Location: Sarasota National Cemetery Section 6 Grave 1461.
My family and I designed the inscriptions on the headstone. June 12, 2021 I visited Bob and Bunny and found the gravestone had been updated.
The day we buried Bunny we saw two willets for the first time in the pond near the grave. Here is a link to learn more about sandhill cranes on the Audubon web site.
If you are into maps here is a link to an aerial photo of the Sarasota National Cemetery.
We had a “burial witness” at the Sarasota National Cemetery
9810 State Road 72
Sarasota, FL 34241
Date: April 16, 2021
Time: 12:30
Grave Number: 6 1461
I will recite what was verbally conveyed to me by cemetery staff as a definition of a “Burial Witness”.
A burial witness is an event where people can be present at the grave site while the grave is open (hole dug by cemetery staff prior to witness) and see the decedent’s remains placed in the grave. There is no formal graveside service. The headstone will be revised and reinstalled about 2 months later.
What actually happened was slightly different than expected. When we arrived at the welcome center met a staff member and we worked out what will be added to the grave marker. The staff member escorted our vehicle to the grave site. We were required to stand 50+ feet away from the grave. The worker already had the grave open. The staff member took Bunny’s urn to the grave. I asked the staff member to take a picture of Bunny’s urn next to the grave marker. The worker filled in the grave and replaced the sod. After he finished we were allowed to visit the grave. No direct witness of the urn in the grave as I had anticipated.
Thank you for avoiding a hazard to your health by not attending the burial. Debbie, Hannah, and Brian did what we usually did with Bunny after visiting the Cemetery, have lunch and ice cream at SweetBerries.
Date: April 29, 2021 6pm
Brian Morse met Dean and Pat Stearns at Sarasota National Cemetery to visit Bob and Bunny’s grave. The grave marker has not changed yet. The Cemetery is beautiful and worth a visit.
Date: June 12, 2021 7pm
Brian Morse visited Bob and Bunny’s grave. The grave marker is now updated. I saw a family of sandhill cranes nearby.