Jed Paul Collin (known as Cole) Naisbitt died Saturday, November 20, 2010 while stationed in the U.S. Army at Fort Hood, Texas. Cole passed away in the prime of his life from a gunshot wound by an unknown assailant for an unknown reason. He was a fun loving gregarious person who will be forever missed by his family and friends.
Cole is survived by his mother, Pam Oldroyd, father, Jed Naisbitt, sister, Tiffany Winger and brother, Steele Naisbitt.
Cole’s memorial service will be held Friday, December 3rd at 3 p.m. at Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd.
A special remembrance and celebration of his life will take place at the Ben Lomond Hotel, 2510 Washington Blvd., where family, coworkers, and close friends are invited, on Friday beginning at 5 p.m.
Detectives are asking anyone with information about this shooting to call Crime Stoppers at 526-TIPS (8477), or go online, or text a tip to KILLEEN plus the tip to CRIMES (274637). All information is confidential, and if the tip results in the arrest of the suspect responsible for this crime, you could receive a reward up to $1,000 in cash.
“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”
This is the time of year to be thankful. Tonight, I am thankful for my friend Cole. We grew up together in South Ogden, and odds were, if I was in trouble he was usually sitting right there next to me! He took me to my first Metallica concert up at WSU, we spent the summers sneaking out and swimming in his parents pool, I was sitting next to him for his first "fender bender"... I was also sitting next to him when we got caught drinking beer past curfew in the foothills above the university (yes, we were underage... tsk tsk tsk). Many of my great memories from childhood leading to adulthood involved Cole, and for that I am very thankful. One could not ask for a better friend.
Saturday morning Cole's life was taken by an unknown gunman. He was shot in his car in the early hours of the morning by someone who didn't stop to think they were taking the life of someone's son, brother or friend... He was also the love of someone's life. I am trying so hard to be thankful for the time I was granted with him, but I can't help feeling resentful that I was robbed of so much more by someone who placed no value on a human life.
I would love to be able to share every story and 'Coleism', but my heart aches, and I just don't know that I can do that right now.
If you're lucky enough to have a friend in your life as wonderful as Cole, cherish every moment, and never take that person for granted. Be ever thankful for them and always remember that life is precious.
I have decided this entry is going to be part blog, part history lesson today! Yesterday I posted the pictures from my first trip to Hollywood Forever. This cemetery is rich with history, not just of the golden era of Hollywood to present, but also for the city of Los Angeles as well. The cemetery was founded in 1899, and built on 100+ acres of property with the most enviable views of the Hollywood Hills in the city. Originally called Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, this plot of land became the final resting place for the who's who of Hollywood, socialites, notorious criminals, historical figures, composers and the founders of Hollywood... And for the right price, any regular Joe could be buried in the midst of screen legends and heroes.
Did you know Hollywood was given its name by a honeymooner? Seriously, the "Father of Hollywood" Hobart Johnstone Whitley found his inspiration while honeymooning! (He's buried here, so is Harvey Henderson Wilcox, who founded the city of Hollywood!)
From the period of 1940 to 1998, the cemetery was under the control of a man named Jules Roth, I am sure the name sounds familiar, he was a real winner. He barred Hattie McDaniel's burial there because she was an African American (she was Mamie in Gone With the Wind). She was buried at an alternate cemetery, but in 1999, wrongs were made right and she was given a beautiful cenotaph in the park next to the reflection pond when the cemetery came under new ownership.
There's no nicer way to put this... Jules Roth was pretty crooked, during his reign, the cemetery fell into such disrepair that it was shut down and barred from new plot sales. It was so bad there, in profitable years they were making their money disinterring people whose families wanted them moved to more respectable cemeteries. By the time Roth died in the late 90's, the cemetery was down to 62 acres (Paramount Pictures purchased 40 acres behind the Beth Olam section in 1920 with RKO pictures to build their studios on, Roth sold the land in front of the cemetery to developers who built a strip mall there)...
