What is Memorial Day?
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emorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering those who died while serving in the country’s armed forces. The holiday, which is observed every year on the last Monday of May, was formerly known as Decoration Day and originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the war. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service. It typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries. Annual Decoration Days for particular cemeteries are held on a Sunday in late spring or early summer in some rural areas of the American South, notably in the mountain areas. In cases involving a family graveyard where remote ancestors as well as those who were deceased more recently are buried, this may take on the character of an extended family reunion to which some people travel hundreds of miles. People gather on the designated day and put flowers on graves and renew contacts with relatives and others. There often is a religious service and a picnic-like “dinner on the ground,” the traditional term for a potluck meal in which people used to spread the dishes out on sheets or tablecloths on the grass. It is believed that this practice began before the American Civil War and thus may reflect the real origin of the “memorial day” idea.
Memorial Day is not to be confused with Veterans Day; Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving, while Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans.
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The dream was born before the dreamer
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ay back in 1932, in the throes of the Great Depression, a young man from Waynesville, N.C., was trying to make a living in New York when he decided to move back home to the Asheville area to build a better future. Byron Eugene Reeves was a fairly successful insurance salesman when he was recruited into the cemetery sales profession by Roy Hatton. Byron’s first contract assignment was Riverside Cemetery in Jacksonville, Fla. Byron Reeves fell in love with his new career, and quickly ascended to the position of District Manager, traveling the Southeast. Then Byron met a beautiful Georgia Peach in Macon. Her name was Pauline Blizzard and she hailed from McRae, Ga., just southeast of Macon. The couple wed and began traveling all over the Southeast and portions of the Midwest and Southwest, growing their enterprise, Southeastern Advertising Sales System, Inc. (S.A.S.S.), up to 52 cemetery sales contracts by 1955. Byron was earning over $125,000 per year (over $1 million in today’s dollars) at that time, more than enough to educate their children in Catholic and/or military boarding schools while the couple traveled so extensively on business. Meanwhile, the dreamer was born in Macon… Pauline Blizzard Reeves gave birth to John Thomas Reeves on March 27, 1944. When
The Chapel Atrium
John was 24, after attending the University of Georgia and working for S.A.S.S. in contract sales, he was named vice-president and district manager of his family’s business. Upon the death of their father in 1969, John and his older brother, company president Byron Duke Reeves, decided that constant traveling was not the long-term career path they preferred. The dream begins to take shape. Instead of securing sales contracts from other cemetery owners, John and Byron began buying their own cemetery properties. They used the proceeds of a very fortuitous and lucrative cemetery purchase and quick resale in Texas to secure ownership of their first six cemeteries – which included Hillcrest Cemetery in Augusta. The dream becomes a reality. After a remarkably successful 25-year expansion, S.A.S.S. was sold, Byron semi-re-
tired and now plays a lot of golf, and John Reeves moved to Augusta and bought Bellevue Memorial Gardens. “I redesigned Bellevue after Georgia Memorial Park in Marietta – the only cemetery my dad ever bought and developed,” Reeves said. “This profession is all about having an abiding passion for meeting the needs of your fellow community members before the time comes and at that time, whenever it becomes necessary.” John added, “We are committed to making sure Bellevue Memorial Gardens is the best-managed and most elegant cemetery in the entire CSRA. We take pride in our property and facilities. We constantly strive to innovate in our profession and make everything at Bellevue more appealing, convenient, comfortable, and affordable for our clients. It is, indeed, an honor to serve.”
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Welcome to Bellevue Memorial Gardens
Overhead artist’s rendering of Bellevue Memorial Gardens by Thomas Needham.
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ellevue Memorial Gardens and Chapel was founded in 1967. It is a Perpetual Care memorial gardens and has been registered as such with the Georgia Secretary of State office. There are numerous benefits of being a State registered Perpetual Care Memorial Cemetery. Some of the benefits are: A. The State makes it a requirement for maintenance goals to be met by the cemetery controllers. B. There is a requirement for money to be trusted in an irrevocable trust fund for long term maintenance. C. There is a requirement that Bronze memorials are used to ensure that the names of the deceased will always be legible. D. There are reviews of records to ensure that the business is operating above board and in a professional manner. A major difference in city cemeteries, church cemeteries and
backyard family cemeteries is that there are no requirements in place regarding perpetual maintenance and they are prohibited by most Georgia counties. For many of the aforementioned reasons, this caused the rise in the State of Georgia’s registered memorial cemeteries. We are dedicated to showing people in our communities the value and benefits of the well managed Perpetual Care Cemetery. We are also able to explain the vital importance of pre-need fulfillment that is provided by our Funeral Directors and Cemeteries. There have been many experiences by many people who haven’t had the opportunity to visit a place to remember their loved ones. At Bellevue Memorial Gardens, we want to educate the public on the value of pre-need planning and how important it is to make these arrangements now and not when they are needed.
