While inclement weather was a common obstacle for early Virginia lighthouse keepers, those in attendance for this past Saturday’s services by the Chesapeake chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society no doubt hoped for better weather. Nonetheless, family, friends and society members gathered at different cemeteries across Mathews to recognize the lifetimes of service of six keepers.

First was Frank Raymond Lewis, who is interred at H.C. Smither Cemetery in Hudgins. Born in 1894 in Mathews, Lewis served as a corporal in the U.S. 7th Company, 154th Depot Brigade in France during the First World War before his career as a keeper. Receiving his first appointment to Cedar Point Lighthouse of Maryland, he served at six lighthouses including Stingray Point and York Spit. He served until 1948, when he then retired from the business and lived until 1959.

Also resting in H.C. Smither Cemetery is Nelson Stanley Atherton, nicknamed “Skipper.” He was born in 1903 in Halliefo...