3 days ago Blane was the Director for my Father in laws…read morefuneral he was so compassionate friendly and very attentive to our needs. thank you so much for the beautiful service

We used gentry Morrisons last week for my Dad they are the greatest at making the arraignments and…read moremaking you feel at ease . Thank you Blane and staff for all that you do.

This is a lovely old cemetery hidden deep in the heart of Mulberry, FL, south of Lakeland. Like…read moremany old cemeteries, it has its troubles and they are trying to fix them. When I went to find it, I was searching for a Prairie Cemetery or a Bone Valley Cemetery; people call it many things. When I arrived, I found a brand new sign with the name "Laurel Hill Cemetery" and "No Trespassing" signs everywhere. I even saw a sign stating there was a security camera. Since part of this cemetery bordered on a neighborhood, I decided not to take any chances and called the first phone number on the sign. I spoke to a pleasant lady at the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, who owns and cares for this particular cemetery. Yes, it WAS called Prairie Cemetery at one time and is now Laurel Hill Cemetery. I explained to her that I liked going to very old cemeteries and photographing headstones, etc., and I would like to have permission to walk about this cemetery. She was a bit hesitant but said yes. Fifteen minutes later, the caretaker showed up to further investigate me. He was very personable and actually had family buried there himself. He told me that because of the out of the way nature of the place, they had an issue with garbage dumping and other more unsavory things going on there. They are trying to keep control of the yard work there, but being Florida's wild and crazy flora and all, it's difficult to find volunteers these days to devote their time on things like this. This particular cemetery is quite gorgeous. It was, and perhaps still is, primarily African American. Records fluctuate on times of use, but the belief is this place has been used for burial for at least a hundred years, perhaps longer. Different areas appear to be clustered in different burial eras. The farthest away is the most new. I just took a quick look at that, mostly family groups. Many of the older headstones are handmade. Touching and quite lovely, some you can still see the handwriting and others are eroding away with time. (Sadly, the landscape has swallowed up an older section or two that needs to be pruned very soon or lost.) I have a feeling there are many more graves there than are marked. Many. It is so quiet out there. You'd never know you were next to a neighborhood, by a water treatment plant, a rail yard, a highway, etc. The breeze was blowing, the birds were singing, the butterflies were fluttering.

Think of all the great reasons to use the written word:…read more The words written here are meant to last forever, beyond a lifetime. The words written here are descriptive and defining, the words written here are the lasting memories, a memorial for the mortal. There are lots of cultural reasons these places exist and all are for the living, in remembrance, sometimes for closure - a final resting place, a waiting room for the rapture for others. All men are equal here, the lanes between the plots are only for access not to segregate, a path the living can roam between the concrete and the granite and the caretakers can keep the living lawns maintained and pristine and the barked giants can shade the souls and her shedding leaves can blanket and comfort as the cycle of life is renewed. I came here with an elderly friend who traveled here from afar to visit her resting father to offer flowers and a prayer. Her nearly nine decades on earth hasn't tempered the influence of something good or benign as she stood before the eroding inscription in silence for a moment or two before turning away with a smile that said thank you - we never spoke of this again...

The City of Haines City helped me secure a gravesite my Great Grandfather purchased for the family…read more I truly appreciate it.

The Willow Lawn Cemetery is an African-American burial place just west of downtown Lake Wales. It…read moreis located next door to Washington Park across Highway 27, on Washington Avenue near Florida's Natural. The Lake Wales Cemetery was established in 1918 when the Lake Wales Land Company that founded the city donated 9.3 acres of land "on a pine knoll west of town" for a cemetery. Additional land was acquired in 1938, and the Lake Wales Cemetery on U.S. Highway 27 was expanded to its current 27.4 acres. Only whites could be buried there because of the segregation laws in place at the time which necessitated the creation of a place where the African-American community could bury their dead. According to a sign in the back of the Willow Lawn Cemetery, it looks like this place was used as an unofficial place of burial for the African-American community long before it became a recognized cemetery. The 10-acre Willow Lawn Cemetery on Washington Avenue was deeded to the City by a group of African-American community churches in 1941. The oldest part of the cemetery is a back field area where there is a single sign honoring all those buried unmarked in the field before 1941. It is likely that the graves here had wood markers that decomposed over time. Another section of the cemetery contains graves from the 20's and 30's but records were not kept until the 40's and 50's. The earliest people buried here would have come to the area to work in the turpentine industry. The hard work and exploitive practices of the turpentine industry and lumber industry were documented by Zora Neale Hurston in her famous work, Of Mule and Men. Later African-Americans found work in the railroad and citrus industries. In 1921 the Lake Wales Land Company subdivided a new plat just north of town on the other side of the railroad tracks for the African-American community known informally as "the Quarters." Many of the citrus packing houses were built in the surrounding areas which the community worked at. Interestingly this hallowed historic land is still used as a cemetery today. As such it is well maintained. The Willow Lawn Cemetery holds the history of the African-American pioneers who built Lake Wales. More can be leaned about the early settlers and history of the cemetery from the Lake Wales Historical Society.

