Man Spends His One Day Off Cleaning Forgotten Veterans’ Tombstones, And Here Are The Results
Though most people take pride in remembering the contributions of war veterans through ceremonies and charity funds, the monuments that mark their very existences today are often neglected. A Florida man has made it his life mission to clean these forgotten tombstones, and he’s uncovering the untold stories of America’s war heroes in the process.
Andrew Lumish, who goes by the handle The Good Cemeterian, runs a full-time carpet and upholstery cleaning service in Tampa, and spends every Sunday – his one day off – tending to the numerous derelict veteran grave sites in the area. He first rinses the stones with water, then sprays them with an environmentally friendly chemical solution called D/2 and scrubs away decades of grime with a soft-bristle brush. By the time he finishes with them, the tombstones look good as new, even though some of them date back to the early 1900’s.
After each restoration, Lumish posts before and after photos of the monuments on his Facebook page, and includes information he researches about the people resting beneath them. Not only does he beautify their graves, he keeps their memories alive, and he does it all out of the goodness of his heart.
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Bless this "Good Cemeterian" for his outstanding work! As a veteran, I can just imagine the souls looking down and smiling at him.
I have deep respect for such people. The least we can do to cheerish memory of those brave men is to keep their resting places clean and taken care of. Also the fact he researches the People so the stop being anonymous and "just another in line" is really heartwarming. Keep up that good work!
I think it is a noble job. Respect for that. But honestly i like the stones better the way they looked. Old. But still nice work. But i really like the old look
You like the old look Anne. Well then you won't be able to read the words on the stones if they got any older then what he started with. If they are vets, he will clean the stone and do research on them. Keep in mind the dirtier the stone is the harder the words are to read.
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Great man. Great deed. What is that brown stuff on the last one--the one that is cracked? Do you think he put that there to 'glue' it together? I wonder if it just wasn't completed-- if he came back and sanded it down? It's very nice of him to do this.
It looks like the glue was there before, you can see the shape of it under the discoloration. I'd imagine an earthquake or some incident broke the stone and it was glued back before it needed cleaning.
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the stones look like new after the removal of the patina...so the dead come back to our memory... my grandfather was a gravedigger, that's perhaps why I love spending time on graveyards :-)
They are not called tombstones. These bodies are not in tombs. Headstone or gravestone is the correct name. Monument is current too.
Sometimes in cemeteries it's hard to imagine what the grave originally looked like; it's fantastic to see the work he is doing.
Lovely gesture, and certainly appreciated- however as an artist I can't help but mourn for those gorgeous patinas..just saying
Fabulous!!!! More people should do this! Nothing to do this weekend? No money to do anything? Do this!!!
awwww....the patina has been ruined!!! That will devalue them a lot! :( :)
Bless this "Good Cemeterian" for his outstanding work! As a veteran, I can just imagine the souls looking down and smiling at him.
I have deep respect for such people. The least we can do to cheerish memory of those brave men is to keep their resting places clean and taken care of. Also the fact he researches the People so the stop being anonymous and "just another in line" is really heartwarming. Keep up that good work!
I think it is a noble job. Respect for that. But honestly i like the stones better the way they looked. Old. But still nice work. But i really like the old look
You like the old look Anne. Well then you won't be able to read the words on the stones if they got any older then what he started with. If they are vets, he will clean the stone and do research on them. Keep in mind the dirtier the stone is the harder the words are to read.
Load More Replies... Great man. Great deed. What is that brown stuff on the last one--the one that is cracked? Do you think he put that there to 'glue' it together? I wonder if it just wasn't completed-- if he came back and sanded it down? It's very nice of him to do this.
It looks like the glue was there before, you can see the shape of it under the discoloration. I'd imagine an earthquake or some incident broke the stone and it was glued back before it needed cleaning.
Load More Replies... the stones look like new after the removal of the patina...so the dead come back to our memory... my grandfather was a gravedigger, that's perhaps why I love spending time on graveyards :-)
They are not called tombstones. These bodies are not in tombs. Headstone or gravestone is the correct name. Monument is current too.
Sometimes in cemeteries it's hard to imagine what the grave originally looked like; it's fantastic to see the work he is doing.
Lovely gesture, and certainly appreciated- however as an artist I can't help but mourn for those gorgeous patinas..just saying
Fabulous!!!! More people should do this! Nothing to do this weekend? No money to do anything? Do this!!!
awwww....the patina has been ruined!!! That will devalue them a lot! :( :)
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