43 years and he still digs his job
As a boy, Neil Whiteman would help his father dig graves. Then he took over full time. For him, Akatarawa Cemetery is a peaceful place, writes Brittany Keogh.
When people find out Neil Whiteman tends to graves for a living, they often remark that he must have seen a fair few ghosts after nearly 43 years on the job.
But the 72-year-old insists he has never encountered any.
For him, Akatarawa Cemetery is a peaceful place. As a boy, he would help his father, Dave Whiteman, dig graves during the weekend. In 1978, when Dave Whiteman retired from his role as the sexton at the Upper Hutt graveyard, Neil Whiteman took up the role.
‘‘I have never had any experience of anything unusual . . . Most cemeteries really are a history of the town,’’ he said.
Rain or shine, Whiteman is out each day mowing and edging graves, preparing the ground for any upcoming funerals – and, most importantly, talking to mourners.
‘‘You have got to give people plenty of time. Don’t rush them . . . You get to deal with them for years and years,’’ he said.
‘‘Some of them I have met have gone into homes, and you miss them, so you ring up and check on them.
‘‘When you have a funeral on, everything comes to a standstill.
‘‘You have got to allow those people that time and that moment.
‘‘If you are backfilling [the grave], you wait until the family is gone.’’
He greets the regular visitors by name and knows each of their stories. When you shake his hand, the skin on his palm feels like sandpaper from years of outdoor work without gloves.
When he has some free time, he will walk down to his family plot, where his parents, two brothers and sister are buried, and spend some time with them.
Whiteman said his dad, who died in 1982, would be proud that he is continuing his legacy.
The cemetery is a special place for his whole family. His father would still visit after Whiteman took over and have a cup of tea with him.
When Whiteman’s children were little, his wife would sometimes bring them up to have a picnic with him at lunchtime.
Despite being exposed to the reality of mortality frequently, Whiteman said he was not concerned about what happened after death.
Whiteman’s dedication to caring for the cemetery earned him the Individual Excellence Award at the New Zealand Cemeteries and Crematoria Awards last month. He was ‘‘pretty chuffed’’ with the recognition. The septuagenarian said he did plan to retire eventually but was not sure exactly when.