Plaque honors cemetery worker

Courtesy photo

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Michael Joseph Jansen

For 15 years, Michael Joseph Jansen served as sexton at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery, keeping the grass green and the equipment running.

"This was his cemetery; he really had an ownership attitude," said Curt Rosentreter, the cemetery director, adding that Jansen was particularly adept at fixing equipment and using the backhoe. "He could pick a dime up off the street with it."

Jansen died unexpectedly on Sept. 20. He was 46. As a memorial, the cemetery has dedicated a small space, marked with a plaque and a tree. The marker was donated by Salt Lake Monument, where Jansen’s son Chris works; the pine tree was donated by several of Jansen’s friends and the cemetery.

The space isn’t a grave. Although he spent his career working in cemeteries, Jansen was cremated and his ashes spread at his cabin, his fishing hole and at the top of a mountain. "That was his desire," Rosentreter said.