OLATHE, Kan. - After nearly four decades, the missing headstone of WWII veteran Ellen Josephine Rossi was returned to its proper resting place.
Gerardo Calderon discovered the headstone one week after moving into his Kansas City home. He posted the image on Facebook hoping the community would help track down the family.
On Wednesday, Ellen’s brother Verne Zugenbuhler and her son Allen Rowe thanked the man who made the discovery and drove the headstone back to Olathe Memorial Cemetery.
“To me, I think it is proper that the tombstone is back here where it belongs,” Zugenbuhler told WDAF.
Rowe had just designed the headstone when it mysteriously disappeared in 1980.
“Usually when there is a funeral, they talk about their resting place... so maybe this is a way for her to finally rest in peace,” said Rowe.
Ellen is not the only veteran in her family. Her brother served in the Korean War and son served in Vietnam.
