Mr Haulman,
I scattered my family’s cremated remains in the Angeles Forest in Southern California around 1998. There have been times since that I have longed to be near them, to go to a gravesite to be close to them, to meditate on their lives, to try to appease the longing I have to hear them, see them, touch them. This was impossible & I regretted that I had scattered their ashes. Even though they are not buried at Evergreen, I feel as though they are, that their names on the granite gives them a place of peace, respect, & love, & if I choose, a place for me to visit. I think it a beautiful action to include all those who died in Jonestown because it is impossible to think of just my family when I think of Jonestown. There were many many others that I knew & loved. Descendants of Jonestown such as my son & granddaughters will not know the 16 family members who died in Jonestown, the Cobbs, Swinney’s & Touchette’s, but the memorial will present a positive image of them as people, a tangible presence of their family who were pioneers, comrades, people who believed in justice & equality.
My family:
Mother – Carol Joyce Swinnery Touchette
Brother – Albert Ardell Touchette
Sister – Michelle Elaine Touchette
Grandfather – Cleveland Alonso Swinney
Uncle – Timothy Maurice Swinney
Aunt – Wanda Swinnery (I believe she is buried at Evergreen)
Cousin – Darren Swinney (I believe he is buried at Evergreen)
Thank you,
Mickey Touchette