Something tells me the founder of Glen Haven Memorial Park and Mausoleum up in Winter Park would resent us rabbits referring to the place as a graveyard.You see, Major Carl W. Hopps of the Army Corps of Engineers designed the place back in 1949 to be more than that.
He succeeded.
Glen Haven is perhaps one of the most serene and contemplative spots in this little corner of heaven.
Even the drive up to its front gate at 2300 Temple Drive has a calming effect on visitors.
If you follow the drive all the way to the back of the property, you will find the old office building and the original mausoleum where Major Hopps was laid to rest just a few days shy of his 92nd birthday in 1981. (Many more have been erected over the decades since the place opened.)
In the office, yours truly found an exceptionally friendly staff on hand, more than happy to answer questions and search thru their archives.
According to the records, the only "famous" burial on site--unless you count Major Hopps--is John M. Fox (1912-2003).
Don't recognize the name?
Well, don't feel too bad. Mr. Fox's "fame" wasn't attached to his name, rather to what he did. He was the founder of The Minute Maid Corporation, and the fellow responsible for popularizing the Chiquita Banana!
Most of the other memorials at Glen Haven, though, belong to less illustrious folk, including a few from my own family:
- William Swinney Morgan, Jr. (1900-1960), my great-grandfather.
- Erma Barco Morgan (1904-1995), his second wife.
- Edith Morgan Sims (1924-1999), my great-aunt.
- Richard Barco Morgan, Jr. (1955-1955), my dad's cousin who died in infancy.
- Myrtle Macy Burns (1901-1986), my great-aunt.
- Joseph Eugene Burns, Sr. (1901-1984), her husband.
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