Friendship Cemetery
Friendship Cemetery is located on Friendship Road off of Stewart Loop, between Robeline and Many. It is across the street from Friendship Nazarene Church. The gate puts the founding date at 1948, so it is not too old and most of the graves are in very good condition. It is not very big compared to some other sites, but there are several graves that stood out as different from things I have seen anywhere else.
One feature not common to other cemeteries is a central walkway. This path runs the entire length of the site and ends at the rear gate.
There are at least two headstones with the following medallion set on the front, which shows the close relationship between the cemetery and the church across the street. It reads “Minister: Church of the Nazarene.”
I’ve seen Thibodeaux, but I’ve never seen Quibodeaux.
This grave has a metal plaque set in granite set behind the headstone. I do not know exactly what the hole in the middle is designed to hold, but in other places I have seen an urn with flowers or a candle.
I really liked this brick masonry work with an inset for decorations and metal plaque with the inscription.
In this case there is a metal gate set behind two headstones, with a cross set atop the gate. The gate does not surround the plots, so this is not a case of sectioning the graves off from their surroundings. The gate is likely just for decoration and perhaps represents the gates of heaven.
This is an example of a rather rare occurrence, that of adult siblings being buried side by side and sharing a headstone. This is seen much more often with married couples. In this case the sister is still alive. I really like the quote “Twins by birth/Friends by choice.” The back of the grave reads “Matthews Twins.”
This footstone at the Hutto grave is inscribed with a quote from Act V, Scene V from William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
His life was gentle, and the elements
So mix’d in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, ‘This was a man!’
The site dates to 1948, but the oldest marker I saw on my visit was this one from 1952:
See more photos of this cemetery on my flickr page.
