Conway Village Cemetery Association

Saturday, Sept. 24, 2005, was a beautiful day to dedicate the Raymond Banfill Memorial Garden at the Conway Village Cemetery. Blue sky, bright sun, lovely breeze and warm temperatures made it a perfect day to honor Raymond's many years of devotion and hard work for the cemetery.Family members, close friends and members of the board of directors of the Conway Village Cemetery Association took part in fondly reminiscing about Raymond's work ethics, his yankee humor and his many years as president of the association. Lucille Lucy unveiled the rock that stands at the entrance to Raymond's Garden, after saying a few heartfelt words about her friend and neighbor of many years.Refreshments were enjoyed by all all as they sat on the new benches, strolled on the beautiful fieldstone walk, and admires the many shrubs and flowers that were planted for Raymond.To culminate the dedication, a ceremonial watering can was passed around for all to "water" Raymond's Garden. Sybil Banfill, Raymond's wife of 60 years, was the first to lovingly sprinkle water on her husband's memorial garden.Raymond's Garden will be a labor of love in the years to come, as the board of directors of CVCA maintains, improves and continues to beautify the cemetery. This initial phase of the garden was possible by donation from many of Raymond's friends, but additional help is needed to make Raymond's Garden grow. Those interested may help by sending a tax-deductible contribution to CVCA, P.O. 2581, Conway, NH 03818.