Tracking down family members can be a difficult task.  Finding one’s genealogy has been said to be like a never ending game of hide and seek.  No matter how many generations you trace yourself back, you will always have to look further for information that has been buried. There are many challenges that arise, including missing ancestors, incomplete birth and death records, family names changes and more.

            In today’s fast-paced electronic world, Santa RosaMemorial Park has a way for our visitors to easily discover the stories of their loved ones now resting with us. MemoryLink is a specially embedded barcode that can be scanned by a smart phone software application.  The information on the MemoryLink is then transferred to the smart phone for the owner to enjoy.  MemoryLink allows you to share your stories, pictures and videos with future generations.  With these personalized QR Codes attached to memorial markers, genealogy is easier to keep track of and family members’ stories will live on forever.

Your genealogy can be fun to discover.  Here are some fun geneaology facts:

-The design of the family tree originated with medieval art depicting the genealogy of Jesus Christ

-The longest family tree in the world belongs to the Chinese philosopher Confucius

-There is a one in four chance of having the same surname as a grand parent

Contact Santa Rosa Memorial Park today to learn how you can create a MemoryLink for yourself or a loved one and start documenting your genealogy for future generations.

Each of the families are considered to be a Gold Star Family. The tradition of the gold star started during World War I when families would hang a service flag in their window with a blue star  representing each family member serving in the military.  When a family member was killed in war, a gold star was placed over the blue star indicating the death of the family member.

Gold Stars took on greater public significance under the direction of the  American Gold Star Mothers, The group was established in 1928 when twenty-five women came together in Washington D.C. to create an organization dedicated to remembering the sons and daughters who were lost in war.

Here at Santa Rosa Memorial Park we are honored to have the cemetery’s first permanent memorial, the Gold Star Bench, to local men and women who died in action in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Ten local service men have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan during America’s “war on terror.” Families of seven of the ten local soldiers killed attended the recent ceremony.  On one side of the bench the phrase, “In Honor of the Fallen,” is inscribed while the other side lists the ten soldiers killed in combat.

We invite you to visit the memorial bench to pay your respects to those brave men and women and their families. While there, keep those serving – and their families – in your heart.

When: May 27, 2013 10am-1pm

Celebrate freedom by honoring the men and women who have served our country.

Guest Speakers: John Logan, Military Order of the Purple Heart

and POW/MIA Michael Frandsen, USMC

Dedication of the Gold Star Bench

Other highlights include: live music, face painting with Twizzle the Clown, and a visit with Sonoma Humane Society dogs and volunteers.  Take time to stroll the park grounds to see the 1,000 American flags we’ve placed on military service personnel grave sites.  Proceeds from our All-American refreshment stand will benefit the Sonoma Humane Society.

The first Thursday (10 a.m.)  of every month beginning in October and running through June. 3rd Street Cinema.

Parking available on 3rd street.

Current Sponsor: Santa Rosa Memorial Park

“A Mother’s love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.”  ~Marion C. Garretty

Worship will be officiated by Pastor Zach Vestnys of  Calvary Chapel in Petaluma and all are welcome to attend. Seating will be provided. Those who attend are encouraged to dress warmly.

Graves were originally topped with stone in order to stop wild animals from digging up the grave.  There were no markings on the stone; its sole purpose was to keep the body buried.  Over the years the stone toppings became a topic for superstition.  People believed that if they did not place stones on top of the grave the dead would rise again.  Over time that fear faded and people began to label the stones so they could trace their loved ones.  The idea of tracing family history through the gravestones changed the gravestones to memorial markers.  People would bury their dead in their yards and label the sites with grave markers most often made out of wood.

Eventually the Christian church community realized that memorial markers were becoming a popular tradition.  Gravestones and churchyard burials became a common practice.  The grave sites of wood turned to sandstone or slate.

In the nineteenth century when church yards had begun to reach their full capacity they sought alternate places to bury their dead, so the idea of graveyards was born.  During this time gravestones became more elaborate.  Size and detail often indicated a family’s wealth.  So were symbols of angels, symbolic markings, and messages that were engraved into the headstones.

