Lee Ann Zahringer Stine

Born February 3, 1928

Died October 12, 2004

Buried in Block 14, Lot 2, Stine Family Lot

GPS Coordinates N 30.49.079 W095.14.773

The following was written by Marjorie H. Russell after having attended the funeral services for Lee Ann Zahringer Stine.

Friday, October 16, 2004

Yesterday we attended a burial at The Ethician Family Cemetery. It was one of the sweetest occasions we have ever been exposed to. The deceased was from another state and had read about our green burial, something she had longed for. One of the children visited the cemetery the day before the burial and selected a beautiful lot that would eventually accommodate up to 12 family members and 24 pets.


The family all attended, four children and their spouses, several grandchildren of various ages and two dogs. We took the golf cart and met the family at the gate in order to take the husband to the gravesite. It would have been impossible to reach it in a car and the use of gasoline powered vehicles in the cemetery is discouraged.


The husband is such a sweet elderly man. He sat in a folding chair by the grave and explained how he would be right next to his wife and their dogs would be buried at their feet. She was buried in a beautiful pine box very simple and of course
biodegradable.

In this burial, a Priest from a nearby Catholic Church sprinkled holy water on the grave. The Ethician Cemetery accepts people of all faith traditions and encourages the participation of Priests, Rabbis, or Preachers in blessing the souls of the departed.



Every member of the family shoveled dirt back on the grave and the little children kept at it for a long time. They had fun while doing it and instead of being traumatized will always have pleasant memories of the occasion. When groups were standing talking after the grave was covered, a teenage grandson slipped quietly to the grave and played his guitar for his grandmother.


There was a beautiful spray of roses and before leaving those who wanted to took one of the beautiful roses to keep. It would be necessary to stand in the unspoiled woods and witness the event to be as moved by it as we were.


The man in charge of the grave digging was a bit skeptical of the whole idea at first but as he was leaving he told us he was convinced that was the best of all funerals and it is what he wants for his family now. During the service two family dogs enjoyed the forest environment which would also eventually be their final resting place next to their masters.

Marjorie H. Russell