PRAISE has been heaped on a woman who has been helping keep Carlton Cemetery presentable for the last 25 years - and she’s showing no signs of stopping yet.
Wendy Ogley, 60, has been cutting the grass at the cemetery - as well as keeping the area neat and tidy for those who visit - for a quarter of a century.
Her daughter, Stacey Louise Ogley, died in 1993 aged eight and ever since Wendy has been visiting the site at least once a fortnight with a lawnmower to do her bit for the community.
She told the Chronicle: “My daughter died when she was eight and she was raised in a lovely home.
“I wanted her to spend her time at her resting place is a nice area as well.
“It’s my way of spending time with my daughter.
“I do it because I love it.”
When she started she was cutting the majority of the cemetery on her own, but she’s now got her 29-year-old son Stephen on board - as well as her grandkids.
But it’s fair to say it’s no easy task for the family.
“When it poured it down a few weeks ago it was me, my son, my daughter-in-law and grandchildren,” she said.
“We were out working for seven-and-a-half hours - we were completely soaked.
“It takes on average seven to nine hours and we do it at least once a fortnight.
“I don’t earn a penny from it - in fact it costs me money.
“When I first started it cost less than £5 to fill a jerry can and now it’s £10 and we use at least two each time.
“We’ve gone through at least ten lawnmowers in that time.”
Despite people online calling for Barnsley Council to do the work instead, Wendy doesn’t see it that way - and she’s hoping more people will give their time up to help look after other cemeteries across the borough.
“I’m not blaming the council - they’ve got their budgets they need to stick to and have to look after 20 cemeteries,” she added.
“They’re supposed to be places where loved-ones rest so it should be a nice area.
“If people were able to give just a couple of hours up a week as well then it wouldn’t be half as bad as it is elsewhere.
“It’s hard work but it really is worth it.”
John Race, from Staincross, travels up to the cemetery once a month - and he has heaped praise on Wendy and all the work she and her son do.
“I am extremely thankful for what she’s doing,” he said.
“She’s been doing it for many years and I recently had a long talk with her about it.
“She does an extremely good job and the cemetery is always in a really good state.
“It’s wonderful what she does and she deserves this recognition for everything she has done over the years.”