I haven't been able to find out much about Fitzgerald Cemetery, other than it (and the street it's…read moreon) was named after the homesteader who sold the property the land it is located on for $10, a good deal back in the day. From pictures I've seen online, it was taken very good care of 20 years ago, but now it's become quite overgrown and I believe the groundskeepers are having a hard time keeping up. Many graves are overgrown, some completely to the point of being covered by their plants. Some graves are collapsing, a sad result of time. Garbage is found around the edges of the cemetery and from the weather wear, some has been there for quite some time. It's a beautiful place, with a lot of history. I just wish it was taken care of a bit better.

There is peace here for your loved ones. There are abundance of trees for shade, and I quiet. It…read moreis serene.

What things aren't permitted y to be left at a loved ones grave? It seems as tho everything I leave…read morethere is gone when I return

The oldest cemetery in Bartow is Pioneer Oak Hill. It was not on city property and could not be…read moreenlarged because it was too close to downtown so in 1890 the citizens of Bartow made a deal to pay Thomas Pasco Carpenter $1.500.00 to purchase ten acres of land in order to create a city cemetery. It is believed that part of the land was already being used as an unofficial cemetery. The oldest burial may be that of John W. Towles who died in 1875. Pioneer Oak Hill only has Confederate Civil War dead but Wildwood contains people from both sides of the conflict. In the 1900's the cemetery was expanded to 40 acres. Burial of Black citizens in Wildwood began in 1975 and in 1984 the city redesigned and refurbished the cemetery grounds. This cemetery is most infamous for being the final resting place of Charlie Smith, "America's Oldest Man". According to his gravestone he was 137 years old when he died! Charlie recounted his life story during a 1978 episode of the television series Visions, titled "Charlie Smith and the Fritter Tree," According to Charlie he was born in Liberia in 1842, and at the age of 12 he was kidnapped by someone who convinced him that in America fritters grow on trees. After arriving in the United States he was sold into slavery to a Texas farmer who purchased him and named him Charlie Smith. The farmer treated him like a son and upon his death Charlie took his surname. Further adventures ensued when he joined the Union army, moved out West where he worked as a ranch hand, became a professional gambler, ran with the James Gang when they were chasing Billy the Kid, raised a family and ended up as a circus sideshow attraction. The records that have been discovered pertaining to Charlie Smith make it more likely that he was 105 when he died but don't let the truth get in the way of a good story. You can pay Charlie a visit in row 28 near the wall.

My brother in law passed away a few weeks ago I had completed paperwork with them a few months…read moreprior , everything went smoothly Maria was very kind and caring the whole process when they arrived the gentleman just stood there with his arms folded and asked us if we wanted anymore time he was so respectful they treated us all with dignity and loving care for my brother in law he deserved the best and thats what we recieved. They helped me through any help I needed when we recieved him back it was the most beautiful urn I can't thank them enough for the loving support they gave to us all God Bless them our experience was perfect Thank you everyone for the most perfect ending to my brother in laws life

If you are looking for a funeral home, PLEASE read this before you choose Oak Ridge Funeral Care…read more The inept, inexperienced and lazy people there provided the absolute WORST EXPERIENCE for my father-in-law's death and for our family. My father-in-law UNEXPECTEDLY passed away right before Thanksgiving and the people at this funeral acted like it was the HUGEST inconvenience that they were required to provide assistance for our family. They treated any questions we had with annoyance and lack of care. For a business that is built around care and empathy, this funeral home has absolutely none!

Our family received excellent care and prompt service when having our stepdad's headstone engraved…read moreafter his passing. They previously had taken care of our Mama's headstone as well. Thank you all again, Davis Monument...your kindness is deeply appreciated during our loss. ~ Rebecca Bibby & Family, Lakeland, FL

Such a disappointing experience for my family. We ordered a headstone for my dad on 11/28/21! We…read morewere told during the ordering process that it would take a year to receive the headstone due to Covid. The initial process in dealing with Davis Monument was good. They helped me get the order placed. But the communication after the initial order was placed (we paid for 1/2 the cost up front) has been none on their part. We expected the headstone to be completed December 27, 2022. We have not been contacted at all by Davis Monument. I have reached out to them several times since 12/27/21. Only to receive multiple reasons/excuses why the order has not been completed. This has caused a tremendous amount of pain and grief for my family, especially my mother. Saying goodbye to her husband of 52 years and then not getting closure with a proper headstone for his grave site for well over a year! This is not a good way for a company to handle the death of a loved one. The initial reason why we went with Davis Monument is because several people recommended them. I can't say that I would recommend them to anyone. It is now the middle of March 2023 and we are being told that it will take 2 more weeks for the headstone to be completed. This is completely unacceptable. Our next step is to contact the Better Business Bureau. Is hurts to have a company handling such a sensitive and emotional item so carelessly.