It has been almost a year ago when my wife Ruth’s mother passed away at the age of ninety. She lived a rich and full life wife Radovan Lazich her husband. Together they are buried in this National Registry of State Historic Places church and cemetary in Jackson, California. The history of the area is rich with stories of gold discoveries and hard working men from Yugoslavia who worked the mines near Jackson. They created a church of of their homeland and built the oldest Serbian Church west of the Missippi during the period of the gold rush. It is here Ruth’s parents share their grave with the history of the old west. The one common element of the graves are the names engraved on them. The letters ich are the give away as to the origin of the departed. Life and death are so entwined, one has to just take a step back sometimes and be thankful for the memories of others while making sure we give of ourselves now.
