Hire Someone to Visit a Grave

Advertising in a local newspaper, she offers her service: visiting your loved one’s grave. Terry Marotta-Lopriore earns extra money by visiting strangers’ graves to pay respects, take flowers, say prayers, or clean the grave. She then sends a picture to her client as proof of her visit.

Terry has shed light on a growing problem for people who live far away from where a loved one is buried. In generations past, it was more likely that people lived near family cemeteries. Individuals could visit graves and take care of them as frequently (or infrequently) as they wished. However, with people moving far away from home and families scattered around the country, it is more of a challenge to care for a grave.

There are other businesses that offer services to help take care of graves and deliver flowers. And sometimes people who live far away might have family or friends tend to a grave. These are valuable services for people who cannot travel to where a loved one is buried.

But Terry is also visiting graves for people who live nearby but do not visit the cemetery because they are emotionally unable to go or find themselves too busy. In these cases, what does it do for a person’s grief to have someone else take care of the grave? One headline describing her business says, “Cemetery visitor helps people find closure.” But closure to what?  How does sending someone else to a grave help your own grieving?

Visiting graves may help Terry drum up business for her other job—“energy readings.” For $50 per half-hour, she will receive and pass along messages from the dead.

Would you hire someone to visit the grave of a loved one?  Would you enjoy doing this for others?