'A servant's heart': Indy cemetery groundskeeper follows in dad's footsteps

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It’s just as much about taking care of the living as it is the dead for Johnny Thornton Jr.

Whether he’s digging graves, cleaning up trash or mowing the grass at West Ridge Park Cemetery, he thinks often about how important a loved one’s final services can be.

“You can easily get frustrated at something you have to take care of, but this is their once-in-a-lifetime service,” Thornton said. “You have to be there for these families.”

He’s cared for the gravestones and rolling green lawns at the cemetery in the Westwood neighborhood, on the far west side of Indianapolis, for close to two decades.

Thornton followed in his father’s career footsteps and he’s now a location team leader at the grounds. Most days he starts at 8:30 a.m., beautifying the cemetery and preparing for the next day’s services.

"It's a lot of curb appeal,” Thornton said.

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On a sunny April morning, he prepared for an urn placement in the ground section of the cemetery then moved on to spreading dirt, grass seeds and straw on newly occupied plots.

“There are always questions people have about cemeteries from stuff they see on TV or movies,” Thornton said. “It's not really like that."

Mark McCrocklin, a vice president with the cemetery’s company Flanner Buchanan, agreed there are misconceptions about working in the business. He's been fielding questions about the work since starting in 1984 as a one-man operation at the West Ride Park Cemetery.

The questions McCrocklin gets from people about his job are different almost every time, some stemming from old wives' tales, but most of the questions have simple and logical answers.

“Working with families is what we do,” McCrocklin said. “There's no real mystique to it, but you have to have a servant's heart to do this job. You don't want to cause families any more grief."

Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.  

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: At Westwood cemetery, it's about caring for the living and the dead