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Grandson in Michigan arranges plan to watch over grandfather’s Niles grave
By GRAIG GRAZIOSI
NILES
After 19 years of visiting her husband’s grave at least once a week, 92-year-old Esther Riegle of Niles finally missed a trip.
The absence wasn’t intentional. It wasn’t rooted in absentmindedness or negligence. Last September, health issues forced her to move from Niles to an assisted-care facility in Columbia, Mo., with her daughter Linda, and meant her weekly trips to visit Dominick had come to an end.
Esther and Dominick met in Naples, Italy, during World War II. She, an Italian native, was working as a translator. Dominick was a soldier. They fell in love, married and moved to Niles after the war.
Though she was leaving the town she called home for the majority of her life, Esther was particularly concerned with Dominick’s grave at Niles Union Cemetery. She was the one who tended the plot, and she couldn’t bear to think that her husband of 50 years’ final resting place might end up overgrown or neglected.
Noting her concern, her grandson living in Michigan, Zach Riegle, and his wife, Katie, devised a plan; for Christmas, he would attempt to find someone who lived near the Niles cemetery to clean up and place a wreath at his grandfather’s grave. He’d have them take a photo that he could give to his grandmother so she would know that even in her absence, Dominick was being looked after.
Zach turned to the online forum hub Reddit to find someone in the area willing to help with the plan. He asked if anyone living in the area would be willing to carry out the task for his grandmother, offering to pay for anyone who helped for their time and gas. He had more than 17 responses within an hour of his post.
Zach’s father, Robert, was skeptical; scammers were plentiful online, and he was concerned an opportunist might try to take advantage of his son’s good intentions. He supported his son’s goals but remained wary of whoever might emerge from the murky anonymity of the internet to offer services.
In Austintown, Kelly Johnson saw Zach’s post and replied.
Johnson, 29, lost her grandparents by the time she was 7. For her, Zach’s appeal provided an opportunity to help someone and feel a sense of closeness to a grandparent, even if not her own.
Due to the unexpected volume of responses, Zach opted for the first person to reach out. He and Johnson began exchanging information, and before long, Kelly was on her way to pick up a wreath to take to Dominick’s grave.
Johnson placed the wreath to the left of Dominick’s glossy, black headstone. The name “Riegle” is engraved in gold on the headstone, with Dominick’s name in the lower right and Esther’s name in the lower left.
Zach recalls receiving the photo of the newly cleared grave and the wreath.
“My dad’s a tough guy, a Vietnam vet, and he was doing the ‘tough guy holds back tears’ thing when he saw the photo,” Riegle said. “He said that seeing the photo reminded him that there were still good people in the world.”
Esther had no qualms about showing her emotion; she teared up at the photos. Even at 92, Esther is still bright and lively in her speech, her Italian accent still flavoring her words.
“I was so surprised; it made me so happy to see it,” she said. “It was so nice of my grandchildren and Kelly to do this. I’m so far away now, but I’m happy I can still see the spot.”
Zach didn’t anticipate the effect the experience would have on him.
Zach, his brother Kyle, and his wife have decided not only to continue maintaining Dominick’s grave through a community effort, but Zach plans to start a forum for people in similar circumstances. With a working name of “Plot-Tonic Friends,” Zach intends to use the forum as a way to connect individuals who are far away from family plots with individuals who can visit and tend to the graves.
Johnson offered to continue visiting Dominick’s grave, and she refused payment for her visit.
“I’d like to think there’s still good people out there,” Johnson said. “I don’t know, I don’t think you should have to pay people to be decent to each other.”