Cherubs, a symbol of innocence, generally appear on the headstones of children --- although less frequently than other symbols because they're more of a challenge to sculpt. In the case of little Eva Leona Waynick's tombstone in the Chariton Cemetery, the entire stone is sculpture --- a cherub perched atop a rough-hewn rock.
It's also one of the most widely recognized stones in the cemetery, located adjacent to the entrance driveway and often decorated with a spray of flowers tucked into a crook in the cherub's right arm.
Leona, born May 5, 1876, was a daughter of the Rev. McGrada "Grady" Clay and Mary Ann (nee Kimball) Waynick. Her father, a Methodist preacher, was the youngest son of Peter and Susannah Waynick, among Lucas County's earliest pioneers and the founding family of Waynick Cemetery, located southwest of Chariton in Warren Township.
Grady seems to have been awaiting assignment to the Methodist congregation in Dexter, Dallas County, when Leona died at Chariton on Feb. 11, 1880, of scarlet fever. We don't know why Leona was buried here rather than with other family members in the Waynick Cemetery.
The Waynicks continued to serve Methodist congregations in south and southwest Iowa until 1891, when Grady accepted an assignment as a missionary to Utah, where he preached until retirement in 1901. He died in Salt Lake City on Aug. 14, 1917, age 74, and was buried there. Mary Ann died during 1931 in California and her remains were returned to Salt Lake City for burial beside Grady.
Through all of this, Leona's cherub stood sentinel over her grave in Chariton --- as it continues to do today.
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