My wife and I have been very blessed. One of the things we have resolved to do is to take care of the graves of my family and put things to right where we can.

The memories and monuments of my loved ones will not go to disrepair on my watch.

Blessing Patrick's new tombstone.

Toward that end, we replaced my great-great grandpa, Patrick Maney’s, tombstone. Patrick and his wife Bridget (after whom my daughter is named) came over from Ireland in the 1840s, probably because of the potato famine. We don’t know anything about their ancestors nor do we know much about them because they were likely illiterate peasants when they came to this country. The line ends with Patrick and I don’t know where else to look to find out more information about his ancestors. Sometimes that’s just how life works.

Kevin and Patrick's original tombstone.

He is buried in St. John’s cemetery in Delphos, OH and his original tombstone had been badly damaged and weathered. The top third of it was missing and we could barely read what writing was left on it. The tombstone itself had been knocked from its base and so we decided to fix this. It took almost a year to get everything done, but today I had the honor and privilege as a priest to go over and bless the new stone with the help of my wife.

Dondra and Patrick's new tombstone.

It is especially significant that we blessed the tombstone today, July 4, 2011, as it marks the anniversary of Bridget’s death in 1898. Sadly we do not know where her body is buried in the cemetery but God does and I am OK with that. Apparently back in those days people were buried in cemetery plots in the order they died. Since Patrick died in 1870, and since they apparently did not have a family plot, Bridget and he are not buried together. We put her name on the stone anyway and commend her to God’s continuing love and care for her.

So this has been a special day for us all around, especially for me. As I said at the beginning of this reflection, my wife and I have been very blessed.