The Sexton - The pet cemetery story

A sexton is the office of the person or persons who manage a cemetery. I must honestly say that a sexton sounds a little erotic. Not that I mind erotic but believe it or not, there is a shortage of whips and fluffy handcuffs in the cemetery. There was a lady from Australia who visited my cemetery a couple of weeks ago and she referred to me as a “cemeterian”. I have decided that I will adopt this description when I tell someone what I do.

I am a “cemeterian” and I would like to share some of my stories with you.

In the heart of Fourways, Craigavon, surrounded by a couple of residential estates is a cemetery called Fourways Memorial Park. The property used to be a flower farm many years ago. Honestly, it still looks like a flower farm except for the obvious visuals of granite tombstones planted in straight lines. We have trees here that are older than me. I estimate that the tallest ones will reach a height of a 6-story building. Everywhere you look, you will see a lemon tree. We often have people visiting the park and collecting lemons to take home. For some it might be a strange thought, to consume fruit that grew on a tree that is growing in a cemetery. Others perhaps see it as the circle of life. Whichever way, having people visit the park while walking their dogs, picking fruit, or riding their bicycles, gives the place some life.

As you can imagine, there are thousands of heart-breaking stories here. I haven’t yet heard all of them. As a matter of fact, I have only heard a handful. These stories stay with me though.

THE PET CEMETERY

Completely broken about her pet that passed away and not wanting to cremate due to Jewish religious beliefs, a lady came to the park wanting a special resting place for her beloved friend and companion. I am not sure how her pet died and unfortunately, this was before my time, so I could not ask her.

According to my resources, the cemetery staff prepared a standard 1.3 x 0.7m size grave for the burial. Upon arrival at the grave, everyone stood in complete shock when a coffin, the size of an adult human, was being offloaded.

The manager at the time decided to look inside the coffin just to make sure that there was no foul play. Inside the coffin, he found a dog. “He was as big as a horse,” he said. The staff had to jump in and extend the grave to fit the unexpected colossal pet.

When I first heard the story, I was told that it was a horse but with a little bit of research, the true story was revealed. Or at least, a more detailed version thereof.

Our pet cemetery is completely separated from our other burial sections and very few people are aware of it being an option to bury their pets here. At first, I was a bit sceptical about promoting our pet cemetery. I have seen the movie and that did not end well for anyone.

But after seeing an elderly lady placing her pet’s ashes inside our wall of remembrance, I changed my mind. She had her dog for 15 years. She had no other companion to comfort her and came to us, all alone. She is a widow and the only one in her family that still lives in South Africa. Her dog was her friend and her family.

A pet becomes a part of the family and when they pass away, they should be remembered. Some people prefer to do so by having them buried in a beautiful place like this. She visits her beloved dog every now and then. These days, a lot less. I have been wondering why I haven’t seen her here lately. I do hope that she is alright. You know what, I have convinced myself just now that I need to call her and check up on her.

I will be back with more stories soon.