Surrounded, seemingly in order of those closest to him in life, a U.S. Army captain was buried Saturday beneath tear-sized raindrops and the softened earth of Mesa City Cemetery.

Mesa Cemetery, a shady oasis of green in north Mesa, would be expanded by more than three acres under a plan to be considered by the City Council Monday.

After spending a short period of time at her daughter Jayme's grave recently at Mesa City Cemetery, Jacquelyn Vaughn returned to her car and realized someone had pilfered her purse.

September 5, 2004

Workers began clearing away more than 50 fallen trees, some taller than 30 feet, from Mesa City Cemetery on Saturday after a storm ripped through the area on Friday.

Cindy Lamb and her family visit Mesa City Cemetery about once every two weeks to place fresh flowers on the graves of more than a dozen relatives. Some are adorned with additional decorations.

A walk through the Mesa Cemetery is a walk through the city’s history.

Mesa’s Cemetery sits on about 50 acres of land near the north western part of the city.

Sylvia Barrett doesn’t want to be buried in Mesa. A Queen Creek resident for 12 years, Barrett said she would like to be buried where she lives and would like to see the town or a private property owner set aside land for final resting places.

They’ve taken down the “no vacancy” sign at Tempe’s Double Butte Cemetery. Tempe residents who have lamented for the past 14 years that they couldn’t buy a place to be buried in their own community now have a chance — while the burial plots last.

Paul Gonzalez has a special kind of landscaping job. He can talk about irrigation tricks. Or the challenges of seeding and coaxing Bermuda grass to grow in triple-digit heat. But if a visitor comes near him at Paradise Memorial Park in Scottsdale, he'll pack up and move discreetly out of earshot.

Not just anyone can claim to be a gifted cook, a captivating storyteller, a true friend, and one of the first black residents of Mesa. But Angie McPherson Booker, who died this summer at 98, did it all. Booker was the last living member of the McPherson family, the first black family to establish its permanent home in Mesa.

Cities maintaining sports facilities for professional teams are locked in something of an arms race - falling behind brings on the threat of a team leaving for better amenities, which means an accompanying loss of revenue and prestige.

The initial intended purpose of this column was to celebrate a historic milestone in the Mesa High School Jackrabbits’ rich football history, which has been all about tradition since their first game in 1920 and continues Friday.

Retired Army 2nd Lt. Terry Modglin's long search for the family of a fallen soldier in his command more than three decades ago in Vietnam is over.

Surrounded by hundreds of veterans, Gov. Janet Napolitano on Monday praised the sacrifice of all Arizonans who have served in the U.S. military as members of a group "who often saved the world from evil."