“When only memories remain, let them be beautiful.” Bellevue Memorial Gardens Special Section / May 2016
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Bellevue is Your Smart Choice for Perpetual Care Pre-planning
re-planning your own funeral service is the most important decision you may not make. I have been in this industry since 1964 when I first went to work for my father’s company. He was a very intelligent man. I recall him telling me of being a young man and having a job in New York City when the stock market crashed in 1929. Having been born August 8, 1907, he had graduated from high school in Waynesville, N.C., and then attended Rollins College on a scholarship for basketball and football. However, the story he told was that being in New York at such a youthful age had, early on, taught him one of the most valuable lessons of his life. That was “with all those people it taught him how insignificant he was in this world.” I think we have all felt that way at some point in our lives. This may be to some a thought
of feeling sorry for yourself. For others, it may be feelings of being lonely. The fact of the matter is all one has to do is look at the cemeteries and the memorial gardens like Bellevue Memorial Gardens and what do you see? After 50 years of my life in the cemetery industry, what I see is not loneliness, what I see is love. When I talk to people about pre-planning, I get so many different attitudes. When I talk to young people – let’s say young husbands and wives – what I usually see is the infatuation that caused them to want to be together in the first place. I see true love in its most beautiful time. Yes, I see two individuals that love each other so much that they would not want the other to be alone making the decision of burial, if something tragic caused one or the other to lose their life premature to the fulfillment of those dreams that young people have. We all aspire
in our initial days of starting a life together of a long and productive life. Others I visited in my young years being in this industry, seem alone and unhappy. Some, usually the ones who had already attained that magical milestone of marriage, the 25th wedding anniversary, seemed at ease with each other and calm with their accomplishment and their life together. Some others, usually the male, would tell me “oh, when I go they can just throw me into a ditch.” They seem to have a level of low self esteem. The real fact of life, I have noticed, is when we lose the one we love, there is the most revealing evidence of true love on earth. The flowers, the prayers, the hugs, the families getting together, many times to enjoy a meal and the fellowship with those who have the same desires for the family they have come to comfort. This is the
showing of the most obvious example of true love and respect, the tears shed over the passing of someone important to them. A cemetery is not really a place at the end. It is a place in our lives where we realize the love we have had for someone we may never forget. Pre-Need planning for one’s own funeral service does so many loving things. It allows those who care about us to think of the love and the important things in life that may have produced children, grandchildren and the future existence of life. Pre-planning eliminates the burden and financial involvement of arranging and paying for the celebration of the life they have been a part of. Don’t value that final celebration expense more than the celebration of a life well lived. Sincerely, John Thomas Reeves, Sr. Your host for the celebration of life
Join your fellow patriots from 10 a.m. “until” on Memorial Day 2016 (Monday, May 30) at
Bellevue Memorial Gardens and Chapel as we celebrate the lives and memories of our fallen American military men and women from every United States war and military action since the Revolutionary War with reverence, honor, and humility.
Our Special Chapel Celebration Service at 10 a.m. will commemorate our honored military service members who have gone on to their reward with loving remembrances from military families, special music, and prayer.
4501 Wrightsboro Road, Grovetown (one mile west of Jimmy Dyess Parkway) • Phone (706) 863-2570 Bellevue Memorial Gardens Special Section / May 2016
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A Truly Special Place for Our Beloved United States Military Veterans
Future Veterans Mausoleums
There is no greater sacrifice than to lay down your life for your coun- their service to our nation. In this vein, during the months of May try. Bellevue Memorial Gardens feels that it is our duty to honor and November, we offer a special grave for our Veterans, absolutely our local fallen heroes by carving out a special place to memorialize free of charge.
Consider our cemetery plots reserved for local military personnel If you are currently serving in the military locally in Augusta, pre-plan your wishes to take advantage of the free grave service. We will also honor you with a plaque on our Veterans Memorial. Bellevue Memorial Gardens Special Section / May 2016
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Our four-legged family members deserve a final resting place of honor, too.
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eborah Reeves has a special place in her heart for animals, so it is only natural that Pet Walk is her “pet project.” Deborah personally handles every aspect of tender, loving, compassionate, and professional pet memorialization. As Deborah says, “Our fur babies need to be treated with dignity and respect, too – even after they’ve crossed the Rainbow Bridge.”
Pet Walk at Bellevue www.BellevueMemorial.com
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When only memories remain, let them be beautiful
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he ongoing, never-ending goal of owner John Thomas Reeves, “We take pride in the privilege bestowed upon us by maintaining Sr. and his team is to strive to continually develop and en- that sacred final resting place for so many members of our commuhance Bellevue Memorial Gardens into the best-managed, nity,” assures Reeves. “This is a special honor that gives us a sense of being a part of each family in our care.” best-maintained, and most elegant cemetery in the entire CSRA.
Bellevue. It’s the right thing to do.
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