Saint Mary's Cemetery

Friday after the 12th Street Project update and some lunch, I went to Saint Mary's Cemetery to look for the grave of journalism pioneer Delilah Beasley. Although I've been to Saint Mary's Cemetery before, I haven't spent nearly as much time there as at neighboring Mountain View Cemetery.

I'd read that Delilah Beasley's grave was there, although the marker wasn't added until 20 years after her death. I also wanted to check on whether Dr. John F. Slavich (the 39th mayor of Oakland) was buried there or not, as I'd seen conflicting reports. Yes, I've been spending a lot of time lately on Oakland Wiki topics.

I started with a visit to the office to find out about Mayor Slavich and to get the location of Delilah Beasley's grave. Although Saint Mary's is much smaller than Mountain View, it's still plenty big so finding a grave with no guidelines is a matter of luck. I quickly got the location of Beasley's grave and found out the source of the confusion about Dr. Slavich's location. His father, John F. Slavich, Sr., had been interred there in 1922, but his remains were moved to Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Hayward in 1923. That's also where Dr. John F. Slavich, Jr. is buried, so the seeming inconsistencies were resolved.

Location in hand, I headed to the area where Delilah's grave is. I enjoyed wandering around looking at the various graves, seeing familiar symbols and features, and then quickly found the marker for Delilah. It's a simple but attractive marker, though it would be nice if there were some recognition to her work.

I spent some additional time exploring the cemetery, and setting in motion another half dozen historic rabbit trails. Who was this person? What's their story? Why was the symbol selected for their marker? Alas, those rabbit trails will have to wait. But Saint Mary's Cemetery, while smaller than nearby Mountain View, is worth exploring, too.

More pictures from Saint Mary's Cemetery: