Abe here: I LOVE Memorial Day and this was our 20th year in a row of gathering at Wasatch Lawn Memorial on 33rd South at 9:00am on the last Monday of May. I'll now post 20 pics of 20 years of Memorial Day (or thereabouts)....I couldn't find a pic from every single year. This pic is from 1998 and Betsy and I were still in our first year of marriage. Please note my father-in-law's Red, White & Blue Shirt which he has worn almost every year since, including yesterday.
1999: No pics from this Memorial Day, but remembering Betsy's Mom, Alene Clark Cannon, who passed away in 2001, has become one of the most cherished parts of what we do each year -- sharing stories and memories of this amazing woman. Here she is a month before Memorial Day 1999, and this was also two months before Clark was born.
2000: Again, no pic from this Memorial Day, but here we are about that time of year with my brother and his wife, Jesse & Amy Fox and their oldest, Alexis. Clark's first Memorial Day was that year.
2001: Bethany was only a couple months old and we all were still very much mourning the loss of Mom (she passed away February 2, 2001).
2002: Here we are at Valley View in West Valley City where Betsy has Grandparents and we both have Great-Grandparents buried.
2003: We'll often sit (or stand) under the shade of this tree sharing stories of our ancestors, most notably led by Betsy's Uncle Lane Clark. This was Elinor's first Memorial Day.
2004: Also, please note Betsy's Dad's "U.S. Army" hat he often wears. He retired after 20 years of service and many others in the Cannon family have served in the military, including a Great Uncle Abraham Hugh Cannon who died in WWII in the Pacific. I'm so grateful for all who have sacrificed so much, even their lives for the freedoms we enjoy.
2005: This was the year we lost our full-term stillborn daughter, Tessa Alene Fox. I know that Betsy and I will get to be with all of our daughters and sons in the eternities!
2006: The four Cannon siblings remembering Mom.....and Faith's first Memorial Day!
2007: I'm so thankful I married into this Amazing Cannon Family!!
2008: This was 2 days before Cannon Jolley Fox joined our family!!
2009: Blurry family pic year and Cannon's first official Memorial Day
2010: Over the years we will run into other friends or family, and this particular year we met my Great Uncle Aaron Jolley and he gave Elinor a $2 Bill on the spot because she had just lost a tooth. His grandchildren call him "Grandpa Tooth Fairy".
2011: George's first Memorial Day
2012: My Mom's Grandparents in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
2013: We have bought a lot of chrysanthemums over the years
2014: We're often facing right into the morning sun for this particular pic
2015: Peter's first Memorial Day
2016: George & Cannon with their namesake.....
2017: Our first Memorial Day with Greta!! I truly hope to continue this tradition for the rest of my life. I am so very grateful for it and the example and legacy of service, sacrifice, devotion and goodness of those we honor each Memorial Day. It truly is my favorite holiday!!
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