The City of Cookeville is proud to announce the launch of its newly updated GIS application for the Cookeville City Cemetery, a project recently completed by the City’s first international intern, Jennifer Nwafor. This enhanced application modernizes cemetery management and will soon provide residents with a more efficient way to locate and explore grave sites.
Nwafor, who hails from Enugu State, Nigeria, brought a wealth of experience and expertise to her role. Holding a bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from Caritas University and a master’s in Applied Management and Sustainability from the University of Bradford, Nwafor further honed her skills with a Professional Science Masters (PSM) in Environmental Informatics from Tennessee Technological University.
With her impressive academic credentials and 11 years of experience in environmental management, it comes as no surprise that Nwafor made a significant impact as an intern with the City’s Community Development Department.
During her internship, Nwafor undertook the challenging task of capturing over 6,000 photos of grave markers at the Cookeville City Cemetery. Despite the difficulties of working through high temperatures and cicada season, her dedication led to a complete overhaul of the existing GIS application.
The current application was created by Community Development as an economical alternative to third-party software. The application was a massive improvement for the City’s cemetery management, but it was not without limitation. Nwafor’s addition of more advanced features has resolved many of those limitations and added a completely new dimension to the application.
The cemetery manager, Rick Garrison, and groundskeepers, Wade Cooper and Gary Taylor, provided valuable feedback throughout the improvement process. As the primary users of the cemetery management application, Nwafor had to make sure the information and features of the application aligned with the needs of cemetery workers.
Nwafor’s updates now allow cemetery personnel to search for graves by name, date of birth, or date of death, with results highlighted on a GIS map. It also allows users to see all graves with military markers and to see a recent photo of the grave marker, adding valuable context to the information available.
In addition to these improvements, Nwafor and David Bailey, Cookeville GIS Systems Manager, are currently working with cemetery groundskeepers to refine data on vacant plots. When finished, a public-facing application will enable residents to locate individual graves and search for plots currently available for purchase.
Reflecting on her experience, Nwafor found it “incredibly fulfilling.” She shared, “Overall, the support and kindness from everyone made my internship a truly rewarding experience… and it felt great to see how my work would directly benefit the community.”
Nwafor, who admits to having been wary of cemeteries in the past, has gained a newfound appreciation through her internship experience. “I learned that cemeteries can be valuable tools for genealogy,” she said. “I also discovered a lot about Cookeville’s history, including information on the first settlers and other notable figures. It was fascinating to learn about Mahaley Wiley Shaw, the woman who donated the first two acres for the cemetery.”
The City of Cookeville is extremely grateful to Jennifer Nwafor for her exceptional work and dedication. Her efforts have not only modernized the cemetery's GIS application but also provided the community with an invaluable tool for preserving and exploring local history.
For more information about the City of Cookeville or the Cookeville City Cemetery, visit the official city website at cookeville-tn.gov.