On a chilly Saturday morning during the first weekend in November, a group of 10 people gathered under a white pop-up tent in front of a table with cleaning supplies.
Joseph Winters, the general manager of Rose Hill Memorial Park in Tampa, welcomed them.
"It's an honor to see such a caring group of people come out and honor our veterans and learn how to restore monuments. So whether you're here to learn, serve or simply take part in something meaningful, we welcome you,” Winters told them.
The “Good Cemeterian”
Winters introduced Andrew Lumish, a Land ‘O Lakes resident who has been restoring headstones for more than a decade. He's known as the "Good Cemeterian,” an accolade bestowed upon him by ABC Action News anchor Brendan McLaughlin in 2015.
Today, while wearing a t-shirt that reads "I'd rather be at the cemetery," he's teaching folks the way the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs takes care of granite, marble, and concrete headstones and monuments.
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Winters has taken care to get permission from living relatives to clean the headstones they're restoring, which is required by the state Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services, he said.
"When you go to a national cemetery and you'll see all the headstones, and they're all lined up perfectly, and they're all in great condition, that's because they maintain them the way you're going to learn to maintain them today,” Lumish said.
The proper way to clean stone headstones
While the group is there to focus on veterans, Lumish demonstrated proper restoration techniques and cleaning materials on the small, upright headstone of 4-year-old Jerald Farmer, who died in 1947.
He started by scrubbing the stone with a wet Tampico brush made from natural plant fibers.
"I'm going to get in here. I want to get it nice and wet. You can even pour it on if you want. I do that, too. Get in there. Pour it on. You need more water? You just tell me; I'll get you water."
Then he sprayed D/2 Biological Solution directly on the stone. It's a specialty cleaner, and you have to order it online.
"It's safe for the grass. It's safe for the plants. It won't harm them. Again, eight-year study by the government to make sure that it was safe to use."
Lumish said you may be tempted to use bleach or a multi-purpose cleaner, but over time, the chemicals spread into the pores of the stone and rot them from the inside.
You may not live to see the damage, but future generations will, Lumish said.
You let the D/2 work its magic for a few minutes, and then go into it again with the brush and a towel to remove debris, tree sap, and anything else. You can even use a plastic scraper to dig dirt out of any indented letters.
Then, one more spritz of the D/2. But no rinsing.
"D/2 likes sun, so we leave it just like this. The sun will bake it into the stone, and will continue to work on the biological growth and pull it out."
While the stone looks better after a good scrub, it’ll improve over the course of the next several weeks and even months.
Sometimes the stone even looks orange temporarily as the chemicals in the cleaning solution react with the months the vegetation on the stone it’s eating away at.
“You might be absolutely panicked when you see you have just turned this tombstone to, like, Garfield the cat orange. But it's normal, and it's supposed to happen,” Lumish said.
Here’s Lumish’s breakdown on headstone restoration best practices.
Time to get to work
After the demonstration, Lumish led the group to a section of the cemetery where about 500 veterans are laid to rest. Another 1,000 veterans are buried throughout the park with various family members.
Linda Connor made a beeline for a headstone that looked older and was in rougher shape than many of the others and started scrubbing with a wet brush.
"I see orange lichen,” she said, while leaning over the stone to clean. “Oh, yeah, it is kind of a mess."
She flew in from Boston for this workshop, even though she's been cleaning and restoring headstones for 15 years as a member of the Association for Gravestone Studies. But she's a fan of Lumish's, and follows him on Facebook where he shares the history and stories of the people whose headstones he cleans.
After a thorough brushing and some D/2, the letters became more clear.
"Yeah, there's the letters coming out. Looks like Isaac."
Across the cemetery, Connor's daughter Erin Conley, a St. Petersburg resident, and Erin's boyfriend, Shawn Thompson, worked on their own headstones.
Conley said she and her mother have been going to cemeteries in different states and countries for years to look at, and sometimes clean, headstones.
“I hope that one day somebody looks back on my tombstone and says, ‘you know, I'd like to clean that and make it pretty and nice for them. And hope that they send some good signals from above,’” Erin said.
And as far as her boyfriend goes, today is his first time.
"It was a beautiful day to be outside and kind of pay my respects,” Thompson said.
He kneeled down next to a flat grave marker with a small American flag planted in the dirt beside it. This is the final resting place of William L. Parker, a World War II veteran who died in 1956 at the age of 68.
"I'm pretty satisfied with the results I see after I pour water on it,” he said. “I know it's not as good as it will become. Still looks good after I rinse all this mud off of it.”
Three hours later, Joseph Winters gathers the group together again under the tent.
“Thank you everybody for all the hard work and dedication that you put into cleaning those monuments. I really appreciate it. You know, I've been here for just over six years, and there's not a lot of family that comes out there anymore, so it breaks my heart to see those monuments just continuing to gather all the crud.”
Lumish’s motivation
Every time Andrew Lumish restores a headstone or teaches people like Thompson how to do it, he's also honoring a friend and employee who died by suicide.
“I can't change the past, but in a way, I get to talk about Chris. I get to honor Chris every time I honor another veteran when I'm able to restore that monument and tell their story,” he said.
Lumish said the best part of teaching workshops is the ripple effect it has in the community.
For every headstone he cleans and restores, hundreds more are getting the same treatment because of the army of people he's taught and inspired to do the same.
If the idea of bending over headstones makes your back scream, you can donate to support Lumish’s good work through his 501(c)3 “The Good Cemeterian Historical Preservation Project,” which funds not only restoration, but help and resources for veterans and their loved ones.
Crisis resources from the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention:
Veterans Crisis Line: The Veterans Crisis Line connects Veterans in crisis and their families and friends with qualified, caring Department of Veterans Affairs responders through a confidential toll-free hotline, online chat, or text. Veterans and their loved ones can call 988 and Press 1, chat online, or send a text message to 838255 to receive confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Support for Deaf and hard of hearing individuals is available.
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS): TAPS provides compassionate care and resources to all those grieving the loss of a military loved one through their national peer support network and connection to grief resources, all at no cost to surviving families and loved ones. Their helpline is available 24/7 at 800-959-8277.
DOD's Military OneSource: The U.S. Department of Defense's Military OneSource is a 24/7 resource for information, answers, and support to help military members reach their goals, overcome challenges, and thrive. Military OneSource provides a variety of support such as tax services, spouse employment help, webinars and online training, relocation and deployment tools, and much more.
Coaching Into Care: National telephone service of the VA aims to educate, support, and empower family members and friends who are seeking care or services for a Veteran. Their goal is to help Veterans, their family members, and other loved ones find the appropriate services at their local VA facilities and/or in their community. They also provide coaching to family and friends.
Military and Veterans Caregiver Network: A program of the American Red Cross that offers peer-based support and services to connect those providing care to service members and veterans living with wounds, illnesses, injuries and or/aging.
