GALVESTON — Allen McCloskey never planned on being a grave digger. He got into the profession by simply doing what he always does — being a helpful, friendly neighbor.
It was 1952 when a neighbor asked for his help digging a grave in a small cemetery north of the small town of Young America in Cass County.
“So I helped him,” McCloskey said. “The next time he goes, ‘You can do it,’ and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Over 73 years, McCloskey built a small career as the go-to gravedigger for around 20 towns in north central Indiana, including Burlington, Shiloh and North Union. He also worked at local factories, repaired tractors and did other jobs to provide for his family.
The first four or five years, McCloskey dug each grave by hand with a shovel. When business picked up, he bought a backhoe and other equipment.
Some weeks, he’d dig three or four graves. Other times, he wouldn’t get a job for half a month.
“I always said they don’t make appointments,” McCloskey said.
All that work gained him national media attention when Guinness World Records proclaimed he had the longest gravedigging career on the planet. The former record holder was from Aldenburg, Germany.
His friends and family threw him a surprise party in 2023 to let him know about his new title. Soon after, CBS Sunday Morning News did a profile story on him.
“I had to get a new hat because my head got so big,” McCloskey said with a laugh.
But in November, at the age of 92, McCloskey officially hung up his shovel and retired. He dug his last grave at the Galveston Cemetery and officially extended his record to 73 years and 75 days.
“When I turned 92, I just felt the bottom fall out,” he said. “I lost my energy.”
McCloskey estimates he’s dug 5,500 graves housing the final remains of small-town residents across the region, including former classmates and friends. When his wife unexpectedly passed away in 2017 after 51 years of marriage, McCloskey dug her grave, too.
“I figured she’d want me to do it,” he said.
But his age and retirement haven’t kept him from his favorite pastimes: carving wooden chains and tinkering with the antique tractors all around his property.
It also hasn’t stopped him from quietly being a good neighbor.
McCloskey’s son, Dean, said he still finds his dad mowing down public right-of-ways along the state highway, even though nobody asked him to. He just wants Galveston to look nice, Dean said.
He also discovered Allen had been surreptitiously maintaining an abandoned cemetery just south of town for years. Allen had cleared out a path there, cleaned up all the brush, reset some of the headstones and still keeps it mowed.
“When he does things like that, and nobody is watching, that’s when he thrives,” Dean said. “For Dad, it’s a matter of principle and pride and respect. That’s what he’s based his whole life on.”
That’s why Dean decided to spend years tracking down the necessary documentation and personal accounts required by Guinness World Records to establish Allen’s gravedigging career.
Since his dad refused to accept accolades or credit for his good deeds, Dean said he’d do it for him.
“I wanted to do something to honor him, because he’s done so much for not only our family, but the entire Galveston community, and most people haven’t noticed,” he said.
Related
Indiana is home to thousands of abandoned cemeteries. Who’s responsible?
State law requires township trustees to maintain graveyards, but obstacles exist.
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