Larry Merry

Jennifer Shaffer Merry and Joe Ferrannini, of Gravestone Matters, work on a gravestone in Pioneer and Military Memorial Park cemetery.

Cemeteries have gotten a lot of attention over the past few days, with Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. But Jennifer Shaffer Merry enjoys being in cemeteries all year round, for the historical aspect.

And, she’s not alone. The Association for Gravestone Studies held its annual conference this summer in Denver, featuring discussions about preservation, the modernization of the 19th century American cemetery landscape and cemetery tours.

Merry is an archivist at the Arizona Historical Society, Pioneer Cemetery Association board member and chair of the Arizona Chapter of the Association for Gravestone Studies. She spoke with The Show about how she got into the field of studying gravesites and more.

Jennifer Shaffer Merry

Jennifer Shaffer Merry.

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