Gramma Anna's Gravestone & Memorial
Donation protected
After nearly 85 years of searching for our long lost, beloved family matriarch, Anita (Anna) Ortiz, mother of Auntie's Helen, Conch, Sylvia, Dolores, Annie, Connie and Uncle's Peter, Sylvester and Richard, we finally found her and her place of eternal rest at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois.
While we know that Gramma Anna was born in Mexico on August 10, 1899, not much more is known about her life (or premature death). What we do know is that in her short 37 years on earth, Gramma Anna had 9 children (sadly uncle Richard died as a young boy, twin to Auntie Dolores) and 8 that would live long, happy, purposeful lives and who would go on to build big, wonderful families with many, many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren among us.
With the exception of Auntie Annie (who was only 3 years old when her mother died...now 88 years old), the other 7 children would sadly live their entire lives without truly knowing many details surrounding their mother's tragic, untimely death and where she was laid to rest.
As the grandchildren and great grandchildren of Gramma Anna, piecing together the stories and dates and timelines (in this age of information & internet) along with everyone's prayers, lead us in our very personal quest to find out what happened to Gramma Anna and ultimately to find her final resting place.
On January 14th, 2021 Cousin Yolanda, Cousin Anita (my sister) and I (Cousin Nacho) set out to pinpoint exactly where Gramma Anna's gravesite is at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, in a section where charity graves are located. (Back in those years The Archdiocese of Chicago generously donated charity graves in instances when the family of the departed could not give their loved ones a final resting place).
After about an hour of searching throughout this mostly unmarked section, (in the wintery cold), with cemetery maps and finally some help from a cemetery groundskeeper, we found her gravesite.
Collectively our immediate reaction was disbelief that after so many years and almost an entire generation later, we finally found Gramma Anna. A sense of peace and joy filled our hearts along with some sadness in knowing that most of her children did not live to see this day. Ultimately we found happiness and solace in knowing that Gramma Anna was up in heaven reunited with all but one of her children for all eternity.
Sadly there was no marker nor gravestone for Gramma but we vowed at her gravesite that we would make every effort to place a headstone at her resting place so that we'd always know where to go to pay our respects.
As a long overdue expression of love and respect for our matriarch Anita Ortiz (Escobedo), we will be gathering at her gravesite sometime in late August, early September for a formal memorial service. Our hope as a family is to give Gramma Anna the gravestone and memorial gathering that she truly deserves. That we acknowledge and give homage to her life, so that we always remember her story and incapsulate her legacy as the matriarch that made all of our lives possible. That we celebrate and recognize her. That we smile when we see a glimpse of her in our parents, grandparents, siblings, grandchildren, great grand children, nieces and nephews and cousins. Gramma Anna was and always will be an enormous part of who we are and where we came from...and for all future generations.
All funds collected will be used to place a gravestone for Gramma and for her memorial service in August/September 2021. Any remaining funds will be used to plan a family gathering/reunion on the same day as the gravesite memorial.
Cousin Yolanda and myself (Nacho) are the contacts for anyone wishing to help out with the planning. We will keep you all informed leading up to Gramma's special day with periodic updates. We ask that you please share your stories, write them down, bring them with you so that we can all collectively share information and continue to piece together Gramma Anna's life story.
God Bless you all!
While we know that Gramma Anna was born in Mexico on August 10, 1899, not much more is known about her life (or premature death). What we do know is that in her short 37 years on earth, Gramma Anna had 9 children (sadly uncle Richard died as a young boy, twin to Auntie Dolores) and 8 that would live long, happy, purposeful lives and who would go on to build big, wonderful families with many, many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren among us.
With the exception of Auntie Annie (who was only 3 years old when her mother died...now 88 years old), the other 7 children would sadly live their entire lives without truly knowing many details surrounding their mother's tragic, untimely death and where she was laid to rest.
As the grandchildren and great grandchildren of Gramma Anna, piecing together the stories and dates and timelines (in this age of information & internet) along with everyone's prayers, lead us in our very personal quest to find out what happened to Gramma Anna and ultimately to find her final resting place.
On January 14th, 2021 Cousin Yolanda, Cousin Anita (my sister) and I (Cousin Nacho) set out to pinpoint exactly where Gramma Anna's gravesite is at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, in a section where charity graves are located. (Back in those years The Archdiocese of Chicago generously donated charity graves in instances when the family of the departed could not give their loved ones a final resting place).
After about an hour of searching throughout this mostly unmarked section, (in the wintery cold), with cemetery maps and finally some help from a cemetery groundskeeper, we found her gravesite.
Collectively our immediate reaction was disbelief that after so many years and almost an entire generation later, we finally found Gramma Anna. A sense of peace and joy filled our hearts along with some sadness in knowing that most of her children did not live to see this day. Ultimately we found happiness and solace in knowing that Gramma Anna was up in heaven reunited with all but one of her children for all eternity.
Sadly there was no marker nor gravestone for Gramma but we vowed at her gravesite that we would make every effort to place a headstone at her resting place so that we'd always know where to go to pay our respects.
As a long overdue expression of love and respect for our matriarch Anita Ortiz (Escobedo), we will be gathering at her gravesite sometime in late August, early September for a formal memorial service. Our hope as a family is to give Gramma Anna the gravestone and memorial gathering that she truly deserves. That we acknowledge and give homage to her life, so that we always remember her story and incapsulate her legacy as the matriarch that made all of our lives possible. That we celebrate and recognize her. That we smile when we see a glimpse of her in our parents, grandparents, siblings, grandchildren, great grand children, nieces and nephews and cousins. Gramma Anna was and always will be an enormous part of who we are and where we came from...and for all future generations.
All funds collected will be used to place a gravestone for Gramma and for her memorial service in August/September 2021. Any remaining funds will be used to plan a family gathering/reunion on the same day as the gravesite memorial.
Cousin Yolanda and myself (Nacho) are the contacts for anyone wishing to help out with the planning. We will keep you all informed leading up to Gramma's special day with periodic updates. We ask that you please share your stories, write them down, bring them with you so that we can all collectively share information and continue to piece together Gramma Anna's life story.
God Bless you all!
Co-organizers (2)
Ignacio Ochoa
Organizer
Chicago, IL
Yolanda Bustamante
Co-organizer