“You were made from dust, and to dust you will
return.”~ Genesis 3:19
Working as a grave digger isn’t a dead-end job, although
technically, every workday is a graveyard shift. For Allen McCloskey (89), it
has been his passion for over seventy years.
His unconventional career began in his late teens when a local
grave digger at one of Galveston’s cemeteries asked him to cover for him so he
could take his wife on vacation. After the man returned, he convinced Allen to
keep on diggin’. For the next 5 years, Allen manually dug nearly 500 graves until
he could afford a used backhoe.
After the casket has been lowered, while tears flow, and
people leave the burial site, McCloskey shovels dirt into the now-occupied
hole. His role puts him inside the circle of the departed’s mourners. It’s a calling
that requires tact, skill, and emotional sensitivity.
He's been carving out plots from the Indiana soil since
1952: 25,000 days on the job and thousands of graves. In 2021, he became the
Guinness world record holder for the longest grave-digging career. Turns out
that the man who lifts Galvestonians up is the same man who puts them down.
“I’ve buried plenty of classmates, friends, and family
members, including my parents. It’s really sad when I have to bury babies.” But
the toughest job of all was preparing a burial site for his beloved wife,
Barbara. When asked how he got through it, he said: “Well, I figured she’d want
me to do it.”
At a surprise party to
celebrate his achievement, the town’s residents also honored him for the plethora
of odd jobs he’s done and the ways he’s made life easier for the people of
Galveston, all without accepting a single payment.
When asked why he
refused to accept payment, McCloskey politely laughed. “Preparing a final
resting place is reward enough!” So, he still digs graves.
Allen has figured out
that there’s more to life and happiness than money. He’s okay with who he is
and doesn’t need to change to be more worthy or loved. A close friend added: “He’s
always placed a higher value on quality relationships, time with loved ones,
and helping others.”
Honorable, hard-working,
and humble. He's found ‘enough!'
The strange thing
about finding enough? Sometimes, you end up with even more. “I never expected
to spend my life in a cemetery," McCloskey noted dryly, “but I’ll retire
someday - on the other end of the shovel.”
God our Father, at this sacred place and in Your
Divine presence, we pray for all who are buried here. Now freed from the bonds
of mortality, count them among the saints in heaven. Continue to enfold them in
Your mercy, love, and peace. Amen
