A four-person crew maintains the 40 acres at Fairview Cemetery in La Junta. Their work consists of mowing grass, trimming trees and comforting grieving families. In a small town like La Junta, the crew knows many of the people saying goodbye — and the people they’re saying goodbye to.
LA JUNTA, Colo. — Fairview Cemetery was quiet, except for the low hum of Rick Aragon’s truck and the crisp crunch of gravel under its tires. As Aragon slowly maneuvered along the cemetery’s dirt road, he pointed out the roughly 10 acres still available for new burials.
“One thing you can’t stop is a cemetery from growing,” Aragon said.
Aragon is the sexton at Fairview Cemetery in La Junta, Colorado, the town where he was born and raised. Aragon has worked at the cemetery for 22 years.
As Aragon wound his truck through the cemetery, he slowed down to point out several headstones, sharing details about the people buried beneath them. For many of the people buried at Fairview Cemetery, Aragon and his crew are among their most frequent visitors.
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As sexton, Aragon is responsible for maintaining the grounds of the cemetery along with his three-person crew. The work includes trimming trees, watering grass, opening and closing graves for burials and removing trash.
“It's all just a big backyard with a bunch of tombstones on there,” Aragon said. “It's an enjoyable job for somebody who likes to work.”
Aragon’s workday begins around 6 a.m. In the cool morning air, Aragon and his crew typically start by removing weeds around trees, hydrants and headstones.
While the basics of Aragon’s job function like any other landscaping service, the emotional and spiritual significance of the grounds he keeps is not lost on him.
Four years ago, Aragon transitioned from the grounds crew to his current role, when the previous sexton retired after more than 40 years at the cemetery. In his new role, Aragon spends more time working in the cemetery’s office. When grieving families come into the office, Aragon is there to comfort them throughout the burial process.
As a La Junta native, Aragon said he knows a lot of the people buried at Fairview Cemetery. When he talks with people who are burying their loved ones at the cemetery, Aragon can speak from his own experience doing the same.
“I've buried a lot of family [here],” Aragon said. “My parents, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, good friends from high school. With COVID, I buried a lot of friends out here. We deal with it, and I see them every day. I come out here, give them a little bit of extra water for their flowers.”
Aragon said he almost quit working at the cemetery after he buried his father. Though it still hurts, he said it's nice to see his dad every day, albeit in a different way. He visits his grave, says good morning and gets on with the rest of his workday.
Lane Brundage has lived in Las Animas for most of his life. For the last 12 years, he has served his community as sexton of the cemetery. Photo: Peter Vo, Rocky Mountain PBS
Lane Brundage is the sexton at Bent County-Las Animas Cemetery, about 20 miles east of La Junta.
Brundage has lived in Las Animas — a town of about 2,300 people — for almost 50 years, and he’s worked at Bent County-Las Animas Cemetery for 12 of them. Like Aragon, he knows many of the people buried at the cemetery where he works, including his father.
“You find yourself attending some of these services and you wish you wouldn't have to,” Brundage said. “But unfortunately, that's part of it.”
Brundage starts his day at the cemetery around 7 a.m. Like Aragon, Brundage is responsible for burials and ground maintenance on about 40 acres of land.
That afternoon, Brundage was busy removing unnecessary tree branches, entering the home stretch of a three-year effort to trim all the trees in the cemetery.
Brundage said the cemetery sees about a dozen visitors each day. Apart from a handful of passing visitors, Brundage spends much of his workday in the company of just one other groundskeeper.
But the peace and solitude are part of why he likes the job.
“I'm kind of a loner,” Brundage said. “I like to be by myself. It's just peaceful pretty much all day long.”
More than 13,500 people are buried at Fairview Cemetery, which is almost twice the number of people living in La Junta. Photo: Peter Vo, Rocky Mountain PBS
Brundage said there are about 7,000 burials at Bent County-Las Animas Cemetery, more than twice the population of Las Animas. Most of the people buried in the cemetery were from the town or had family ties to the area.
The same is true at Fairview Cemetery in La Junta, where Aragon works. La Junta’s population is about 7,300. There are nearly twice as many people buried at the cemetery.
In caring for their towns’ cemeteries, Aragon and Brundage serve both their past and current residents.
With more than two decades at his hometown’s cemetery under his belt, Aragon feels good about the work he does for the town. Brundage feels the same.
“I'm proud to do it for the community of Las Animas,” Brundage said. “I think it's an important job.”
Carly Rose is the journalism intern at Rocky Mountain PBS.Carlyrose@rmpbs.org.
Peter Vo is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS. Petervo@rmpbs.org.
