Tombstone Tuesday - Fernandes Orion Delk (1853-1903)

Fernandes Orion Delk, or F. O., as he was commonly known, was born in Preble County, Ohio, on 19 Sep 1853 and was the son of John Delk and Sarah Ann Kerns.

F.O. married Mary Medora Browning, the daughter of Samuel Browning and Sarah Ann (Bell) Gaddis, on 17 Sep 1895 in Putnam County, Missouri. After their marriage they settled in Jackson Township in Putnam County and had one known living child, a daughter named Sarah Crystal, before F.O. died on 19 July 1903.

He is buried at the Dickson Cemetery in Jackson Township in Putnam County, Missouri.

The stone is simple; its lines are square and elegant. I think I'd like a stone like that for myself. There is foilage engraved along the sides of the stone that has worn over time, but what I find most compelling is the word engraved on the stone in the top left corner -- "Papa."

Sarah Crystal was only six and a half when her daddy died. In my mind I can hear her child's voice in bell tones, calling her father by that simple term of endearment.