Century Park Blog
Cascade Park residents honor loved ones at Willamette National Cemetery
Leading up to Memorial Day, a group of residents from Cascade Park in Woodburn, Oregon, made the trip to Willamette National Cemetery.
May 17 dawned bright and sunny, with perfect weather as the residents loaded on the bus to take long-stem roses to lay on the graves of their loved ones interred there.
JoAn Gauer, a resident at the retirement community, shared her heartfelt thanks with the staff in a letter.
“One resident was able to see her son’s grave for the first time,” JoAn wrote. “All of us needed help to get to the graves. Some were pushed by wheelchair. I was assisted by our activity directors up and down a long hillside. Special recognition must go to Kate and Grace for walking and running long distances in order to locate each grave. They were responsible for having the roses and snacks for each one of us. Kate took pictures of the stones that we visited and then gave us each the photo of our loved one’s grave.”
JoAn added, “Also, special recognition should go to our bus driver, Chuck, as he knew how to avoid the evening traffic and got us home safely. It was no easy task to maneuver the bus on the small lanes and turn-arounds that he had to make while inside the cemetery grounds.”
Staff even made sure sandwiches were waiting for the group upon their return.
“Each one of us is very grateful for the staff who went far and beyond in order for us residents to visit the graves so close to Memorial Day,” JoAn concluded. “It meant so much to each one of us.”
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