Military information doesn’t match headstone in cemetery
By Sally Finneran
Mlive.com
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Nick Looman’s backyard landscaping project was coming along quite well recently as he removed a fence to make for more of an open look in his backyard.
Then his shovel hit something hard.
Looman had already come across bricks, rocks and other things that had set him back.
But this was different. As he unearthed dirt surrounding the object, he discovered what appeared to be a gravestone.
“I said, ‘Please don’t have a date on it,’” Looman recalled.
With his girlfriend standing nearby, he flipped the object over to find his fears confirmed: it was indeed a gravestone — and not only that, but a marble one that appeared to belong to a veteran.
Henry Collis: Dec. 21 1872 — Nov. 10 1962
A neighbor came over and suggested someone pray over the backyard.
“I wondered, ‘Why this house?’ Who put it here and why was it here?” Looman said.
Looman did a little Internet sleuthing. Looman found names for family members of Collis and came across the man’s great nephew, 80-year-old Eugene Collis, of Midland.
Recently, Looman contacted the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
Brian Stedman, facilities manager at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, confirmed that Henry Collis is buried at the veteran’s cemetery.
Why another headstone for Collis turned up in Looman’s backyard is a mystery. And so is the fact that Collis’ current gravestone at the veteran’s home differs from records of Collis’ military service.
While records show he served in the Spanish-American War, the veteran’s home stone indicates he also served in WWI, which does not appear to be true. The stone also lists Henry Collis as a member of company “E”, rather than company “F,” Stedman said.
The stone found in Looman’s backyard appears to have correct information — both the company listing and Collis’ military service.
Stedman plans to do some checking around and make contact with the Collis family. He hopes to have the current gravestone replaced with the correct one soon.
“Who knows in 1962 why they did what they did,” Stedman said. “It’s just kind of a neat story to think this thing is found.”
Eugene Collis recalls coming to his great uncle’s burial many years ago. He does not think family saw the gravestone eventually put on the plot.
He was a bit skeptical when Looman called with the discovery. More than 40 years had passed since the elder Collis’ burial.
“At first I was a little suspicious,” Eugune Collis said, “But it sounded like it must be a legitimate story.”
Looman had done enough research on the Collis family that things seemed to match up.
Collis said he would support a gravestone exchange and likely would make the drive to Grand Rapids when it happens.
He recalled his great uncle as a man who enjoyed horses and took care of them overseas during the Spanish-American war. He worked as a salesman later in life.
According to Stedman, Henry Collis died of pneumonia at the VA Hospital in Ann Arbor. He had lived for some time at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
Looman has only been in his Aberdeen Street home for a little more than a year. He’s curious who may have stayed there before him.
He talks of researching this to learn more of how he stumbled across the unique discovery.
