Cemeteries are outdoor museums reflecting the personal histories of our community and this one is very special, as this profile of one of the special people who take care of it, shows.
I've known Dr. Bob for many years, working with him on several projects and he is as described, a classic history buff who is extremely well-versed, passionate and effective, a real Sacramento treasure.
'Dr. Bob' breathed life into historic cemetery
By Blair Anthony Robertson - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Monday, October 22, 2007
In his younger days, Bob LaPerriere hated history.
His teachers made it all about memorizing names and dates – and it was oh so boring.
That may have had something to do with why he gravitated toward science and eventually enrolled in medical school.
Not long after he moved to Sacramento in 1972 to begin a successful career as a dermatologist, LaPerriere stumbled onto something that would dramatically change his life: He visited the historic City Cemetery and it was a mess.
"I thought, 'Gosh, these people really went through a lot – the fires and the floods and all the diseases in the 1800s," said LaPerriere, 67, who is known as "Dr. Bob" by those who struggle with his French-Canadian surname. "They shouldn't have to be forgotten and neglected now."
LaPerriere made sure of it.
These days, he's known as the guru of cemeteries and history – indeed, his love of a subject he once dreaded is a major component of his life.
City Cemetery, at Riverside Boulevard and Broadway, overgrown with weeds and plagued by vandalism for decades, is now populated with 200 varieties of roses maintained by legions of devoted volunteers and has become a source of civic pride. It's visited by locals and tourists alike.
"If it wasn't for Dr. Bob, this probably never would have happened," said Connie Bettencourt, whose late husband, John, was known for the theatrical cemetery tours he led for seven years before his death in 2001.
LaPerriere's passion is not only beautifying cemeteries; it's also teaching others that they are more than just places to bury the dead.
City Cemetery "is a museum of history. It's a museum of art. It's a museum of botany and horticulture," LaPerriere said.
