Lakewood Park Cemetery Gravestone Dedication Ceremony

It was a beautiful afternoon on May 18, 2019, when we gathered to honor early settlers, originally buried in Wagar and Kidney cemeteries, Detroit Road, Lakewood, Ohio, and re-buried in Lakewood Park Cemetery, Detroit Road, Rocky River, Ohio, in plots originally purchased by Mars Wagar. The Johns-Carabelli Cemetery Memorials Co. fashioned the two new gravestones that we dedicated, for: the Calkins/Howe family buried in Section 2, Lot 302, Grave 5, and the Kidney family members buried in Section 2, Lot 301, Grave 4.

Speaking at the gravesites, Sandy Sill, manager of Lakewood Park Cemetery, explained how and why the project was started. Mayor Pam Bobst honored our forgotten fellow citizens. Gay Christensen-Dean gave a history of these early settlers. Gay had searched for any relatives/descendants of the honorees to notify them of the event. Joanne, Bill, Emma, and Maggie Calkins attended. A Kidney relative, Deirdre Lavieri of Atlanta, Georgia, was not able to come but sent a letter of thanks and appreciation that was read. At the end of the ceremony, a rose was placed on each gravestone. A tour of Lakewood Park Cemetery followed, highlighting the graves of famous people buried there.

 Other attendees included representatives/descendants (Bill, Cynthia, Joy, Russ, Gay) of Section 2, Lot 301, Grave 5: “EARLY PIONEERS of LAKEWOOD originally buried WAGAR CEMETERY”, there to support their fellow ancestors; Jenny Dieringer of the Rocky River Historical Society; Ralph Pfingsten of the West Park Historical Society; Bill Barrow of the Early Settlers Association of the Western Reserve.

 Thank you to the Lakewood Park Cemetery board (Jack, Scott, Dave) and staff (Sandy, Peggy, Chris, Tara, Kathy), and Eric Butler, and Monica Johns of the Johns-Carabelli Co. for making this happen.