An earthquake had left the cemetery crippled and severely wrecked, mausoleums were shut down, crypts were "bandaged" with plywood and headstones were left over turned. All the money that should have been trusted for the care of the park was gone... Spent on yachts and expensive homes for Roth. It would be a massive understatement to say that people weren't outraged. Jules died in 1998 while under investigation by a board of attorneys for the state and he is interred in the Cathedral Mausoleum under his parents (and not too far from Valentino!). You can learn more about him here... Profile: Jules Roth
I first learned about this cemetery in 2002 while watching the premiere of 'The Young and the Dead' on HBO, a documentary about the refurbishment and new ownership of the cemetery. In 1998, Tyler Cassity bought the cemetery for $375,000, and by 2002 he had restored the cemetery, given it a new name, the ban on the sale of plots was lifted, and it was added to the National Historic Places Registry. Now instead of an eye sore, the park has become a place of celebration, reflection and remembrance.
In the summertime, thousands of people show up weekly with picnic blankets and lawn chairs to watch old movies projected on the sides of Mausoleums, and in the fall, the cemetery is home to the largest Dia de los Muertos celebration in California. Each year, approximately 10,000 people attend this celebration... This year we were two of those people!
I have yet to get an accurate count of all the notable people buried here, it varies depending on who you ask, 171, 193, 510, 270... and so on, you get the picture!
Charlotte Bridgewood, the mother of the first screen star Florence Lawrence is interred in the Columbarium. Florence was so heart broken when her mother died that she commissioned a one of a kind marble statue of her mother's veiled likeness to adorn her niche, it really is quite beautiful.
Sadly, in 1938, Florence decided to take her own life. When Florence died she was penniless. Bad investments, crashes, and the Great Depression had erased her film and cosmetics fortune. She was buried on the grounds of the park... In an unmarked pauper's grave. In 1991, Roddy McDowell paid for a grave marker for her that reads "The Biograph Girl/The First Movie Star."
On a lighter note... Ryan and me did have a moment to share a laugh over an 'Enriko Palazzo' joke...
For those of you who are scratching your heads and wondering what is wrong with us, let me enlighten you...
As you can see the joke never gets old for Ryan... ;)
For you Ramones Fans...
Dee Dee's final resting place is located here, and there is a pretty awesome cenotaph for Johnny here (His ashes are with his widow and friends).
(Dee Dee's grave pretty much always looks like it was the site of a raging kegger!)
Peter Finch is also interred here...
He was the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award (The only other actor to receive the honor is Heath Ledger).
Interesting fact about Valentino's final resting place... his death was so unexpected there were no plans made for him, and he was "temporarily" interred in the crypt of his good friend June Mathis. Unfortunately she died soon after, and permanent plans had not been made for Valentino yet. In the end, June was interred in her husband's crypt, and Valentino's family purchased her crypt from her husband, and there he still lies today.
There was fresh lipstick on the crypt the day we visited!
The famed "Lady in Black" is still seen roaming the cemetery, she brings roses to Valentino every week. A few weeks after this visit I brought my sister and her family here, we got to see the "Lady in Black", sitting on the steps of a private mausoleum, reapplying her lipstick! I hear the new "Lady in Black" runs a tour though here once a week... Interesting.
(I don't know how well you can see her... But there she is!)
Another fun fact about Valentino's grave, it gets kissed so often the plaque has to be removed two or three times a year for heavy cleaning, and the marble is polished on a weekly basis... Imagine the germ fest these ladies are sticking their lips to... Ewww!
The Valentino shrine is also home to one of the weirdest and most entertaining epitaphs I have ever seen...
Rock On!
The full set of captioned photos from our second trip to the park can be found here... I tried to 'Wiki' as many people as I could in the captions, I hope you find them as interesting as I did!
I could go on for days about this plot of land and the people under it... But for now I think I have posted enough! Who knows, if there's a part 3, I may include more! ;) Until then, enjoy the pictures and the stories of the people in them!
WOW! This was a long one!!!! I think this should totally make up for my months of slacking this summer!
Just a quick update with some photos from my first trip to the famed Hollywood Forever Cemetery at the beginning of October... You can view all the photos with captions here. Enjoy!
