Remember the Mitchell gravestone? The one where the parents tried to obliterate the name of their late daughter’s husband? Well, there’s more to the story.
Apparently Joseph Vankoughnett didn’t take kindly to being wiped out of the family history. He took it upon himself to rectify the situation. Since he had no legal right to chisel the mastic off a gravestone he didn’t own, he commissioned his own marker: a footstone. It lies flush with the ground, one plot north of the original grave. As you can see, his name appears first, followed by that of his late wife. What’s interesting is her name: Bonnie L. Smith.
The original gravestone reads Bonnie L. 1945-1967. The surname at the top of the headstone is Mitchell. There’s no mention of the name Smith. Think of the questions that raises.
I’m adding this to my list of story ideas. Sometimes reality can rival fiction.