Local resident seeks caretaker for defunct Arden cemetery

Decades after St. Mary Cemetery in Arden fell into disrepair, St. Anastasia Church in Harriman has begun working with the Archdiocese of New York to produce a plan to repair the grounds.

“It is no longer an active cemetery,” said St. Anastasia parish manager Jean Weinberg. “It has been many years since anybody was buried there. The upkeep of the cemetery, as far as St. Anastasia has always been concerned, was never our responsibility. We did not have anything stating that it was. We are now working with the Archdiocese of New York to put a plan together for the future of the cemetery.”

The inspiration behind the effort to refurbish the cemetery is Rena Corey, proprietor of Mrs. Hudson’s Fine Books and Paper and author of the 2015 book “The Red Star Diary of 1916,” which explores the life of Bill Noxon, who is buried at the cemetery.

“This whole thing came about after my dear friend, Jim Nelson, who is the historian for Monroe, and I worked together on a book, which was taken from the diary of a young man named Bill Noxon, who was a teenager during World War I who lived in the area,” Corey said. “His tombstone is in St. Mary Cemetery in Arden and when Jim and I visited his grave we found the state of the cemetery to be absolutely atrocious, with many of the gravestones cracked, broken, or lying on the ground.”

Thus, years of correspondence on the state of the cemetery began between Corey, St. Anastasia, the office of Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Mary Ellen Gerrity, executive director of The Trustees of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. There was confusion as to who was responsible for its upkeep.

Corey’s communications with the various parties continued, to no avail. Last week, Gerrity replied to an inquiry from The Photo News on the matter.

“My understanding is that the new pastor of St. Anastasia is aware of the concerns and will have his cemetery people examine the cemetery next week and get back to the pastor with a plan,” Gerrity wrote in an email.

According to the Archdiocese, the parish cemetery was originally associated with St. Mary Church in Arden, which was built in the late 1850s. When St. Anastasia was established in Harriman, deceased parishioners from the new parish were buried at St. Mary Cemetery until a new cemetery was created at St. Anastasia. The population of the area declined, and St. Mary Church was last used for services in 1942. It was demolished in 1957.

William “Bill” Noxon passed away July 5, 1928. He was born Nov. 11, 1899.