Because of decay, headstones are now made of granite and polished marble.  Gravestones have come full circle over the years.  A more simple design has come back and the headstones are less elaborate than they used to be.  Communities have also gone back to the idea of laying the headstone flat on the ground over the body.

Headstones continue to add to the memory of lost loved ones.  Many people find comfort in polishing them and adding flowers to the gravestones. In some instances people choose to have memorial benches, incense holders, or other personalized reminders. In today’s fast-paced electronic world, there are many new options, like the Memory Link, that captures a loved one’s memories through pictures, videos and written life stories.

At Santa Rosa Memorial Park we know how important it is to remember a loved one your way. That’s why we offer a wide range of memorialization options, including the popular Memory Link.  Give us a call to find out more.

In Chautauqua Cemetery, New York 32 friends purchased plots together and called their burial spot the “Circle of Friends.”  They decided that since they traveled together in life, they should also travel together in death.  Together, they designed a $50,000 burial spot with 32 headstones, each with a name and date of birth.  These New York friends were not the first to come up with the idea of a friendship grave site.  Years before, a group of friends planned their final move together and purchased side by side burial plots in Mt. Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles.  The group decided to form a kind of burial society and called the club the Amity Lodge (Amity means friendship).

It has also become common for U.S. soldiers to be buried with their comrades.  Navy soldiers and best friends, Travis Manion and Brendan Looney, started their journey together as roommates at the Naval Academy and ended it side by side in Arlington Cemetery.  Travis was killed in combat and buried in his home town in Pennsylvania.  When Brendan’s helicopter was shot down three years later, Travis’ body was moved next to Brendan’s in Arlington where they could rest in peace together.

Santa Rosa Memorial Park honors the sanctity of friendships.  Surrounding yourselves with people you love in life is just as important in death.  Contact us today to reserve your burial plots for a group of friends or your entire family.

Walking Tours: Walking tours are designed to introduce visitors to the history and significance of the cemetery. This can include legends and information about famous people, such as Washington Irving (author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) who is interred at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York and Robert Ripley of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum who is at rest at Santa Rosa Memorial Park.

Concerts: Cemeteries across the nation holding concerts to draw happy families into a place known for solemn.  It has become a way for people to think of cemeteries in a more positive light.  Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles has drawn thousands into their gates by holding these uplifting concerts every summer. Santa Rosa Memorial Park’s annual Memorial Day –Avenue of the Flags event –with marching band –that pays tribute to military service men and women.

Sunrise Service: The very first Easter Sunrise Service took place in 1732 in Saxony.  The unmarried men of the congregation met at the town’s graveyard to sing hymns at sunrise to their Savior Jesus Christ.  The following year the whole congregation joined the men and the tradition was born.  Four decades later the first Easter Sunrise Service in America took place in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  The service is intended to remind people that Jesus Christ no longer lies in a tomb.

Santa Rosa Memorial Park’s Easter Sunrise Service will be held at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 31^st at Santa Rosa Memorial Park (1900 Franklin Avenue, Santa Rosa CA 95404). Worship will be led by Pastor Zach Vestnys from Calvary Chapel of Petaluma.  All are welcome.

St. Patrick is known across Ireland as a Christian saint and an apostle who lived during the fifth century.  Born Maewyn Succat in Roman Britain, he took the name Patrick when he became a priest years after he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave.

He is credited with bringing Christianity to the Irish. After his death on March 17^th, 461 AD, the Irish honored his death by making it a religious holiday. Since it was during the Christian time of lent, St. Patrick’s Day was the one day they could eat meat, drink and dance.  The holiday came to America in the 18^th with the immigrants and quickly became one of the largest celebrated holidays.  Today it is celebrated around the world.

In Sonoma County the Irish have a long and rich history. The Fitzpatricks, Keenan’s, McClellands, O’Farrells and others helped to shape Sonoma County’s agricultural and cultural landscape. Some members of the Irish and Irish-American communities are now at rest in Santa Rose Memorial Park. No doubt they celebrated their Irish heritage and St. Patrick’s Day in their own, meaningful ways. Today’s festive holiday choices include pubs, parades, feasts and more.