The 'good cemeterian': Incredible story of the Florida man who spends his one day off cleaning veterans' tombstones

  • Andrew Lumish, 46, spends his free time cleaning veterans' tombstones
  • He uses the account The Good Cemeterian to share his work on social media
  • Lumish, an owner of a cleaning service, spends hours in Tampa, FL. cemeteries
  • He has scrubbed away time on more than 300 tombstones over two years time

By Cheyenne Roundtree For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

Instead of spending his one day off resting, a Florida man spends almost every Sunday scrubbing and cleaning veterans' tombstones.

Andrew Lumish, an owner of a cleaning service, takes a bucket, scrubs and cleaning products to spend up to ten hours wiping away the time on tombstones in cemeteries around Tampa, Florida.

Lumish, 46, has made it his life's mission to restore forgotten and decaying headstones of military veterans in order to honor the contributions they have made to their country.

A particularly aged tombstone can take up to four months to fully clean and Lumish takes the time in between to learn about the person, in order to bring their memory and resting place back to life.

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Instead of spending his one day day off resting, a Andrew Lumish, of Tampa, Florida, spends almost every Sunday scrubbing and cleaning veterans' tombstones
He posted these photos of Johnny Fuente, an immigrant of Spain, in April who served in WWII

Andrew Lumish, a resident near Tampa, Florida, spends almost every Sunday scrubbing and cleaning veterans' tombstones. He posted these photos of Johnny Fuente, an immigrant of Spain, who served in WWII, in April 

Lumish, 46, has made it his life's mission to restore forgotten headstones of military veterans in order to honor the contributions they have made to their country

Lumish, 46, has made it his life's mission to restore forgotten headstones of military veterans in order to honor the contributions they have made to their country

Lumish, 46, has spruced up more than 300 gravestones since he began his project more than two years ago
In addition to wiping away the time on stones, he shares information about the person

Lumish has cleaned more than 300 gravestones since beginning his project more than two years ago. He also shares information about the person 

So far, Lumish has spruced up more than 300 gravestones before the end of 2015, reported the Tampa Bay Times. 

He got his start photographing historic graves and noticed several inscriptions noted  the person's military service.

The man told the Tampa Bay Times in late 2015: 'Something bothered me. Their final resting places were total disasters.

'They'd been neglected from the time they'd been buried.'  

Due to the dated marble, granite and stone used for the headstones, Lumish, a self declared history buff, researched the best way to restore the structures before setting off of his journey. 

He shared the story of Kezia and William Greene on April 7
The husband enlisted in the service of the Confederate States Army in the summer of 1861, and was engaged in several historical battles: The First Battle of Bull Run, The Second Battle of Bull Run, The Battle of Seven Pines, The Battle of Gettysburg and The Battle of Appomattox Court House

He shared the story of Kezia and William Greene on April 7. The husband enlisted in the service of the Confederate States Army in the summer of 1861, and was engaged in several historical battles: The First Battle of Bull Run, The Second Battle of Bull Run, The Battle of Seven Pines, The Battle of Gettysburg and The Battle of Appomattox Court House 

Lumish said a particularly aged tombstone can take up to four months to fully clean
He said this monument to Mrs Bertie Blount had two inches of debris on it

Lumish said a particularly aged tombstone can take up to four months to fully clean. He said this monument to Mrs Bertie Blount had two inches of debris on it 

Lumish is the owner of carpet and upholstery cleaning service and began cleaning the memorials after photographing historic graves

Lumish is the owner of carpet and upholstery cleaning service and began cleaning the memorials after photographing historic graves

Upon completing a headstone, Lumish then shares a before and after photo of the tombstone, on his Facebook and Instagram page, both entitled The Good Cemeterian

Upon completing a headstone, Lumish then shares a before and after photo of the tombstone, on his Facebook and Instagram page, both entitled The Good Cemeterian

This is the resting place of child James Edward
Lumish's research dug up an obituary placed in a local paper of the 14-month-old boy

This is the resting place of a child and Lumish's research dug up an obituary placed in a local paper of the 14-month-old boy 

He told CBS News in 2016: 'If [people] can’t read it at all, they can’t celebrate it, they can’t honor that person, they can’t appreciate that person.

'Whereas if you properly restore the monuments, you can begin an entire conversation, and potentially -- in a figurative sense -- bring that person back to life.'

Upon completing a headstone, Lumish then shares a before and after photo of the tombstone, on his Facebook and Instagram page, both entitled The Good Cemeterian.

He doesn't stop at the photos, but shares the snippets of information he learned about the person's life, including eye color, what war they served in, children and even family scandals. 

Speaking to Reader's Digest, Lumish said: 'Some of these guys, who some consider heroes, would leave their wife for another woman, and leave six kids. 

'It’s a war hero who won a medal of honor for serving in the Civil War and was thrown in jail for not paying child support. … It’s like the Real Housewives of 1985.'

Lumish said: 'If [people] can’t read it at all, they can’t celebrate it, they can’t honor that person, they can’t appreciate that person'
He added: 'Whereas if you properly restore the monuments, you can begin an entire conversation, and potentially -- in a figurative sense -- bring that person back to life'

Lumish said: 'If [people] can’t read it at all, they can’t celebrate it, they can’t honor that person, they can’t appreciate that person'

Due to the age of the headstones, Lumish first researched on how to properly clean the material so he wouldn't damage anything in his repairs 

Due to the age of the headstones, Lumish first researched on how to properly clean the material so he wouldn't damage anything in his repairs 

He hopes to encourage others to pick up the practice
He shares the details of the cleaning products he uses online to his followers

He hopes to encourage others to pick up the practice and shares the details of the cleaning products he uses to his followers 

 

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