their great-great grandfather’s grave. He once had an art gallery and framing shop in San Francisco before the 1906 earthquake.

Paxton reads some of the Japanese characters to his brother.

The views are amazing up here with Albany Hill on the right and San Francisco in the distance.

One of my Dad’s distant relatives are buried in Saint Helena, California.

On my last trip to the Isle of Guernsey I visited my dear sister’s grave at Foulon cemetery in Saint Peter Port.

On every trip to Guernsey to see my relatives over the years I visited Foulon Cemetery. Cemeteries reveal the history of the area. My sister and her family lived just down the road.

Marla walks by some ubiquitous “Spirit Houses” on the Thai island of Koh Samui. Spirit houses are seen throughout Thailand (and other parts of Southeast Asia) and are strategically placed to honor and appease good spirits of the land. Every building, shop, or even an old tree has one. Inside you will find various figurines and assorted small statues. Often there will be a figurine of an old man and a woman which are personifications of the owner’s ancestors. Daily offerings of food, flowers, incense, and water, are made to keep the spirits happy and to bring good luck.

This is the Spirit House of an antique dealer outside Chiang Mai where we bought products for Wesco Fabrics.

“Phuang Malai” is the local name for a flower garland you see throughout Thailand. It is a symbol for good luck and respect. This is a spirit house at house of Jim Thompson, who revived the silk industry in Thailand in the late 1960’s.

We came across this Spirit House while hiking on a trail in a national park in Krabi, Thailand. Notice all the food and water offerings.

This is a cemetery next to the Kasbah in Rabat, Morocco.

One of the more scenic cemeteries I visited sits high on a hill in Menton, France. Many aristocrats from England recuperating from tuberculosis were buried here at the end of the 19th century.

We visited the United States National Cemetery in San Francisco’s Presidio.

The statue depicting a young soldier standing on a granite pedestal, holding a battle flag honors the dead of the Regular Army and Navy Union. The Pacific Coast Garrison placed the large statue in the cemetery in 1897.

The Montmartre Cemetery in Paris is a fascinating place to visit. Many famous writers, artists, and performers are buried here. Among these include:

• Edgar Degas (1834 – 1917), impressionist painter and sculptor.
• François Truffaut (1932 – 1984), French New Wave filmmaker and director of Breathless, The 400 Blows, Jules and Jim, Fahrenheit 451.
• Alexandre Dumas (1824 – 1895), novelist of The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask.

While visiting the Majorelle Gardens in Marrakech we came upon a memorial to the Yves Saint Laurent. His ashes are buried here. Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berger purchased the gardens in the 1980s.

Looking north in the Tuscan hilltown of Cortona one can see this walled cemetery far below.

This is the Tong Wo Society Cemetery in Halawa on the Big Island of Hawaii.

On a Wesco Fabric’s sales incentive trip we were invited to attend the cremation ceremony (a Ngaben) of an important village elder in Kedewatan as we were staying in the village. Our group dressed in appropriate attire to witness this event.

The funeral pyre is being prepared before the procession to the cremation grounds.

As the pyre was ignited the sounds of chants and gongs filled the air.

https://youtu.be/aJ0mnTexs0o

In David Bowie’s will, he specified he would like to have a cremation ceremony in Bali. Click on the link: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-balinese-cremation-ceremony-admired-by-bowie

Photos: Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission.