In 1906, 4-month-old Maytie Raker was the first person to be buried at the Inglewood Park Cemetery.
At the time she was laid to rest without a grave maker, but this month officials memorialized Raker by commissioning a permanent marker at her burial site.
In 1905, the Inglewood Park Cemetery Assn., made up of a group of local businessmen, purchased a 320-acre parcel of land with the goal of creating the largest and finest cemetery in the world, PBS SoCal reported.
A year later, on July 20, 1906, Raker, the daughter of King D. and Jessie Raker, became the first person to be interred, but it’s unclear why her family left the site unmarked for more than a century.
Raker’s sister Hattie was buried next to her the following year, the child died in infancy.
The Times reached out to the Inglewood Park Cemetery for comment but did not receive a response before publication.
On Aug. 13, cemetery officials along with members of the Inglewood city council gathered at Raker sisters’ burial site to commemorate the newly placed markers, the first for the eldest Raker sister.
The markers were engraved with butterflies, with pairs of butterfly-shaped flower arrangements next to the graves along with bouquets containing a mix of white and purple roses, daisies and carnations.
“It shows why it’s so important to have memorialization here at Inglewood Park Cemetery, or at any cemetery,” said Kevin Brown, vice president of operations and construction at the cemetery, in a post on Instagram.
Norma Rivas, the family service lead concierge and genealogy specialist with Inglewood Park, said, “Even though I never had the opportunity to meet the Raker sisters, over the past couple of years, they have become like family to me.”
“My goal is to ensure that their names are never forgotten here at Inglewood Park Cemetery and that their story continues to be remembered for generations to come,” Rivas added.
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