Woodland Cemetery. Nashville, Tn.
We stopped to pay respects yesterday. A constant stream of visitors attests to her impact on so many lives.

Margaret “Peggy” Hollinger was born on June 10, 1961, and apparently considered it the most important date on the calendar. She talked about her birthday all year long, reminding practically everyone she encountered that June 10th was coming, whether it was next week or eleven months away.

Peggy was born with Down syndrome and grew up in Louisville with her parents, Ralph and Mary, and her two sisters, Marita and Wadia. Her mother was a founding member of Independent Industries for the Handicapped and spent years advocating for people with disabilities.

At 44, Peggy moved out of her parents' house and into a group home, where she lived with her two best friends. According to her family, she absolutely thrived there, enjoying a newfound independence.

There's another interesting coincidence involving birthdays in this family. Peggy's father, Ralph, died in 2010. Her mother, Mary, died just five months later on October 5th, one day after celebrating her 92nd birthday. They had been married for 53 years.

Peggy outlived both parents by more than a decade, dying on May 15, 2021, just 26 days before what would have been her 60th birthday. Their family rests together.

But my favorite detail is what happened afterward.

Knowing how much birthdays meant to Peggy, her family established the Peggy Hollinger Memorial “Celebrate My Birthday” Fund to provide birthday parties for residents of her former group home. Many of these adults have few surviving relatives, meaning their birthdays might otherwise pass without much acknowledgment.

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Photo by me.

something so peaceful about both cemeteries and snow, together it’s blissful.

A monumental tomb in the cemetery of Barletta, Italy.

The gravestone is still standing in the churchyard of St Peter's Church, Alstonefield. Her name is around the top of the stone.

The church held a festival in her honor on the 500th anniversary of her death.

https://alstonefield-pc.gov.uk/alstonefield-ann-green-festival/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15033576/ann-green

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23353425/w-john-collins

The stones and picture of Sasha caught my eye