CAPE TOWN FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY

LYNNE BEAN - OUR VERY OWN 'WILD WEST TOMBSTONE HUNTER'

This email arrived on my computer recently:

Hello Tony,
I have really enjoyed the Gravestone humour on your web page. I thought you might enjoy this photo that I recently took at the Boothill Cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona....old Wild West humour at it's best.
Kindest regards,
Lynne Bean.

This is the picture she sent us:

At first I was very pleased to hear that she had visited our ' gravestone humour' section.

THEN I got to thinking a little more - 'what was Lynne doing in famous Boothill Cemetary - if you read any cowboy books you will understand just how famous Boothill is - and who is Lynne Bean'. Quickly I fired off a question or two and this is the response I got from our only Californian member:


Hello Tony,

The scoop:

I was born in Durban in 1943. My name was Lynne Sutherland before I got married. I was a Natal swimmer...back in the dark ages. I left when I was 21, with a huge yearning to see the world. We lived in Canada...finally settling in the USA. We have lived in Southern California for the past 9 years, but lived in Tucson for 30 years before moving back here. I make frequent visits to Arizona and love to take photos. I especially love the Old West, so go down to Tombstone occasionally. Since I began my Genealogy research, I have been taking photos of gravestones.
I am attaching a photo of my husband and I on the great Wall of China...taken in 2008. We followed the USA Water Polo team over there, to the Olympic Games.
Cheers
Lynne Bean

So here we have a South African, Springbok, Traveller, Photographing Tombstone hunter.

Well done Lynne! Keep them coming - maybe we will soon have a Boothill cemetary section up on the site.