SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. — This Valentine’s Day, many will celebrate and search for love. But a place rarely thought of when it comes to love has countless professions of love etched into stone.

What You Need To Know

  • Burial in a national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces who have met a minimum active duty service requirement and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable
  • A veteran's spouse, widow or widower, minor dependent children, and under certain conditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities may also be eligible for burial
  • Florida National Cemetery is located in the Withlacoochee State Forest, approximately 50 miles north of Tampa in Sumter County

Take a trip to any cemetery and read the headstones; words about love are endless. 

At the Florida National Cemetery, Joan Robinett walks down one of the columbarium sections with her granddaughter, Savannah. They stop halfway and kneel in front of white roses, which sit in front of Joan's husband's marker.

“The flowers look good, don’t they?” asks Joan.

“Yeah,” said Savannah.

“They opened up a little more than I thought,” said Joan. 

Joan then reaches out and touches the stone with the name V. Jim Robinett Jr. written out. 

“Love you,” she said softly. “We had some good times, we really did.”

She visits Jim’s final resting place at least twice a week. She will be there on Valentine’s Day. 

“He was so handsome, he really was,” she said with a smile. “I didn’t consider myself pretty or anything like that. Plus, I was seven years older than him. So it was a shock, but I loved him.”

She tells her love story to Jim easily, with Savannah chiming in on the fun times. 

“We dated and were married five months later,” said Joan. 

A few hundred feet away, where graves sit in perfect rows, three sisters walk up to their parents’ headstones. 

“Dad went up to her and said, ‘There is no place to sit. Do you mind if I sit here?’ And mom said the bus was half empty,” said Julia Colon. 

Julia, Debbie, Kim and their sister, Kitty, who couldn’t make it out on that day, remember their parents’ love story often. 

“I remember at times him saying, ‘I am the boss around here,’” laughed Kim. “But we knew who the boss was — Mom. She always got her way.”

Their parents, Arnold and Lena Banta, shared almost 60 years together.

“Dad always said Mom got everything she wanted,” said Julia. 

These daughters agree, the ‘everything they wanted’ was a life together in heaven. They believe firmly that is where their parents are right now. 

For Joan, she says she misses Jim a lot. To pass the time, she shared a little advice about love. 

“Talk, talk to each other. Just talk, and if something is upsetting you, just talk about it,” said Joan. 

She knows this Valentine’s Day will not be the same. But she still kisses her hand and touches the stone that separates her from her soulmate. 

She fondly looks at the words she chose for Jim’s stone, “In Our Hearts Forever.” Words she firmly believes and loves. 

“Bye Grandpa, love you,” said Savannah as the pair got back up on their feet. 

“Love you, miss you,” said Joan. 

Then the pair walked away, knowing their next visit will be on Valentine’s Day. 

The Florida National Cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces who have met a minimum active duty service requirement, and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. This includes a veteran’s spouse, widow, minor dependent children and a few other exceptions.

To learn more about the Florida National Cemetery, visit the website here.