This weekend, many will visit cemeteries to honor heroes and lost loved ones.

A trail of cemetery visitors will be met by nicely manicured grounds, accommodating all varieties of sneakers, sandals and Sunday shoes.

Though cemetery caretakers have prepared the sites for holiday traffic, their year-round jobs entail more than mowing.

Karen Christy describes her job as part geologist and part psychologist with manual labor mixed in between.As the caretaker of St. Peter's Family Parish Cemetery on North Main Street, Christy's responsibilities range from overseeing grave digging to pouring concrete at the base of monuments — all the while interacting with families, always taking into account their grief."I do a lot of listening up here. People need a shoulder and an ear," said Christy, whose background as a landscaper helped prepare her for the job, which she perceives as a calling."These people that come up here are hurting. I want to make it as peaceful as possible," she said.With serenity in mind, Christy makes a special point of mowing the 8-acre site twice a week, spending four to five hours a day on trimming.Although some cemeteries minimize maintenance by imposing limits on plantings and ornaments, Christy advocates such extras, explaining they comfort those in mourning.In nearby North Side Cemetery, caretakers Merle Ealy and his brother Ronnie also accommodate the extra plantings, taking special care to trim around the azalea and rhododendron bushes for which the site is often noted."They've gotten bigger and we've lost a lot of them, but there's still plenty of beauty in the cemetery," said Merle Ealy, caretaker there for 39 years."You've got to Weed-Eat around the tombstones anyway," he noted.With so many years on the job, Merle's lack of concern over trimming comes in part from gas-powered tools."When I first started I used a push mower and hand clippers. My fingers (were) always sore," he said.

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Ronnie Ealy, a caretaker at North Side for 17 years, said hand work of earlier days is also evident in the spacing between graves, which date back to the 1700s."Years ago, they dug by hand," Ronnie said as his brother speculated nearby on whether surrounding headstones should be removed to accommodate a backhoe needed for an upcoming burial.Spacing also is reflected in the Slippery Rock Cemetery, where caretaker Bill Martin will expand the cemetery's unused acreage in 50-foot sections, unlike some existing parts, which measure 200 feet wide."It's too far to fix all the time," Miller said, describing turf repairs made necessary by backhoes used in wet weather.Since burial permits in the cemetery were not required until 1962, Miller initially had incomplete records of who was buried at the site and where their plots were located.As a result, he spent nearly eight months mapping the cemetery and recording the data on a computer.Miller said without exact information, monuments installed years after a burial can accidentally be placed over adjoining sites, leaving the actual graves unmarked."Every grave you dig, you have to probe — you know what I mean?" Miller said.At the Congregation B'nai Abraham cemetery in Summit Township, caretaker Bernie Levin has also worked on a mapping project, sharing information with Susan Melnick, archivist for the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center.Melnick began collecting data from burials in the region's Jewish cemeteries in 1998. As well as providing data to residents doing historic or genealogical research, she will share the findings with a similar international database."In many (areas), the Jewish community doesn't exist anymore. People leave the small towns. Cemeteries in many cases are the only record we have of who lived in those towns," Melnick said.

Caretaker since the 1970s and longtime synagogue president, Levin is called "patriarch of the Jews, whether they are alive or dead" by his son and business associate, Scott.Despite the lightness of the family banter, Levin takes seriously his membership in the community's chevra kadisha, a holy society charged with preparing bodies for burial."The body is washed and dressed in shrouds," explained Hazzan Adriane Caplowe, B'nai Abraham's spiritual leader.Caplowe said Levin is responsible for assembling a group at the funeral home to conduct the ritual in silence."Men prepare the men and women prepare the women. It is a holy ritual. ... It's the highest commandment or honor that you can do, because it's for someone who can never repay you," she said.Levin said the ritual is often performed on short notice, since early custom was for burial to occur hastily."Years ago you died in the morning, you were buried in the afternoon," he said.Like all cemetery caretakers, Levin is responsible for documenting burials, but Jewish tradition leads him to other unique roles.Since Jews are buried in simple wooden coffins with no screws or other metal parts, caretakers must remove metal handles used for carrying once a coffin in placed in its vault."I (also) make sure the body is put in the grave right: The head always faces east," he noted.Levin said over the years he also has participated in the daily mourning services conducted for a week or longer after a burial, which require a group of 10 to occur.With a shrinking local Jewish community, he never minds attending the services."I know people in here," he said.

