Tombstone Tuesday - Robert and Ethel Turnbach

Robert Turnbach was the third of nine known children of Abraham and Mary Turnbach nee Blanchfield. He is also my first cousin twice removed. I had gotten most of my information on my Turnbach cousins from Bill Turnbach Jr., but as I continue to work through my family tree and add citations and fix errors I  also know that I need to add other sources to the family tree he gave me. I'm sure the information he gave me was correct, but good research is more than just taking what you're given. In doing just that I came across the FindAGrave memorials for Robert and Ethel Turnbach nee McQuilken in Greenwood Cemetery in Allentown. There's also a memorial for Robert in Grandview Cemetery in Allentown....and, yes, it's the same Robert Turnbach (no memorial for Ethel in Grandview, but that doesn't mean she's not buried there).

I didn't find this second memorial immediately. I found it quite accidentally. I was continuing my research on Robert and Ethel on Ancestry and checked out the Pennsylvania Veterans Burial Cards since I knew from Robert's obituary and his tombstone that he served in World War II. That record states that he's buried in Grandview.

So what do I do now? Where is he really buried? Obviously he was supposed to be buried in Grandview, but did that change? Could the memorial have been created accidentally in the wrong cemetery and the pictures placed in there? The cemetery names are similar enough that a mistake could have easily been made, but where? The best thing for me to do is to try to contact Grandview and see if Robert is buried there and if Ethel is with him. Since Ethel doesn't have a memorial in Grandview I'll wait until I get confirmation for where they are before creating one for her.

Either way I'm taking today to remember Robert and Ethel. Separated from each other too soon, but reunited again. Rest in peace.

*A very special thank you to Chuck Schubert for kind permission to post his photos of the Turnbach tombstones on my blog.