The day was mostly overcast and dreary with elevated humidity. There was a slight threat of rain during the morning and early afternoon. A mostly perfect day to visit cemeteries.
My brother Tony and I took the two hour drive from San Diego to the City of Angels last week. We planned to travel to three cemeteries and visit our family at their places of rest. I also photographed their grave markers for my family genealogy as well as setting up memorial pages at Find A Grave.
We made our way to Calvary Catholic Cemetery in East Los Angeles. This is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles and is notable for Stations of the Cross along the roadways.
Buried there are our grandparents, Juan Dominguez and Maria Marquez Dominguez as well as their oldest daughter Guadalupe and her husband Hector Ortega.
Juan and Maria were one of the three Dominguez families that immigrated from Zacatecas, Mexico to the United States during the second decade of the Twentieth Century. They are buried next to each other despite being separated for decades. Maria refused to settle for a divorce as this was frowned upon by the Catholic Church. Juan did not press for divorce despite family suggestions that he was with other women.
Hector and Guadalupe Dominguez Ortega are a few markers away. I remember them as good and hardworking people with a positive outlook on like. I had just discovered that their oldest son, Hector Junior, had passed away recently. I will be looking for his death information in order to bring him back into the family.
