September 2024

Page A19 September 2024 Starting as low as $199 Lowering Device Straps 1~800~515~0400 www.acsupplies.com Cemetery Tents Roller Bars Great Prices & High Quality Lowering Device Stand & Drape Cemetery Grass Available in Hy-luster and Polyester $19.95 Chair Covers Collapsible Starting at $445 Includes Drape, Stand, bags Low Prices! Winter scene in Forest Lawn. Photo: Andy Olenick Fall scene in Forest Lawn featuring bridge over Scajaquada Creek. Photo: Andy Olenick Cherry blossom trees in bloom around Mirror Lake. Photo: Andy Olenick Continued from Page A2 ed and started to pray about it. “I could see doors opening in Dalhart. I never thought this would be my home. It’s been amazing. It’s a dream come true. God opened doors, and I walked through,” he says, adding that he’s fallen in love with the community. The people he’s met are all so thankful and grateful he’s reopened the home on Rock Island Avenue. “I would never imagine that people would feel that way about a funeral home, but there’s an emotional connection to that property.” He explains how one woman came into the building in tears. He asked if she was okay, and he says she replied, “You guys did a great job. I can’t wait to die. It’s so beautiful, and I’m so glad it’s here.” “This is home,” says Luis. “This is where we’re supposed to be. Now I own it. It’s still unbelievable.” Luis is assisted at Dalhart Funeral Home by Brenda Gilmore, Dwayne Shafer, Devin Vehil and Manuel Cruz. Therapy dog, Bear, a standard poodle, is available to assist people who are grieving. Bear has a mohawk, a beard, and his own business card. He is so popular that he ran out of business cards before Luis did! Luis gets choked up talking about how Bear has helped families. A woman came in who had lost a baby, and the only time she smiled, just briefly, was with Bear. “They come in and ask for Bear. They want him at funerals. And I see how much it actually helps the families,” says Luis. “I don’t like cookie cutter funerals,” says Luis. He prefers personalization and out of the ordinary touches that tell the deceased’s story. His goal is to make each funeral a little different than the previous one. “I will do just about anything the family requests. I’m open to ideas,” he says, adding that his work is very rewarding. Luis came to Dalhart as an outsider. He didn’t really look like a traditional funeral director with the tattoos on his arms and at the time he had a “big ol’ beard.” He had to prove himself. But most people gave him a chance. They saw he had a heart for the funeral industry, and now Dalhart is home. For more information about Dalhart Funeral Home, visit dalhartfuneralhome. com, email luis@dalhartfuneralhome.com, or call 806-599-5501. Funeral Home Returns to Dalhart, Texas remains one of the region’s most popular destinations for visitors – from daily walkers and families to tourists from near and far. “Over the course of the next year, we will celebrate Forest Lawn’s storied past, including the memories of those who rest within our gates, and focus on the keys to assuring its future. We are very excited about what we have planned,” said Julie R. Snyder, chief executive officer of the Forest Lawn Cemetery Group and the Forest Lawn Heritage Foundation. With New York State Senator Sean Ryan’s support, a new statue honoring Shirley Chisholm, one of the cemetery’s most famous permanent residents who was the first African American woman elected to the United States Congress and the first to run for president will be dedicated. The weekend of October 4-6 will feature a special “Fall in the Forest” with food, vendors, hayrides, pumpkins and apples, and other family-centric activities amidst the beautiful foliage of Forest Lawn, as well as the release of a new novel by author Robert Brighton, The Phantom of Forest Lawn. Special tree-planting events will take place in the fall and next spring to further Forest Lawn’s designation as a Level I Arboretum. The commemoration of the 225th birthday of President Millard Fillmore, another of Forest Lawn’s most famous permanent residents will take place on January 7, 2025. On May 10, 2025, keynote speaker author Allison Meier (Grave) will be featured along with an optional VIP trolley tour with the author. July 12, 2025, a re-creation of Forest Lawn’s first burial - that of John Lay - which took place on July 12, 1850, will be held. These programs are made possible in part through the generous support of a number of organizations including Presenting Sponsors: Gallagher Insurance and Hodgson Russ Attorneys; Friends of Forest Lawn: Opus Capital Management and OpusXenta; and 175th Anniversary PaForest Lawn Celebrates its 175th Anniversary Continued from Page A18 trons: Biondan, Darling Paint, Davey Resource Group, Featherstonhaugh, Wiley & Clyne, LLP and Grever & Ward, Inc. Information about all that is planned for Forest Lawn’s 175th anniversary celebration, including the ability to order copies of Pensive Beauty can be found on the cemetery’s website www.forest-lawn.com. All proceeds from the gala, the sale of the new book, and the year-long calendar of events will benefit the Forest Lawn Heritage Foundation, the charitable organization established to assure the ongoing preservation and care of Forest Lawn. @Nomis.Publications Like us on Like

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Nzg4MQ==