Macon Reporter

With the governor's COVID-19 five-phase Restore Illinois plan still restricting movement and activities, families had to get creative to celebrate Memorial Day.

The Herald-Review said Lina Richardson and her family visited Graceland Cemetery to honor the fallen soldiers in her family — her husband, Michael, and her father, Aubrey Evans.

Richardson said that they plant a flag and flowers every year. While this was a violation of the governor’s stay-at-home order, they still paid tribute to their loved ones. Richardson also said that they held a cook out on the holiday. 

Melissa Stanley, a sales manager for Graceland-Fairlawn and Moran & Goebel Funeral Homes, helped welcome visitors to the Graceland Cemetery, passing out pamphlets and small flags through car windows. Stanley explained that it was important to help the visitors safely come to the burial place of loved ones. 

“We are providing them with social distancing guidelines,” Stanley told the Herald-Review. “And we are giving them a work order in case the grave needs any maintenance. This is a time that we can address any issues that families are having, because they are all here visiting.”

Though the state had not lifted these restrictions yet, there were many visitors to the cemetery on the national holiday. 

Normally, the Avenue of Flags Memorial Ceremony would have taken place on Graceland Ceremony property at the Korean War Memorial, but the coronavirus made it impossible to maintain this tradition. Instead, there were flags placed on the paths close to the Korean War Memorial for Memorial Day and removed the following morning. 

“We put that out every year,” Stanley said. “Every flag has been dedicated by their family or close friends. A lot of people stop by just to take pictures of the flags themselves.”

Other visitors to the cemetery included Rick and Sharron Thornton, who put flowers on the graves of fallen loved ones as well as friends who had paid the ultimate sacrifice. 

While the visitation may have been in violation of state law, visitors were careful to maintain social distance.