Preserve Our History - St. Ann Cemetery, Lawtell

St. Ann Cemetery, 979 School Road (Highway 190) Lawtell, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, 70550 USA

Dear Friends,  Family and Members of the St. Ann Community:

Recently, my cousins and I visited Mallet to study the maps of the St Ann Cemetery to further our genealogy research of family buried there. Father Stanley and Ms. Earleen Guilbeau kindly showed us the available maps. There are three paper maps plotting the approximately 1800 grave sites, but the maps are not fully up to date. Moreover, we observed that these historically important maps need attention if they are to be preserved for future generations.

 

We offered our help to Father Stanley and the St Ann Church Council to help protect the maps of the cemetery which is why we are reaching out to you. We know that just like us, you have friends and family whose final resting place is in this historic cemetery. You probably also know that navigating the cemetery can be problematic as we attempt to locate our loved ones, especially after long absences.

 

The first step we plan to take is to scan the maps, make durable duplicates for public use and finally, to frame the old maps in preservation glass for safety of the maps and for public display. Ultimately, we hope to complete a survey of the whole cemetery (which has already begun by Vivian Cravens) and update those maps with grave numbers and a list of occupants, and lastly, create signage outside of the cemetery for easier access to the locations our family and friends.

The first step of this project will cost approximately $ 2000.00. Your donations, regardless of
amount, would contribute to making a significant difference to this cause. We greatly appreciate
your considering our request to become a Friend of St. Ann Cemetery by donating on Fr
Stanley’s GoFundMe page https://gofund.me/11a7eacc or mailing a donation to:

Fr. Stanley Jawa, SVD
St. Ann Catholic Church
P.O. Box 310
Lawtell, LA, 70550

Make the check to St. Ann Church
Attn: Cemetery Project

Yours very truly,
Vivian Broussard Guillory, Esq. [email redacted]
Beverly Guillory Andry, Ph.D. [email redacted]
Wanda Guillory Payne [email redacted]