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Grave Care Services - How To Relieve
Yourself of Your Family Grave Maintenance Duties
By Francis G. Murphy
Grave care of a family plot can be a big responsibility
and many people agonise over what to do and how to keep
a grave looking neat and tidy all year round. In general
what tends to happen is that the relative closest either
in emotional terms or location usually ends up with the
task.
During the first couple of years whilst the loss of a
relative is still very raw people will carry out any
necessary grave maintenance and visit the grave on
special dates. As time goes on the visits naturally
become less frequent and over a period of say 2-3 years
they can almost dry up completely. Up until the last ten
years or so the local authorities could be relied upon
to keep graveyards clean and tidy however that is most
certainly no longer the case. Almost no councils provide
free grave tending services or grave maintenance other
than to cut the grass in the main areas of the cemetery.
This leaves relatives in a very tight spot especially if
they are conscientious about their responsibilities. In
many cases widows or widowers are simply unable to carry
out the physical work required when it comes to grave
tending. Most landscaping or gardening companies would
not be interested in looking after what is after all a
specialist requirement. Headstone cleaning for example
can be a tricky task especially if one has no experience
with the various types of stones that are used. There
have been may accidents with headstones that have
toppled over when being cleaned and fatalities have even
occurred especially where children are involved.
Specialist grave care companies have specific cleaning
methods and materials to bring most headstones back to
their best. Some stones that have been uncared for over
many years cannot be bought back to their former glory
however in many cases that's just as well. Can you
imagine a section of a cemetery that has been occupied
for say 100+ years with all the stones having been
weathered naturally over that time. To go along and
completely wipe away all the stains and marks of a
headstone within that section would make it stand out in
a very unnatural way. In such circumstances a good clean
to remove any loose debris and a tidy up of the ground
around the plot is more than enough. Grave tending is
about showing respect for the dead and not an
opportunity for showing off for the living. A family
grave should be kept looking neat, clean, tidy and above
all cared for.
This work can be carried out by a good local grave
services company who will have local knowledge of the
types of stone used in that area and the sorts of
flowers and shrubs that are best to use. How many times
a plot is visited is purely a personal choice. Many
families choose to have their grave care company carry
out grave tending four times a year, once each season.
This is enough to guarantee and good looking plot all
year round. Additional grave case services such as
laying flowers or lighting candles on special
anniversaries are also very popular. |
