05/20/2026
Good evening and welcome to our first monument restoration for a patriotic American and the terribly sad story recalling how his life prematurely ended. This evening's honoree's memorial stone has effectively been forgotten and resides in an unusual, fairly isolated area of the cemetery. As you can see in the "Before" image, Mr. Catlett's upright monument had been set in a fairly thin layer of concrete in 1921 and over the past 105 years the ground around it had eroded away, exposing an unusual sight. This challenging project was begun in December of 2024 and for a variety of reasons, I've FINALLY gotten around to completing my mission ‼️‼️
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James Calvin Catlett was born in Louisville, Kentucky nearly 124 years ago on September 2nd, 1902 to his father, Van Ross Catlett (1874 - 1951), a traveling grocery salesman, and mother, Elizabeth Turley White (1877 - 1971). He was the eldest of four verifiable children welcomed into the World by his parents. His younger siblings included Harold Lee, Jane Elizabeth, and Van Ross Jr.
Following the "Great War", (World War I) tonight's subject having just turned 17 enlisted with the Marine Corps on September 24th 1919. He was soon stationed on the island of Santo Domigo / Haiti and eventually achieved the rank of Corporal. Through scanning multiple muster roles we found several that beginning in the Spring of 1920, noted James Calvin as being "Sick". Given the times and what area of the World he was assigned, maybe it shouldn't surprise anyone that tonight's subject had contracted malaria which ultimately took his life on January 17th, 1921. He was eighteen years old...
James Calvin Catlett ... Beloved son, brother, United States Marine Corp Veteran.
Before & After
⭐️In an unexpected twist I located the October 7th, 1897 Shelbyville, Kentucky obituary for James Calvin's paternal grandfather, James Berryman Catlett. His cause of (d)eath? Malarial fever that he had contracted in Montgomery, Alabama 3 weeks earlier where he'd gone to sell a "Car load of horses".
⭐️ In another interesting tid bit, the only Catlett family photographs I found were of James Calvin's paternal GREAT GRANDPARENTS ‼️
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Thank you for stopping by tonight and helping to remember the life of this evening's honoree.
Until we meet again...
Be well
TGC
