In Johnson City, these volunteers care for the final resting place of family, friends

A nicely painted sign off Greenridge Street in Johnson City points the way to the Slovak Lutheran Cemetery. Down a short driveway there’s a beautiful site, with well manicured grass around a variety of headstones. Flags and flowers mark many of the graves.

On a hot and humid day last week, the caretaker sat on a tractor readying to mow around the property.

“The old timers used to say in the 1970s in Slavic, ‘remember when we die we will be playing cards’” Samuel A. Kucharek said. “That’s the way I look at the stones.”

“My bosses have never said anything to me in a negative way. Those headstones are my boss.” he laughed.

Founded by members of Ascension Slovak Lutheran, the earliest burials date to the 1930s. But the cemetery has outlived the church, which closed in 2018.

Kucharek has been helping out there for decades, since his teens.

He remembers having a lot of relatives and friends who he’d see when he was little.

“I went to their funerals when I was younger, pall bearer for all of them,” he added.

Kucharek’s work eventually included digging and filling in graves, sometimes in difficult conditions. He learned from other caretakers, noting that “everybody did their fair share.”

At one time, Kucharek said the youth would be involved too. They would paint fences and do some lawn mowing in exchange for pizza and soda.

A stone mason who was a church member designed a red brick chapel. Others helped build the structure from his plans.

The chapel was a good shelter from the heat the other day. That’s where Kucharek gave a history of the cemetery from its earliest days to the present.

He told of those who continue to bring flowers for the graves. Others take care of the veterans' memorial and provide flags to remember them.

Among the current volunteers is Robert Beblavy. He has grandparents, parents and a brother buried at the cemetery. As time permits, he helps out by trimming grass around the graves. Beblavy notes that those who came in the generations before him sacrificed a lot to finance the church and the cemetery.

“Now it’s my turn carrying on that tradition,” Beblavy said. “What’s a little of my time? What’s a few hours here and there when truly I do have some spare time to put a little of it back?”

And the fourth generation of the Beblavy family now is helping too. Robert’s son John volunteers when he can, helping to mow and trim grass.

“It means a lot to come here and help to give to my dad who has given me so much over these 19 almost 20 years. My uncle is here. He was always nice to me. I loved him,” John Beblavy said.

More: Hillcrest church transformation to be featured in Sacred Sites tour: What to know

“I can help maintain his grave and my grandparents (who I never got a chance to meet) who are also here. Taking care of their graves is important to me,” he said.

Kucharek recalled that two special services were held at the cemetery each year: closing in the winter, with re-opening in spring.

“People would bring their flowers. Everybody looked forward to that, spring is coming, the Lord is risen,” he said. “If you had a flower for Easter, people put it on the graves.”

Kucharek considers it an honor to be taking care of the cemetery. Some have asked him about his continued work there.

“Why are you doing it? I want to make sure it’s done right. Some day, somebody else will take over,” he added.

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Slovak Lutheran Cemetery maintained by volunteers after church closure