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What is Memorial Day?

Memorial 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 picniclike “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.

2 Buzz on Biz May 21-June17, 2015

The dream was born before the dreamer

W

ay back in 1932, in the throes of the Great Depression, a young man from Waynesville, North Carolina, 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, Florida. 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, Georgia, 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 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 Chapel Atrium

John and Deborah Reeves

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-retired 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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When only memories remain, let them be beautiful

The ongoing, never-ending goal of owner John Thomas Reeves, Sr. and his team is to strive to continually develop and enhance Bellevue Memorial Gardens into the best-managed, best-maintained, and most elegant cemetery in the entire CSRA. “We take pride in the privilege bestowed upon us by maintaining that sacred final resting place for so many members of our community,” assures Reeves. “This is a special honor that gives us a sense of being a part of each family in our care.”

Bellevue. It’s the right thing to do.

8 Buzz on Biz May 21-June17, 2015