In February 2024, Jim Morasco was halfway there to fulfill a goal of memorializing his long-lost relatives, Giovanna and Nicholas Morasco, with a stone at Batavia Cemetery.
The third-generation Batavia resident, pastor and author of “Dreaming A Spiritual Journey” traced his family members, who died in the 1930s, to Potter’s Field in the cemetery and vowed to give them something to mark their lives, and their importance to his.
That moment will come at 11 a.m. Saturday at the cemetery on Harvester Avenue, Batavia.
“The Morasco family and the Batavia Cemetery Association would like to invite you to the dedication of the stone for Giovanna and Nicholas Morasco, their ancestors who are buried in the Potter's Field at Batavia Cemetery,” cemetery President Sharon Burkel said.
A portion of the proceeds from the sales of his book was going towards the purchase of the monument for the Paupers' grave, used for those who had no designated grave site due to their social or financial status at the time of death.
His genealogy project morphed into a project involving well-known Batavian Catherine Roth, a staunch supporter of city and cemetery history. She had helped Morasco with research to track the whereabouts of his long-lost family members: his grandmother had died at the age of 40 with heart issues, and Nicholas was just 6 years old when he died of scarlet fever.
“When I called Catherine Roth the second time, she said ‘they’re here’; that was the a-ha moment; that’s how I found them,” Morasco said during a previous interview with The Batavian in 2024 at The Pub Hub just across from the cemetery. “When I was in Italy … I went to a church and touched the baptismal. All those people I never knew contributed to who I am.”
The dedication will also acknowledge the importance of recognizing all those who are buried there, Morasco said. Musician Bart Dentino will sing a song during the program.
Morasco is semi–retired, having worked in the field of human services, and is an ordained minister, dually certified through the American Baptist and United Church of Christ denominations. He currently serves as a part-time pastor at Morganville United Church of Christ.
“We are very grateful that last fall Jim also donated $1,000 from the sale of his book for the restoration and care of the cemetery,” Burkel said.
During that 2024 interview, Burkel had said that “every soul in the cemetery has a story,” promising that “We’ll pick a nice spot in that area for the marker.”
