In Loving Memory

WHITFIELD

Hal

1937-1984

Jean

1936-2008

The Hal and Jean Whitfield monument in the Lake View Cemetery at Seattle, Washington, has a whimsical look and message. Atop the gray polished granite shaft sits a sculpture of a round, highly-stylized cat with a bird sitting on its back. The two are looking directly at each other. The bird looks as if it might be daring the cat—the cat looks with suspicion at the bird as one natural enemy might to another. There they sit—coexisting.

Written in gold lettering tracing around the statue is an epitaph that is surely shared by many cat lovers, “The More People I Meet, The More I Like My Cat”.  The epitaph is punctuated by a paw print carved into the stone.