As a longtime Slippery Rock resident, Martin also knows many people who are buried in his cemetery."I've been here for 74 years. I know the majority of the people," he said, pointing out a well-loved choir director and superintendent of schools."I can just go down (the rows) and tell you who they are. My best buddies are here," he said.As a result, Martin doesn't mind the many hours he spends mowing as well as behind-the-scenes tasks.Although their jobs are classified as part-time, Martin and Christy spend additional hours adding the extra touches.Although they are full-time workers, the Ealy brothers increase their efforts depending on the time of year.

"We usually work 40 hours a week, but in the month of May we work 10 hours a day to get ready for Memorial Day," Merle Ealy said."It's a time consideration," Martin admitted. "My wife wishes I was home more."In her "spare" time at the cemetery, Christy collects abandoned holiday arrangements from graves, disposing of the damaged components and recycling others into new arrangements.The new arrangements are displayed in her maintenance shed, where cemetery visitors can purchase them for a donation.Recent donations were spent on gravel for a muddy, unpaved lane. Future ones will go toward decorative signs embellished with Scripture.Without a well on site, Martin has constructed a rainwater collection system for mixing cement for monument bases.His more regular jobs include submitting paperwork to the state for vital statistics and ongoing communication with funeral homes.In addition to the mowing and paperwork, Christy pointed out a knowledge of the grounds is necessary to coordinate and troubleshoot before burials.Christy recalls once spending eight hours digging with a special backhoe attachment to get through the stubborn layers of rock for a burial. Knowing how to budget the extra time allowed her to stay on schedule.Christy also keeps a pump on hand for sites where the water table is high. At times, loose soil also causes the sides of an open grave to cave in, requiring caretakers to climb into the hole with a ladder and a shovel.Christy said a working relationship between caretakers at all three cemeteries clustered along North Main Street enables each to get the job done. With a cemetery that borders the St. Peter site, Christy said Dick Sanderson, the caretaker at Calvary Cemetery, often is available for collaborative projects.In the end, all say the work is rewarding — not the somber drudgery that people might suspect."I just love to take care of other people," said Martin, a Korean War veteran who also participates in military funeral ceremonies."It's not boring up here. There's so much to learn," Christy added."All the spirits here are free. They have no burdens. They just surround me with their love and their energy, because that's who we are: we're spiritual beings ... Rain, snow, sun — I'm happy to be here.""It's a nice place to be," agreed Merle Ealy."But no place you want to live at."

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William Martin, caretaker at Slippery Rock Cemetery, takes care placing flags on the graves of veterans. Martin is also the adjutant of the local American Legion Post. “I can just go down (the rows) and tell you who they are. My best buddies are here,” he says.

Bernie Levin, caretaker for the Congregation B’nai Abraham cemetery in Summit Township, is called "patriarch of the Jews, whether they are alive or dead" by his son and business associate, Scott. Caretaker for the cemetery since the 1970s and longtime synagogue president, Levin also has contributed to a mapping project with data from the cemetery, top, to keep track of who is buried where.

Karen Christy, caretaker of St. Peter's Family Parish Cemetery on North Main Street, checks on the progress of a new footer for a grave marker. Besides mowing and trimming, her responsibilities range from overseeing grave digging to pouring concrete at the base of monuments. “It's not boring up here. There's so much to learn,” she said.

Ronnie Ealy, a caretaker at North Side Cemetery in Butler, carefully guides his riding mower among the grave markers. Ealy and his brother, Merle, typically put in 10 hour days leading up to Memorial Day to get the cemetery ready for the influx of visitors.

Karen Christy hangs a flower basket outside the mausoleum at Calvary Cemetery on North Main Street. “These people that come up here are hurting. I want to make it as peaceful as possible,” she said.

Merle Ealy looks up a plot number at North Side Cemetery in Butler. Ealy has been caretaker for 39 years at the cemetery often noted for its azalea and rhododendron bushes. “They've gotten bigger and we've lost a lot of them, but there's still plenty of beauty in the cemetery,” he said.