Over the years, there are likely childhood friends or distant relations you fell out of touch with. If you’ve heard of their passing but want to find graves to get some closure, there are resources out there for you. You can even use these to find historical grave sites. Here, Oak Grove Cemetery in La Crosse, WI, explains how to use Find a Grave.

Through this website, you can search for cemeteries, burial records, and individual graves. The site is owned by Ancestry.com, one of the largest for-profit genealogy organizations in the world. Each record in the Find a Grave database includes the birth and death dates of the deceased, their location, obituary, photos, and more. The site even has volunteers who will help you navigate the process.

To find graves of both loved ones and strangers, you'll need at least the deceased's full name, but additional information is also helpful. If you can, find out what their birth and death years were and the state or even county they were buried in. Try reaching out to old contacts through email or social media websites for more information if you have a hard time narrowing the search down.

Through Find a Grave, you can share an obituary through social media, using it to honor someone's memory. Because it is a free site, they have to use advertisements to continue their work, but through sponsorships, these advertisements can be removed by friends or family members. If you become a member, you can even send virtual flowers or include an encouraging comment to loved ones. This membership is completely free and is only needed to track where information is coming from.

Oak Grove Cemetery is just one of thousands listed on Find a Grave, but they have interred over 30,000 people since their initial opening in 1852, making them an important part of La Crosse’s history. Their stunning grounds are open to the public, and many enjoy strolling through the trees and memorials. It is a lovely place to lay loved ones to rest, and there are spaces available. If you’re interested in learning more or want to find graves, contact them at (608) 782-6956, or visit their website.