Collin College Summer Registration

IOOF Cemetery to host Wreaths across America

by | Apr 20, 2022 | Area news, Latest

Wreaths across America announced last week that the IOOF Cemetery in Farmersville will join the nonprofit’s mission to help citizens Remember the fallen, Honor those who serve and Teach our children the value of Freedom.

The cemetery will be one of 3,100 locations participating in the national nonprofit program that culminates in a special wreath laying ceremony on National Wreaths across America Day Dec. 17 at 11 a.m.

IOOF Board Member Billie Goldstein is leading the cemetery’s effort to support the Wreaths across America program.

Goldstein said she first became interested in the program last year after reading about it in the December 2021 issue of In & Around Magazine https://inaroundmag.com/champions/wreaths-across-america-honors-veterans-2/

The article, combined with the fact that the Goldstein’s family includes many who served or are currently serving, spurred the effort to buy a WAA wreath last year in support of a veteran buried at the Pecan Grove Cemetery in McKinney.

“The veteran was John Stroup, Billie said. “I thought he was related to someone in town.”

 It turned out, she said, that Stroup was killed in action at 20 years old, “and he was the baby brother of Betty Vamvakus,” a Farmersville resident.

“Out of all the graves, I got his name,” she said. “He was on a B-26 and my daddy was killed on a B-26. It was a God thing that’s all it was. It really meant a lot to me at that moment. I felt called to serve and do this.”

While finding veteran graves can be challenging for some cemeteries, Mack Hurst and other IOOF board members recently completed a two-year process of modernizing the grave records using a new electronic ledger.

In the process, Hurst said in an earlier interview, they were able to “identify all the veterans in the cemetery.”

“That’s the only way we could have ever done this,” Goldstein said.

Before the ceremony can happen in December, there is much work to do to get prepared to honor veterans laid to rest at the IOOF Cemetery. The goal for IOOF Lodge 228 is to raise enough funds to place 360 sponsored wreaths on all veterans’ headstones.

Goldstein said Independent Financial Bank is underwriting the signs and location cards for each grave and residents Vickie Bunch and Randy Snyder donated funds for the American flags that will be used to mark graves.

Wreath sponsorships are $15 each or donors can buy two and get a third one free.

“We’ve already sold 84 wreaths,” Goldstein said. “I’m so excited.”

Anyone interested in supporting the inaugural Wreaths across America ceremony at the IOOF Cemetery can do so by sponsoring a wreath or volunteering to help. Visit wreathsacrossamerica.org/pages/171234/Overview/?relatedId=150000 or contact Goldstein at 214-868-3485.

Grad Profile Leaderboard

0 Comments

Subscribe 300x250 - Love

Related News

Sales tax holiday April 26-28

Sales tax holiday April 26-28

As severe weather season nears, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar is reminding residents that they can purchase certain emergency preparation supplies without paying sales tax during the state’s annual tax holiday, scheduled for April 26-28. The sales tax exemption begins...

read more
REAL ID deadline is May 7

REAL ID deadline is May 7

Beginning May 7, every air traveler 18 years or older will be required to present a REAL ID compliant license or another acceptable form of identification to fly within the U.S. or access certain federal facilities, according to the Department of Homeland Security...

read more
Collin County property tax appraisals mailed

Collin County property tax appraisals mailed

Collin County property values will take center stage as property owners will soon see how much the county thinks their property is worth. Collin Central Appraisal District (CCAD) has been busy collecting and entering information in preparation to generate appraisal...

read more
Fire Marshal office seeks police authority

Fire Marshal office seeks police authority

Farmersville Fire Chief Greg Massey and Assistant Chief/Fire Marshal Matt Jones discussed the status of the fire marshal position and proposed changes at the Monday, April 21, City Council meeting. Both outlined the benefits of obtaining law enforcement status for the...

read more
Subscribe 300x250 - Love