Newspaper Clipping - Newspaper Clipping Scan - It's quiet where he works (St. John's Cemetery) - 3/31/2011Lawrence Linkert, a 72 -year-old resident of Eagan, has donated his time, effort and resources to maintain St. John's Cemetery for nearly
53 years. He was recently recognized during this year's State of the City address in Eagan. (Jeff Barthel • Sun Newspapers)
It's quiet where he works
Linkert a legend at St. John's Cemetery in Eagan
BY JEFF BARTHEL
SUN NEWSPAPERS
He's not paid to do it
and wasn't asked to do it,
but Lawrence Linkert
has cared for and main-
tained St. John's
Cemetery in Eagan for
more than half a century.
"Nobody else wanted
to do it. It was sitting
there and the grass was
growing, it looked terri-
ble ... and I've got rela-
tives in there," said the
72 -year-old Eagan resi-
dent.
His volunteer efforts
were recently recognized
during Eagan Mayor
Mike Maguire's State of
the City address. Every
year, along with the help
of family and friends,
Linkert has his own time
and energy caring for the
near one -and -a -quarter
century old cemetery.
Why?
"I don't know," he said,
pausing for a few
moments. "I was com-
pelled ... I was compelled
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to do it, and it doesn't bother me because
I've been blessed. So it costs me a little
money every year, it isn't that much."
Linkert, who has lived in a house less
than a mile south of the cemetery (at
the intersection of Blackhawk and
Diffley Roads) since 1968 with his wife,
Janet, said several of his family mem-
bers have been buried there - including
his parents and grandparents, as well as
aunts and uncles.
"I've worked on it (since) before they
died," Linkert said. "They had plots
there already."
He has been retired for 13 year now,
but has been doing this long before his
40 years working for West Publishing, a
company based in St. Paul when Linkert
began working there, which later moved
to Eagan. He also worked in energy
management where he said he did sev-
eral fix -up types of jobs, such as heating
and air conditioning, electrical work,
snow removal, hazardous waste
removal and operating a forklift.
"I'm a mechanical guy" Linkert said.
"I can see it in my head when I do stuff."
He said he learned to be that way
from growing up on his grandma's farm
in the Eagan area near Johnny Cake
Ridge Road. He worked there and at his
uncle's farm across the street. Linkert's
handyman, fix -up nature is part of what
makes him good at maintaining the
cemetery, where he does a variety of
tasks to make sure the cemetery is pre-
sentable.
"I want to make it look good for every -
"Taking care of a cemetery is a lot of work. The ground is
often lumpy and uneven, the gravestones do not line up
well, and there are often a number of overgrown shrubs and
bushes to contend with. I am thankful that we have people
like Mr. Linkert."
- Debbie Boe, owner and operator of Debbie's Historical and Genealogical Services
body" Linkert said. "Keeping it clean
and trimmed, trim the trees and bushes,
raise the [head]stones when they sink
down, fill in holes, stuff like that."
"He does an excellent job," Janet
Linkert said of her husband. "He keeps
it nice and trim, and relatives help out
whenever he needs it. I think it's great."
"No one's quite sure who actually
owns the cemetery, but Lawrence does-
n't really worry about that," Maguire
said during his State of the City
address. "Lawrence, thank you. We're
honored by you and your family's spirit
and determination."
The acknowledgement was a special
moment for both Linkert and his family.
He was accompanied to the event by his
wife, and surprised with the presence of
other family members, including his
sister Carolyn, daughter Rebecca and
grandchildren Ashley and Devin.
"It was nice [they] could make it
there," Janet Linkert said. "[The mayor]
had a really, really nice talk about him."
Linkert said he was flattered and
grateful for the presentation.
"I want to say a special thanks to
Mayor Maguire for noticing want I've
done with the cemetery," he said.
Linkert had a large, engraved stone
built for the cemetery in 2002, He and
his cousin, Gail Dahlberg, designed the
stone together. The two worked with
Melgard Monuments in River Falls,
Wis., to construct it. The stone facing
the Blackhawk-Diffley intersection was
made to replace the cemetery's old
wrought iron sign that was rusted and
falling apart, Lawrence said.
Through the years, Linkert has spent
a lot of his own money on the grave-
yard, such as his purchase of a lawn
tractor in 1965. He also said his efforts
have been aided by the nonprofit St.
John's Cemetery Association. The
group, which consists of Lawrence and
Janet, collects donations from people
such as families who have had loved
ones buried at St. John's.
The two officially took charge of St.
John's after Linkert said the cemetery's
records were put in his car one day in
1996 while he was visiting relatives in
Mora. Lawrence has taken great pride
in maintaining the cemetery, but in con-
sidering his age, he said he's recently
been looking for someone to pass the
duties on to.
"In eight more years, I'll be in my
80s," he said. "I've got to get somebody
who wants to take pride in it. I don't
want to just give it to anybody if they're
not going to have their soul and heart in
it. I want to see it kept up."
He and Janet said they believe to have
found the heirs to these responsibilities
within their own family. The two will meet
these potential trustees - two of
Lawrence's cousins and his daughter,
Rebecca - within the next couple of weeks.
Beyond the duties Lawrence con-
ducts to maintain the physical condi-
tion of the graveyard, he also charts out
the plots for incoming bodies to be
buried and assisting with funerals,
where he helps people find spaces to
park their cars.
Professional researcher Debbie Boe
said what Linkert does is laborious and
admirable.
"Mr. Linkert, and others like him, are
unsung heroes," said Boe, owner and
operator of Debbie's Historical and
Genealogical Services in Chaska. "They
quietly provide their services (to the
rest of us), often with little or no com-
pensation or thanks from anyone.
Taking care of a cemetery is a lot of
work. The ground is often lumpy and
uneven, the gravestones do not line up
well, and there are often a number of
overgrown shrubs and bushes to con-
tend with. I am thankful that we have
people like Mr. Linkert."
Not looking for money or credit,
Lawrence said simply, "I want to do the
best I can for the families that are
buried there."