Luke Kelly

Posted in Glasnevin Cemetery with tags , on July 2, 2018 by Cade

November 17, 1940 – January 30, 1984

Luke Kelly was widely considered one of the greatest Irish folks singers of all time. His success and influence as a member of the famed group, The Dubliners, earned Kelly an iconic status in Ireland. He helped lead the folk revival of the early 1960’s, but infused his own Scottish (from his mother) and English (from living there) imprints into the genre. Thanks to his distinct singing style, his versions of classic Irish songs became the quintessential versions for the generations that followed. Kelly spent the last years of his brief life in deteriorating health. Continue reading →

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Jack B. Yeats

Posted in Mount Jerome Cemetery (IE) with tags , , on June 25, 2018 by Cade

August 29, 1871 – March 28, 1957

Being the younger brother of one of Ireland’s most famous sons is a daunting existence. But, Jack Butler Yeats – brother to Nobel-winning poet, William – was not only up for the task, he matched his sibling punch for punch. Though he, too, found some success in writing, J.B.’s true medium was art. A talented illustrator, he moved into Expressionism and went on to become the most popular Irish painter of the 20th Century. He was celebrated for depicting, what playwright Samuel Beckett called “the issueless predicament of existence.” Meaning, Jack was able to dramatically and beautifully capture life at it’s most mundane and normal.  Continue reading →

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Christy Brown

Posted in Glasnevin Cemetery with tags , , on June 18, 2018 by Cade

June 05, 1932 – September 07, 1981

Christy Brown was a writer and artist who, due to having cerebral palsy, wrote and painted with the toes on his left foot. His autobiography, aptly named “My Left Foot” was adapted into the 1989 Academy Award-winning film starring Daniel Day-Lewis. One of 13 (surviving) children, Brown’s family was instrumental in nurturing his talent despite pressure to send him off to a hospital to be raised. In all, Christy wrote several novels, memoirs, poetry collections and painted dozens of stylized paintings. He was married in 1972 and his life and health began to fall apart. Continue reading →

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Gerard Manley Hopkins

Posted in Glasnevin Cemetery with tags , , on June 12, 2018 by Cade

July 28, 1844 – June 08, 1889

“And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.”

God’s Grandeur – Gerard Manley Hopkins

Gerard Manley Hopkins was temporally a Victorian poet, but due to his innovative use of language, alliteration, meter and rhyme, he is widely considered one of the first modernist poets. His use of “sprung rhythm” – a term he coined to shake off the restrictive nature of the conventional meters in English poetry at the time – varied the accent syllables in his verses and allowed him to construct and rhyme freely. His work was a precursor to the free verse movements of the 20th century. A Jesuit priest who grew up in an incredibly artistic family, Hopkins’ work regularly focused on religion and nature…often at the same time.

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Tom Petty

Posted in Cremated with tags , , , on March 3, 2018 by Cade

petty1
October 20, 1950 – October 02, 2017

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
You belong with your love on your arm
You belong somewhere you feel free

“Wildflowers”  – Tom Petty

Thomas Earl Petty was rock and roll’s everyman. Whether fronting the eponymous Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, jangling along with his friends as a member of the Traveling Wilburys or simply selling millions of albums as a solo artist, Petty’s 40-year career was nothing short of legendary. Petty won 3 Grammys and worked with everybody who was anybody in music. Continue reading →

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Chuck Berry

Posted in Bellerive Gardens with tags , , , on August 22, 2017 by Cade

October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017

Marvin Berry’s famous cousin invented Rock ‘n’ Roll. I could just stop there. But, where’s the fun in that?

Charles Edward Anderson Berry was a guitarist and singer who spent the 1950’s taking bits and pieces of the rhythm and blues style of music and turning the world on its head. As he pioneered new ways to use guitar and up-tempo rhythms in popular music, he paved the way for others to follow. The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. Elvis. Hendrix. You name it. If they were a giant in the history of rock and roll music, Berry influenced them directly.

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Abraham Lincoln

Posted in Oak Ridge Cemetery with tags on August 15, 2017 by Cade

February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. Arguably, one of the most famous presidents in U.S. history, Lincoln guided the country through its bloody civil war. A largely self-educated lawyer who grew up in Kentucky and Indiana, he went on to represent Illinois in the United States congress. After a return to private law practice, and amidst a rising tension between Southern, slave-owning states and the North, Lincoln was persuaded to run for President as a moderate in the newly founded Republican party. Despite receiving virtually no votes from the Southern states, Lincoln won the election in 1860. His victory led the first states in the South to begin working toward secession and the war followed quickly. Lincoln navigated the war with admirable skill and prowess. In 1862, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which effectively freed the slaves in the Southern states. In 1864, he was re-elected while the war raged on and began to work toward what post-war Reconstruction would look like. Continue reading →

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Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Posted in St. Francis Xavier Cemetery with tags , on July 13, 2017 by Cade

shriver1July 10, 1921 – August 11, 2009

“As we hope for the best in them, hope is reborn in us.” – Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Eunice Mary Kennedy was the middle child of Joe and Rose Kennedy. She was married to U.S. Ambassador to France and one-time Vice-Presidential candidate, Sargent Shriver. From early on, Eunice developed a special relationship with her oldest sister, Rosemary, who was born with an intellectual disability at a time when stigma and lack of care for this population was rampant. Her care for Rosemary and those with similar disabilities became her lifelong calling. When her brother became President of the United States, she used the opportunity to elevate her cause. She founded a number of national and academic programs to help advance research and support options for people with disabilities. Continue reading →

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Harry Houdini

Posted in Machpelah Cemetery with tags on February 15, 2017 by Cade

houdini1March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926

Harry Houdini (Erik Weisz) was a vaudeville escape artist and probably the most famous magician of all time. He got his start pulling card tricks and escaping from handcuffs in front of crowds in sideshows and eventually was able to entertain crowds across the country and Europe. As his reputation grew, so did his escapes. The handcuffs became more elaborate. Straight-jackets followed. Then padlocks, sealed wooden crates, milk cans, caskets, glass-cases full of water…whatever he could think of. Crowds flocked to see his death-defying escapes and his fame skyrocketed. Houdini was an intense protector of the art form of magic and spent a significant amount of energy debunking fake spiritualists and people who would tarnish the industry. Continue reading →

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Dr. Seuss

Posted in Cremated with tags , on February 7, 2017 by Cade

seuss1March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991

Theodor Seuss Geisel…was a writer of books.
And he wrote of wubwuzzles and bumblers and jooks.
Fancy made-up creations with stars and striped hats.
There were cats in those hats and little Who acrobats.
He made foxes in sockses, a grinch and a turtle.
With names like the Lorax and Horton and Yertle.
Fish of all colors and beetles that battled
In puddles in bottles on poodles with paddles.
Dr. Seuss gave us oodles of tales to adore.
And he made ham and eggs much more green than before.
More than 70 works, beloved and clever.
A talent so rare, it should go on forever.
Except when it can’t.
Because, sometimes, cancer. Continue reading →

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