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With over 100 cemeteries in Blount County alone, Eternal Caregivers has a broad base to work from on its new business offering.

President and CEO Tony Cropper and partner Tim Manners, vice-president, have recently started this service that provides memorial care and floral arrangements for grave sites here, in Knox County and also Sevierville. Cropper said the idea came to him as he cared for an elderly friend while living in California.

Her husband had died, and she underwent shoulder surgery, preventing her from driving. Cropper would take her to the cemetery on a regular basis, picking up flowers for the grave each time they went.

"I looked around the cemetery and saw that it needed some care," he said. "Perpetual care was being done but it looked bad with dead flowers lying around."

Cropper ended up moving to Blount County in 2007 and brought the idea for Eternal Caregivers with him. All of the leg work has been done to get this new business up and running. Cropper and Manners are now out spreading the word about the joint venture.

Perpetual care

Cemeteries will provide that perpetual care, meaning they keep the grass mowed, the partners said. Cropper and Manners said they go above and beyond that, weeding around the grave sites, getting rid of dead flowers and grass clippings, and also cleaning the granite grave markers and bronze plaques that can get damaged over time. They have researched and found safe products for cleaning the various surfaces, Manners said.

In addition, the two have florists working with them who will create synthetic flower arrangements that will be placed on the grave sites four times per year. Fresh flowers can also be placed on special occasions like anniversaries and birthdays, Cropper and Manners said.

The service, they said, is good for people who may be elderly and not mobile enough to visit the grave on a regular basis but who want it maintained throughout the year. There are also clients who are simply too busy to do it themselves and want to make sure quality care is given, Manners said.

If a person visits the cemetery four or five times a year and spends $45 or more on flowers each time, that can add up, Cropper said. Eternal Caregivers has a plan for year-round care that costs less than $100.

The business owners work out of an office at Manners' home off Sevierville Road. They said their first customer was a neighbor of Cropper's who is elderly and needed some help with upkeep on her relatives' graves.

Cropper said they took before pictures and then went and cleaned up the site and replaced worn out flowers. Grass had grown up taller than the headstone, he said. The difference this service made was remarkable, he said. That customer came away emotional and grateful.

Cleaning up

In addition to working with individuals, Cropper and Manners said they will also help churches or families get their cemeteries cleaned up by digging up fallen stones and setting them upright again and cleaning them. A couple of cemeteries have already contacted them.

For these two, the business is a way to give its customers more peace of mind that loved ones' grave sites are being cared for properly. Some who live out of state who have relatives buried here have a hard time overseeing the care, Cropper said.

"Whatever their desires are, we will meet them," Cropper said.