There probably isn’t anyone who knows more about the Eudora Cemetery than Tom Tucker.

At least three times during the past eight months Tucker walked from tombstone to tombstone, keeping a chart of names and locations as he went. He also made notes on unmarked graves.

“It was interesting and fascinating,” said Tucker, who moved to Eudora about two years ago.

Thanks to Tucker’s work, along with the efforts of two fellow Eudora Lions Club members and contributions from others, the cemetery now has a comprehensive directory listing the names of 1,748 people buried there, along with charts showing how to locate their graves.

The directory is printed on paper and displayed in all-weather, clear plastic cases covered by a cedar frame and overhangs. In front of the two-sided directory are writing platforms, and a few feet away on either side are two 6-foot, red quartzite concrete benches.

Tucker received help in conducting the research and getting the directory framework and platform built by Bob Slapar and Matt Daigh. They handled the project on behalf of the Lions Club, which provided support. Slapar’s wife, Darlene, also helped.

Last weekend the directory was dedicated during a short ceremony. At 10 a.m. today, there will be a Memorial Day ceremony conducted near the directory.

Members of the Eudora Lions Club have created a directory for the Eudora Cemetery, which was dedicated May 21. Members of the directory committee at the site Wednesday are, from left, Tom Tucker, Bob Slapar and Matt Daigh.

“We felt there was a need for this, so we provided it for the community and hope it will get some good use,” Daigh said.

But Daigh and others gave a lot of the credit for the hard work to Tucker and his research. Tucker said he got a history lesson and an insight into the city’s formative years.

For example, the city of Eudora initially purchased 4 acres for the cemetery in 1867. Today it covers 11 acres. The first 12 people buried in the cemetery were all children, ranging in age from 1 month to 3 years old. All died in 1870 from something called “summer complaint.”

“I have no idea what that is,” Tucker said of the illness. But several online medical history sites say summer complaint was dehydration from severe diarrhea, possibly caused by drinking bad milk.

Research also identified 157 military veterans in the cemetery, including four from the Civil War. Three more Civil War veterans also may be buried there, but additional research is needed to make determinations, Tucker said. He received help identifying the veterans from a Boy Scout unit and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War in Lawrence.

Members of the Eudora Lions Club created a directory for the Eudora Cemetery, which was dedicated May 21. Members of the directory committee at the site Wednesday are, from left, Bob Slapar, Matt Daigh and Tom Tucker.

“The challenge was in the old part of the cemetery, where I sometimes had to go back when the sun was in the right position to be able to read the markers,” Tucker said. “Sometimes I had to scrape away moss from the letters.”

The directory information is stored in a computer database, and Tucker will use it to update the directory each year.

This is the second time Tucker has charted a cemetery. A couple of years ago he and his brother used similar methods to chart a smaller cemetery in Ionia, north of Beloit. His parents and other relatives are buried there.

“We dedicated that in memory of our parents, because dad was a sexton there for about 20 years,” Tucker said.

Team effort

Tucker, Daigh and Slapar had assistance on the project from Eudora city officials. The city council contributed $3,000 to help with costs. Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home in Lawrence and Warren-McElwain Mortuary, which has locations both in Lawrence and Eudora, contributed a few hundred dollars to pay for the benches. Lawrence Ready Mix donated the concrete slab. Residents of Lawrence, Eudora and Baldwin pitched in to put the project together.

“We had a lot of help,” Tucker said.

Eudora Mayor Tom Pyle called the directory a welcome addition to the cemetery.

“It’s something every cemetery should have but most don’t, especially small cemeteries,” Pyle said. “It’s going to get a lot of use right now.”