Marlar Cemetery, Sawyer, Kentucky

Recently I received a friend request on Facebook from a Marlar who lives in Kentucky just across the river from Cincinnati, Ohio. He had decided that he wanted to befriend as many Marlars on facebook as he could, and I am so glad that he did. He is my husband's fourth cousin and is descended from the one brother who stayed in Kentucky while the mother and other children moved to Mississippi in the middle 1800's. I had not been able to prove who the other was but he gave me access to his website which gave me lots of information and I am now in the process of adding it to my website on tribal pages. This was very exciting information but the strange part was that most of the deceased members of the family are buried at Marlar Cemetery near Sawyer, Ky, in the southern most part just north of Knoxville, Tennessee. This cemetery is located in the Cumberland Falls State Park and my husband has vacationed near there twice and did not know it was there. Several years ago we made a trip to Sterns with our friends, Bobby and Judy and last year we spent one night in Somerset, Ky, which is about ten miles from the cemetery!
When I found this out I immediately started planning a trip to go to this cemetery and another one near by. Two weeks ago Jim and I along with our daughter Michelle and her husband James made the trip, combining it with a trip to Gatlinburg.
While there we were able to make pictures at both cemeteries. I am sure we did not get pictures of all the Marlar graves as there were many unmarked graves. Some of the tombstones had deteriorated and some had been replaced with newer ones, leaving the old ones there also.
While we were there we also visited Cumberland Falls. This was the first trip there for Michelle and James. We had such a wonderful time. The leaves were beginning to turn, the weather was beautiful and we enjoyed being with family talking about older family members.
I make a lot of pictures for findagrave.com and I had noticed that there was a request for a picture of a grave that was not one of my husband's relatives. I made sure that I made a picture to post. I received the sweetest thank you. It was from a young man in the service and the grave was his father's. He was so happy to receive the picture and I was happy I could make it for him as he was protecting our freedom!
Hope you enjoy some of the pictures we made!!!

Who is your best friend as an adult?

This is going to be about two best friends! One is Bobby Walker and the other is his wife, my friend, Judy Walker! (This is a running joke for us, she is my friend, Judy Walker and I am her friend, Betty Marlar!!!!!) Bobby and I grew up together at Snowdown. He was a couple of years older than me and was good friends with my brother and I was good friends with his sister. He was in and out of our house constantly and my parents and family just thought of him as family. When I married Jim, Bobby was married to his first wife and we would go on trips and visit with them. She was my sister in law's sister. When we moved to Memphis and Bobby divorced and married Judy, they became more than friends. They were family. All my sisters were lots older than me and even though Judy is younger she was another sister. When we were living in Southaven, we didn't get to see them as much as we liked but in 1990 when we moved back to Iuka we made up for lost time.We have traveled together as far away as Maine, Niagra Falls, made so many shorter trips. We have so much fun. We like to do the same things, eat the same food, and I have so many good memories of our trips that I could go on and on and on......... When I had my stroke in 1998 we were only two weeks from leaving for a three week trip to Oregon, California and points west. That was one trip we were unable to take. Judy stepped in and without her I don't know what my husband would have done. I don't remember three weeks of my life but she was there for Jim and my girls. My kids and their kids all feel that they are kin! Even our grandkids!
Bobby worked at the local power company for over 40 years, before retiring. Judy had what was considered "a man's job". She is a small woman but was a union member and worked as a welder mostly in nuclear power plants. She was a hard worker and the men would request her for their jobs. This career came to an end when she found out she had a heart defect and had to have open heart surgery. They live in the country and always had a garden, a beautiful yard and would always share with friends and neighbors.
One of the many things that she and I have in common is genealogy. We both love it. We love to go to graveyards and make pictures and worked together to help our local historical society publish a cemetery book in 1997. Some of the cemeteries we visited were so rural we had to protect ourselves from wild animals such as coyotes. I always felt safe because Judy carried a gun and wouldn't hesitate to use it!
As we are getting older we are all having health problems. Jim had melanoma and has suffered from MRSA in a broken ankle for a year and a half. Bobby just found out he has cancer and is now taking chemo and radiation, but we are still trying to plan another trip. Maybe we will and maybe we won't but part of the fun has always been in the planning.
My brother died in 1970, so Bobby has been the brother I miss and Judy has been my sister. I could not love them anymore if they were blood relatives. I cannot imagine what our life would have been like without them and their family and we have always been there for each other and will continue too.
We love you!
BOBBY AND JUDY WALKER!!!!!!