JIM'S MEMORIAL

Jim Reeves was buried in a special plot about three miles from Carthage, Texas, along Highway 79. In 1965, Mary erected a life-sized statue of Jim in white granite by Italian sculptor  Umberto Zaffardi. A long walkway leads visitors through attractive landscaping. Inlaid terrazzio tile in the sidewalk forms the shape of a guitar, inside of which is a 45 r.p.m. record with the words "Producer: God." When Jim's dog, Cheyenne, passed away a few years after Jim, Mary had the dog buried three paces behind his master. Below is a photo of Beulah Reeves, Jim's mother, at the memorial.

Some of the original trees that had adorned the park-like setting have succumbed to the elements over the years, the stature is somewhat discolored and there are cracks in the walkway. For awhile, when convicted bank fraud felon/carney Ed Gregory owned the Reeves estate, the monument was allowed to become a disgrace. The grass often went unmowed (until a volunteer pitched in), and weeds grew shoulder-high. The lights were broken so that the statue was no longer illuminated at night. The Jim Reeves memorial had been placed in a trust which Mary's nephew, Rev. Bill White, (acting as Mary's conservator at the foolish behest of Nashville Judge Frank Clement), conveyed to Gregory under questionable circumstances. It was just one more thing that harmed Jim's legacy.

Mary's will, which after a 16 year legal battle has finally been upheld, provides for the upkeep of the property. We'll be watching to see if the Reeves estate heirs make any long-overdue repairs or if they just take the money and run. (So far, their track record isn't very good; they did nothing effective to protect Jim's memorabilia from being auctioned off, and they forfeited numerous other opportunities to preserve his legacy. With few exceptions, members of his family are not knowledgeable about the singer and have demonstrated no particular interest in him over the years...sad to say). Mary Reeves had  every right to decide how Jim's monument should look, yet some months ago, when a fan who never met him decided she wanted to have a garish angel figurine with her name on it installed at the burial site, John Rex Reeves — one of the singer's nephews, who blamed Mary for not making him a star, and has made money off his famous uncle's name for years — facilitated its installation within the circle at the burial site. An uproar of protest from Jim's fans around the world resulted in the figurine being removed, but we'll keep watching and report to you if it ever returns in the dead of night.

Here are some photos, taken by Stan Jeffus, which show the monument from various angles that you don't ordinarily see in pics that appear elsewhere online. Click on each photo to enlarge it.