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My dad, Kenneth Versiga, died August 20, 2003 and
was buried in a local cemetery in Pascagoula, MS. My dad was and still is the "Rock" of our family and we visited
with dad often during the mourning process that so many go through when there is a death in one's family. During my
visits with dad, I noticed an unmarked plot next to his. It was obvious that a child was buried in this spot due to the many
trinkets and toys that were used as identifiers on this grave. A year went by and I began to wonder who was buried in this
grave and why it had went unmarked. I assumed that the parents didn't have the money, after having buried their child at the
expense of the funeral, to place a headstone on the little grave site. So me and my wife, Jessica, made the decision to help
by purchasing a headstone for the family. We couldn't help but feel that somehow dad was telling us to do just that. It would
have been the very thing that he would have done if he were alive. I went to the cemetery business office to inquire
about the child’s grave and discovered that the site belong to a little boy born in 1999 and that he passed away in
2000. I also discovered that his mother had intended on buying a headstone and had even written what she wanted the headstone
to say but for some reason was never able to buy one. This broke my heart and without hesitation we bought a headstone with
the inscription that the mother wanted. While talking to the cemetery manager she explained to me that they had a few unmarked
children’s graves at this cemetery and how nice it would be for someone to come along and put a headstone on their graves
like we had done. Well, you can imagine what happen next. I asked how many. After about two and half weeks, the cemetery
manager came up with 37 children’s graves that were unmarked with one of them, a 13 year old boy, having been unmarked
for 48 years. So me and my wife started the Kenneth Versiga and Chester VanDevender Guarding Angels, a non-profit organization,
to put headstones on children’s graves in all cemeteries all over the country. The name was some what simple
to come up with. Kenneth Versiga because he was the reason I was even at this cemetery and Chester VanDevender, who had just
passed away, because as me and my wife were trying to think of a name for this non-profit organization, Chester VanDevender's
memorial flyer fell from the sun visor and into my lap and it fit perfect. My hope is that everyone that sees this story is
touched by it and either participates in some form or goes to a cemetery in your hometown and put a marker on a child’s
resting place.
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