9/11 victim joins forebears in restored cemetery

FALLS VILLAGE — At the meeting of the Board of Selectmen May 10, Selectman Peter Lawson handed First Selectman Pat Mechare a check from the family of Evan Hunter Gillette.

When Gillette was a 40-year-old man, he found the grave of an ancestor, Ebenezer Harris, in Root Cemetery on Canaan Mountain. Now, only nine years later, a stone dedicated to Gillette is in the same graveyard.

Betty Tyburski (who is in charge of maintaining decorations on graves in town) said that in either 1999 or 2000 Gillette was doing research on his ancestors. With the help of the Canaan-Falls Village Historical Society, he found the grave of a relative, Ebenezer Harris, a captain in the Revolutionary War.

The cemetery had been all but abandoned, Tyburski said. “Because it was a private cemetery, nobody took care of it.�

There was no fence, and the odd cow was likely to wander in.

“He was so thrilled� to find the evidence of his ancestor, Tyburski said. “He cleaned it up.�

The town has since taken over maintenance of the cemetery.

But Gillette, who worked for Sandler O’Neill and Partners at the World Trade Center, perished on Sept. 11, 2001.

The newest stone by far in the old cemetery is his, and the checks from the Gillette family are for continued maintenance — and a thank-you to the town.

Evan Hunter Gillette will be honored at this year’s Memorial Day observation with a wreath.

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