Louisville - Cave Hill Cemetery

We took a drive to Louisville and had a very full day planned.  First stop - Cave Hill Cemetery.

You may be wondering what took us to this beautiful cemetery.  There were several "famous" people to visit but to me, the most famous was my first cousin, Vicki.  I grew up having only two first cousins as my mother was an only child and my dad had just one sibling who had two daughters.  Sadly, the oldest died shortly before her 24th birthday.

We drove into the cemetery but didn't see an office or anywhere to find where her grave was located.  There must have been a recent storm which made the search even more difficult.

All we had to go on was the grave location in findagrave and a picture of the stone which a nice volunteer had provided to me more than 10 years ago.  We finally found a map which helped us to at least find the section numbers but other than that, we were on our own.

Once we found this, we thought we were close.  So we split up and walked the grounds to, hopefully, find her more quickly.  

And just like that, Ron exclaimed "here she is".  And sure enough, she was!

Our beloved daughter

Vicki Loraine Levy

1953-1977

She Spread Joy and Beauty on Gossamer Wings

While I'd been to Louisville several times before, unfortunately I had never taken the time to make the visit.  I was so happy I finally did.

We moved on to find our way to a few people you may have heard of.

Colonel Harland Sanders (September 9, 1890 - December 16, 1980) was best known for founding the fast food chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken and later acted as the company's brand ambassador and symbol.  His name and image are still symbols of the company.

Along the way, we stumbled across this.

Shadows in cemeteries are a real problem

Our final stop was the gravesite of Muhammad Ali.

Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.) was born in Louisville on January 17, 1942 and died in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 3, 2016.  He was a professional boxer and activist.  Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century and is often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.

ALI

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room in heaven

He took a few cups of love

He took one tablespoon of patience, one teaspoon of generosity, one pint of kindness

He took one quart of laughter, one pinch of concern, and then, he mixed willingness with happiness

He added lots of faith and he stirred it up well

Then he spread it over a span of a lifetime and he served to each and every person he met

And with that, it was time to move on to our next stop.

RIP, cousin Vicki.

Vicki Loraine Levy

March 4, 1953 - February 24, 1977