Being a Utah girl, the California Fall is something I am still getting used to! So far I have learned that the trees rarely turn that hue of red that makes them look like they're on fire, the air is not crispy and spicy, and I will not be waking up and scraping the frost off my car windows anytime soon! Today, it's 97 degrees, my air conditioner is running and there are flowers still blooming in the pots on my patio! I feel like like I am living in the Twilight Zone! This is so not what I am used to!
It's tough! Let me tell ya! ;) I don't think it will take me long to get used to this, I do not miss shoveling, or driving to work in the freezing cold! But I will miss seeing all the fall colors on the mountains and I will definitely miss playing in the snow!
So one of our favorite things about visiting Olvera Street is the Luchadores masks, so while Rachelle, Boyd and Austin were here we thought it would be fun to take some family photos wearing the masks... Here is the outcome, pretty funny if you ask me!
Ryan and Me!
The Family! Ryan, Keira, Boyd, Rachelle and Austin
Jack was none too pleased to be in on the action!
Boyd taking a picture of me taking a picture of him in his super sweet mask!
Last night we went to The Stand for dollar dogs, beer, and baseball (and of course their sweet potato fries!)...
Being Giants fans, we have been going crazy this season, so it's no surprise we were pretty much over the moon last night when they won! And it was pretty awesome being in such a great place watching the game, everyone there went nuts when the Giants brought home the championship! And go Beard of Zeus!!! What a great closer!
Now that the season is over, do ya think Wilson will be shaving that dead animal off his face any time soon?! ;)
When we got home after celebrating, there was a full on cop stand off/drug bust next door... A little ironic since the place is a drug rehab center lol... We like to think the dude was an angry Ranger's fan!
Yep, that's the suspect hangin' out in back of the second car lol... I love LA... And San Fran too!!! Woot for the Giants! It's about time!!!!
Ok, so I know I said I would be better about posting, and I really did have good intentions, life just got in the way! I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween, I know we did! My sister and her family came out to visit this week to see the sights, it was so nice having them here! We took them to Disneyland, and showed them the sights in Hollywood and Olvera Street, including one of my favorite spots, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where you get great views of Paramount Studios, the Hollywood Sign and the Griffith Park Observatory.
Rachelle and Austin outside the Haunted Mansion
The newlyweds waiting in line for Space Mountain (The Ghost Galaxy edition!)
Me and Austin on Mr Toad's Wild Ride!
This trip was Boyd's first trip to California and Disneyland, it was Austin's first trip to Disneyland as well!
Ryan and Boyd hamming it up!
Yes, Death wears Mickey ears!
The whole time Austin was here he was hoping for a celebrity sighting, and as the days wore on we were worried he wouldn't get one... Until... Miss Taylor Swift herself decided to shut down Hollywood Boulevard for an impromptu concert (for her NBC Thanksgiving Special, you'll be seein' us on there), we couldn't have asked for a better star sighting than that!
Talk about bein' in the right place at the right time!
All in all I think we had a pretty fun time, we were very sad they had to leave :(
Later that night we got into our scariest garb, and traveled down to Hollywood for the annual Dia de los Muertos celebration at Hollywood Forever, talk about a fun time! If you ever find yourself in Los Angeles when this is going on you should go!
Ryan, me, Gus and Cesar Partying at the cemetery!
One of the many alters there...
Every kid's worst nightmare!
Ryan and me outside the Cathedral Mausoleum where Valentino is entombed.
The Golden Girls Altar... Seriously, that's Blanche, Sophia and Dorothy!
I took soooo many pictures while were there, I wish I could post them all, but this post has way too many pictures as it is! I hope you enjoyed, and yes, I will try to post more in the future... I have a lot of catching up to do!
Well Obviously it's been a while! Big news... WE'RE GETTING MARRIED! The big day is October 11th, 2012... Get it? 10-11-12! Well be keeping ya'll posted on how the planning stages are going!
Oh, the blog also has a new home! www.AccordingToKiki.com! I am now the proud owner of my own domain!
-Kiki & Ryan 04/29/2012
As you can see I was awesome about updating the blog since April ;) Yes, we're hitched! We'll be getting the wedding pictures up soon! Until then... Happy New Year! And thank you for sharing such an awesome year with us last year :)
