John L. Standefer -- Meridian Cem., Meridian TX
N 31° 55.298 W 097° 39.228
14R E 627269 N 3532540
The ornately carved tombstone of John L. Standefer in the Meridian Cemetery, near downtown Meridian TX.
Waymark Code: WMG975
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/31/2013
Views: 2
There are lots of Standefers in Bosque County, but despite this, we can find very little about this John L. Standefer.
There are 38 Standefers buried in cemeteries in Bosque County -- 18 of them in Meridian Cemetery.
John L. Standefer was born on 19 Jan 1882 in Bosque County TX to John W. Standefer and Florence (Parks) Standefer.
He is listed in the 1900 US census in Bosque Co. TX living in JP Pct 1 with his family:
Standefer, John W 47
Florence 43
Guy W 20
John L 18
Wayne B 16
William R 13
Lola P 17
Lelia 10
Fred 6
Julius 3.
John L. Standefer died on 17 Apr 1917 in San Angelo TX. He was returned home and buried in Meridian Cemetery. His sister Lola Standefer Morrow is buried next to him. A few graves to the south (in the same plot) lie their parents. We have not been able to find a marriage record for the waymarked John L. Standefer.
We were able to find a lot more information about John L. Standefer's baby brother Julius and his family. Julius, known as "Jude", served in WWI. After returning home, he started a career in sales. By 1927 he had done well enough to purchase a Chevrolet dealership. Standefer Chevrolet became known throughout Central Texas for honesty and fair-dealing. Judy passed the business down to his son "June" when he retired. June ran the dealership until he died in 1973. For more on this branch of the familty, see here: (
visit link)
Back to the subject of the waymark: John L. Standefer has one of the more interestng WoW markers we have seen. What caught our eye was the cross made from the logs, with such ornate carving. We have never seen a monument like this one.
John L. Standefer's WoW tombstone reads as follows:
John L. Standefer
Jan. 19, 1882
Apr. 17, 1917
How desolate our home,
bereft of thee
STANDEFER