Hundreds of veterans crosses restored thanks to a single volunteer
Sheila Sparks has restored hundreds of crosses in her spare time.
The first time Sheila Sparks fixed veteran's crosses in a cemetery was in Houlton, Maine while visiting her mother's grave. She restored 10 crosses.
When COVID-19 hit New Brunswick, she was forced to stay close to home in Jacksonville, but she was also inspired to do more.
So, this summer, she has restored 629 veterans crosses in 32 cemeteries.
"I noticed that they were looking faded," said Sparks. "And I decided that I wanted to bring them home and spruce them up a little bit."
Sparks says judging by the amount of mould, mildew and moss, many of the small aluminum crosses hadn't been maintained since they were first placed following World War I.
Earlier this summer, her original plan was to repaint and restore just a few of the crosses in the Woodstock Rural Cemetery.
"I had planned to just do the single veterans portion," said Sparks, referring to the section of the cemetery where unmarried soldiers are buried. Married veterans are often buried next to their spouses.
But then she started to feel guilty.
"If I were to come to the cemetery and go to my grandfather's grave and see "oh, gee, there's nothing done with his cross. Wasn't my Grampy good enough? Why did they do those veterans and not mine?' said Sparks. "And in my heart, I couldn't leave them. I couldn't."
"So, I just kept going. And going. And going," said Sparks.
Before she began, Sparks sought permission from one of the cemeteries board of directors, Ken Sercerchi.
"I said who would mind someone paying respect to our nations veterans by painting up the markers on their grave?" said Sercerchi. "What better way to say, 'thank you.'"
Then, Sparks got to work.
At each grave site, she meticulously documents which cross goes with each veteran, using a combination of cellphone pictures and notes.
She then takes them home and cleans them thoroughly with a pressure sprayer.
A coat (or three) of silver spray paint comes next. Sparks then hand paints the poppy on each cross bright red, and the accompanying maple leaves green. The lettering RCL, for Royal Canadian Legion, she paints in black.
After the crosses dry, she takes them back to the graves they mark.
"It's truly a gift from the heart," said Sparks, who has refused any kind of payment for her work other than gratitude from family members of the veterans.
She says its her way of giving back.
"I wasn't born here," said Sparks, who was born in the United States. "I became a Canadian citizen on Canada Day 2014. I don't know these people. I'm not related to these people. This is truly a gift from my heart.
"I wish I could do every one, everywhere," said Sparks. "But I'm done, as of today."
Sparks placed her final cross on Friday, after restoring every one within driving distance from her home.
According to Sercerchi, the crosses stand out so much that people have been asking where they've come from. That's despite them standing over the same graves for decades. He says it's shocking that many people he has spoken to didn't even know there were veterans buried in that cemetery.
Now, they're looking at the crosses and asking 'why are all those crosses all painted?' said Sercerchi.
"Little do they realize underneath that cross lies the remains of one of Canada's heroes."
Sparks says when a friend shared her story on social media it resulted in people thanking her for her work from as far away as the U.K. and Australia. She says people have asked her to make crosses for them, or to fix up their own, but she's had to decline. She points them to a legion that does make them in Clementsport, Nova Scotia instead.
"It's very humbling," said Sparks. "And I'm very proud of what I've done."
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