Page 12 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, June 20, 2025 Savvy Senior by Jim Miller Gravesite Care When You Can’t Get There Dear Savvy Senior, Can you recommend any services that offer gravesite cleaning and care? I recently visited my parent’s cemetery gravesite over Memorial Day weekend and found that their headstones were overtaken by weeds and moss and need to be cleaned. I live in a different state and can’t get back very often. Who can I call on to help me with this? Long-Distance Linda Dear Linda, Depending on where your parents are buried, there are a hodgepodge of places you can turn to for gravesite grooming, decorating and special care when you can’t get there. Here’s what you should know. Gravesite Care It’s important to know that as a general rule, most cemeteries, like the one your parents are buried in, only provide basic grounds maintenance like mowing the grass and trash pickup. Special gravesite care and headstone cleaning is almost always up to the family. But for families who live a distance from their loved one’s burial place and can’t get back very often, what options are available? A good place to start is to contact the cemetery staff where your parents are buried to see if they offer any special gravesite cleaning services or know of anyone who does. If not, try reaching out to some local funeral homes in the area to see if they can help or refer you. If you don’t have any luck there, another option is to hire a gravesite care provider on your own. These are small or individually run businesses that provide services like plot maintenance including grass trimming and weeding, headstone cleaning and restoration, flower and wreath deliveries and more. And so you know the work was completed or the flowers were delivered, many companies will take pictures of the gravesite and e-mail or text them to you. There are literally hundreds of small businesses that provide gravesite care services in local communities or regions across the country. To find them, do a simple Google or Bing internet search, and type in something like “grave care services” or “cemetery headstone cleaning” plus your city or state. Or use an AI tool like Chat GPT or Gemini to do a search. You can also seek help by contacting the local memorial society or funeral consumer alliance program near your parent’s gravesite – see Funerals.org/find-an-affiliate for contact information. These are volunteer groups that offer a wide range of information on local funeral and cremation providers, cemeteries and more. The cost for most gravesite care services can range anywhere from $50 to over $250 for headstone cleaning and memorial restoration (depending on the job size), $50 to $200 for flower and wreath deliveries, and $30 to $80 for plot grooming. Special discounts for multiple gravesite services and visits may also exist. Floral Services If you’re interested in decorating your parent’s gravesite next Memorial Day with fresh cut flowers or live plants, another option is to call a local florist to see if they can make a delivery directly to their grave site. Many florists will accommodate this request if you provide them the cemetery location and plot number, but you may not get a photo verifying the delivery. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS BUYER1 Ambia, Tabassum Buxbaum, Eleanor B Jain, Yash N Lacy, Emily L Leong, Christopher B Schordine, Kevin Sharir, Valerie L Shrestha, Chandeswori Skinner, Christopher B Small, Janet Sohel, Belal U Whipple, Kelsey Xu, Hui BUYER2 Fay, Kai L Shah, Zeel Mukhamedshina, Nailia E Oleary, Kelsey Rajbahak, Santosh Hodge, Caroline Hossain, Mohammed A Zhang, Zhongli SELLER1 Tierney, Richard Santana, Chrystine K Lloyd Holdings LLC Santos, Julian B Corsi, Adam C Kashgegian, Joyce M Wang, Zhisheng Abisso Ft Ii Spofford, Andrew F Duong, Tuyen White Sr, David N Gentile, Dominic M Lam, Brenda OBITUARY Harry D. Syrigos A longtime resident of Malden. Passed away on Sunday, June 15th, with his loving family by his side. Harry was born and raised in Kalloni, Greece in 1933, the son of Demetrios and Thomaes Syrigos. He immigrated to the United States as a young adult while learning to speak English on his own. He put himself through college at Northeastern University, where he earned his degree in Engineering. He worked at Alpha Industries (which later became Skyworks Solutions) designing antennas for NASA's space program and obtaining several patents. After many years with the company, he retired in 2001. In 1963, Harry married his sweetheart, Dorothy Karris, and the two soon settled down in Malden where they raised their family. The two shared 62 years of marriage together. His greatest pleasure in life was spending time with his family, whom he cherished. Harry loved to garden, and proudly shared his tomatoes with the neighborhood. Other hobbies of his included working on cars, barbequing, and obtaining his black belt in Karate. He also loved the simple pleasure of sitting on his front porch, watching nature, and spending time with his neighbors. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Syrigos, his daughters, Joanne Kelley and her husband Richard of Hanover, and Tammy Irrera and her husband Christopher of Lynnfield, and his five grandchildren, Tammy, Eleni, Martina, Christina, and Dorothy. Harry was preceded in death by his sister, Irene Nickolara and is survived by her son Demetrios. Funeral services will be held from the Weir-MacCuish Golden Rule Funeral Home, 144 Salem Street, Malden on Friday, June 20th at 9:30 AM followed by Mass of Christian Burial in St. George Orthodox Church, Lynn at 11 AM. Interment to follow in Forest Dale Cemetery, Malden. Visitation were held at the funeral home on Thursday. In lieu of flowers, donations in Harry's memory may be made to: the Alzheimer’s Association, 320 Nevada St #201, Newton, MA 02460 or St George Greek Orthodox Church, 54 S Common St, Lynn, MA 01902 Copyrighted material previously published in Banker & Tradesman/The Commercial Record, a weekly trade newspaper. It is reprinted with permission from the publisher, The Warren Group. For a searchable database of real estate transactions and property information visit: www.thewarrengroup.com. SELLER2 Tierney, Christine ADDRESS Santos, Natalie S 140 Malden St 205 Columbia St 142 Granite St 171 Kimball St 32 Maplewood St 43 Pagum St Xu, Xiaohe Abisso, Stephen A 20-30 Daniels St #202 25 Coburn St Hesko, Katherine S 25 Greystone Rd 458-460 Ferry St Scott, Lindsay M 18 Hartshorn Ave 785 Main St #3 557 Salem St #5 CITY Malden Malden Malden Malden Malden Malden Malden Malden Malden Malden Malden Malden Malden DATE 05.30.25 05.30.25 05.30.25 05.30.25 05.30.25 05.29.25 05.30.25 05.27.25 05.30.25 05.30.25 05.29.25 05.27.25 05.30.25 PRICE 1280000 1100000 683500 600000 900000 785000 368000 965000 1175000 920000 685000 271500 550000
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