Two sisters have turned their grief into a positive action by improving the cemeteries in their local area in memory of their parents. Janet Williams and Emma Little lost their father 13 years ago and their mother earlier this year. While visiting their parents grave at the cemetery, they noticed how neglected the surrounding plots were.
Struck by the thought that families, under many different circumstances, may not be able to attend to the plots, they decided to start a grave tending business in Merthyr Tydfil. In March 2022, they started seeking permission from their local authority and after months of hard work, Evergreen Services - named after their maiden name Green - launched in May 2022.
“We started this because we lost our Mam in January and we were back and forth to the cemetery and thought why can't we do this for other people in memory of our parents,” said Janet.
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Janet said: “We have had really good feedback and the families we’ve helped so far are so happy with the finished result, it’s a great comfort for people and that’s what it’s all about."
As a business, they offer a grave tendering service which includes cleaning, grass cutting, flowers and replacing or cleaning any loose decorative stone. However, they also offer a personal touch for their customers. "If we have a customer who can’t get to the cemetery, we’ll pick them up and they can sit down when we clean. The first customer we offered this to hadn’t been able to get to the cemetery by herself for over a year," she said.
Janet explained that the process of tending to the gravestones is long, as it’s done by hand, but “satisfying” to see the finished look. "It depends on the stone on how long it will take, but first we remove the moss and debris. We use a garden washer and cleaner that won’t damage the stone and it’s all environmentally friendly,” said Janet.
“With white marble stone from the 40s and 50s, and green glass stone, we wash them by hand - the overall finished look is fantastic. After the gravestone has been cleaned, we then replace the flowers.”
Janet and Emma currently fit in their services around their jobs and only operate in Merthyr Tydfil, but they are in discussion with other authorities with plans to expand to other areas. They hope to make it a full-time family business in the future.
For more information on services offered by Janet and Emma, visit their Evergreen Services Facebook page . Evergreen Services is also a member of the Association of Grave Tenders you can find the link here.
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