Bonaventure Cemetery

   Observant readers may have noticed that there are photos of Bonaventure filed in the Savannah post. Still, after our recent return to Bonaventure I concluded that it deserved more than has been granted to date. The monuments represent the height of Victorian era funeral art with many commissioned to talented Italian sculptors. Scan through these and I think you will agree with Shirley and me that Bonaventure is worth more than a just a brief visit.
   You may choose to go with a tour group, with a personal guide, or with a recorded narrative available at the Visitor Center. Yes, there is a visitor center at the cemetery because it attracts so many who are enthralled by its beauty, peace, and serenity. There is a story behind each of the monuments that makes the experience that much more touching and valuable. Shirley and I make a point each time to visit the plots for Johnny Mercer, Corinne Lawton, and little Gracie. But it is not the graves themselves but the context in which we find them that is so outstanding.

It is customary to leave a few "pennies from heaven" on the grave stone.

You may have noticed the use of tag lines from Johnny 

Mercer songs on monuments in the family plot.

The monument of Corrine Lawton is widely used to represent Bonaventure.

Behind her is the grave of her father, Brig. Gen. Alexander Lawton.

Little Gracie Watson died of pneumonia at age 6. She was a 

favorite with guests at the Pulaski Hotel managed by her father.