For more than 20 years, I searched for the final resting place of my grandfather, Raymon Clarke Dickinson.

I never had the chance to know my grandfather. He passed before I was born. I came to know him through the stories told to me by my dad, my uncles and aunt, and especially my grandmother, Jessie—our Gama.

Those stories made him part of my life even though I never got to meet him.

When I finally obtained Raymon's death certificate, I learned that he had been buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton, Washington. I went there expecting that, at last, I would be able to visit his grave.

But there was no headstone.

With the help of cemetery staff and burial records dating back to 1949, we were able to locate the place where Raymon was buried.

There was nothing there to mark his grave. Just grass.

For more than 75 years, my grandfather had rested there without a marker bearing his name.

I don't know for certain why a headstone was never placed. I've often wondered whether, after Raymon's sudden passing and the expenses that followed, my grandmother simply couldn't afford one.

Whatever the reason was then, I now have an opportunity to do something my family wasn't able to do in 1949.

And, in doing so, I hope to bring my grandparents back together.

Raymon and Jessie

Raymon was married to my grandmother, Jessie, whom we grandchildren affectionately called Gama.

Their story began more than a century ago.

They met while working at Saylor's Chocolates in California in the 1920s and married in Los Angeles on January 1, 1923. Over the years that followed, they raised four children together.

Raymon worked at different jobs to provide for his family, including bookkeeping for the Washington State Highway Department and later working as a carpenter's helper.

Then, in 1949, at only 53 years old, Raymon collapsed while walking home from work and passed suddenly.

Gama was left to carry on without him.

She lived for more than 30 years after Raymon's passing. Music was an important part of her life. She taught music, sang as a church soloist, and later worked with children in daycare.

But to me, she was Gama.

She was also one of the people who helped me know the grandfather I never had the opportunity to meet.

Gama passed away on March 17, 1980, at the age of 77. Her ashes remained with our family and eventually came into my care.

That led me to an idea that has become very important to me:

What if I could put Gama back beside Raymon?

Bringing Them Together Again

My hope is to have Gama's ashes interred with Raymon at Greenwood Memorial Park and place a memorial there bearing both of their names.

After more than 75 years without a marker, Raymon would finally have his name over the place where he rests—and Gama would be beside him.

The cemetery provided an itemized estimate totaling $12,310.10 for the arrangements.

The estimate includes:

- $4,555 — Second Right of Inurnment, allowing Gama to be placed with Raymon

- $1,295 — Inurnment

- $3,895 — Memorial marker

- $895 — Urn outer burial container

- $595 — Marker installation

- $295 — Outer burial container installation

- $195 — Processing fee

- $585.10 — Taxes

The cemetery provided this estimate in 2024. Since then, I've been trying to find a way to raise the money needed to make this happen. I had hoped I could find a way to cover the cost myself, but more than $12,000 is simply more than I can manage on my own.

That's why I've decided to ask for help.

I've set the fundraising goal at $12,750. The cemetery's estimate itself is $12,310.10; the additional amount is intended to help cover GoFundMe's transaction fees, which are deducted from donations.

Because some time has passed since the cemetery prepared the estimate, the final cost may have changed. If it has, I will update the fundraiser so everyone knows exactly where things stand.

I'm sharing the cost breakdown because I want anyone considering a donation to know what I'm trying to accomplish and where the money will go.

I never had the opportunity to meet my grandfather. I knew him through photographs and through the stories my dad, my uncles and aunt, and Gama shared with me.

Those stories are part of the reason I've spent so many years trying to find him.

Now that I know where he rests, I'd like to do one last thing for both of my grandparents: put Gama back beside Raymon and finally give them a memorial with their names on it.

Someday, when the generations that come after us want to know where Raymon and Jessie are, I want there to be a place they can visit. I want them to see their names and know that these were real people, with a life together, a family, and a story that is still being passed down.

They were here. They were loved. They are remembered.

If you would like to help me make that possible, I would be deeply grateful for any contribution, no matter the amount.

And if donating isn't possible, sharing this fundraiser would mean just as much. You never know who may read their story and feel a connection to it.

Thank you for taking the time to let me share a little bit of my grandparents' story with you.

David Dickinson

Grandson of Raymon and Jessie