Caring for a cemetery is a multifaceted job extending past the graves themselves to include looking after maintenance of the trees and pathways. In the early days, the members of the Jewish community were mostly young and the cemetery was not their priority. It had been left relatively unkempt until the early 1900s when the Hebrew Ladies took responsibility for beautifying the grounds. As the Jewish population of Victoria dwindled, care of the cemetery was largely abandoned until the mid-twentieth century. For a more complete history click here.
Starting in 2023 cleaning the graves began on an ad hoc basis. That work is chronicled below. In 2024 the grave of Sarah Oppenheimer was restored. The following year markers which were leaning too far were straightened.
As concrete is toxic for the environment, by 2025 the Cemetery Committee decided not to allow any more concrete ledger stones. When the concrete ledger-stones become unsafe, they will be removed. A pioneering landscaping project was begun in the spring of 2026.
Fixing the Leaning Monuments
On January 30, 2025, Carl Hughes and his team from Meadowlark Memorials straightened the monuments of Philip Lewis, Benjamin Pruss, David Brown and for the Oppenheimer family plot. We thank Meadowlark Memorials for giving these monuments hopefully at least another century of ‘life’.
June 4, 2024
Professor Erin mentored a high school student on a capstone project of cleaning gravestones in the cemetery. The graves of Annabelle and Eli Bean were fully cleaned and the grave of Isaac Alexandor was partially cleaned as was the marker stone for Judge Schultz.
Restoration of Sarah Oppenheimer’s Grave Completed on June 26, 2024
Wilf Bruch of the Old Cemeteries Society restored the grave of Sarah Oppenheimer, wife of businessman, investor, philanthropist, David Oppenheimer. David was the mayor of Vancouver from 1888-1891. Many of the city services were established during his tenure; the fire department, a ferry across Burrard Inlet, the streetcar system and a water connection from the Capilano River.
May 9, 2024
It was a beautiful and slightly chilly early spring day. Dr. Erin McGuire, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Victoria, guided about a dozen students and other volunteers in the best ways of cleaning the gravestones.
The graves that were cleaned were: Isador Braverman, Mark Krasnick, Joseph Vince, Mary Gray, Marker stone for Judge Samuel Davies Schultz, Isaac Gershon Alexandor, Charles Freedman, Harry Comm and Kalman Solomon.
The results:
Charting the Progress on cleaning Gabriel Henry Seelig’s grave
The cleaning of Gabriel Seelig’s grave began on April 20, 2024 and was completed on June 30, 2024. A number of people helped Amber Woods clean this monument including Andy Muchin, Janis Silver, and Daniel Barer.
April 21, 2024
The first cleaning bee of 2024 took place on Sunday April 20. Although the weather had been iffy all morning, the afternoon was a perfect temperature for cleaning.
Dr. Erin McGuire, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Victoria, guided about a dozen students and other volunteers in the best ways of cleaning the gravestones. The graves that were cleaned were:
Busy cleaning!
The results:
November 13, 2023
A smaller, but mighty crew of dedicated students and a couple of elders gathered with Prof. Erin McGuire at the cemetery to clean more headstones.
After having been treated with D-2 on October 24 the stones for Grace Meiss and Rebecca Harris are looking cleaner.
D-2 was applied to the headstone for Jack Levy and Sam Levy without prior cleaning.
The headstones which were cleaned were; Adolph Lancaster, Naomi Adelstein, Louis Adelstein, Istvan Bertalan and Solomon Shaw.
After the cleaning as dusk begins to gather.
October 22, 2023
Under the direction of Professor Erin McGuire, a handful of students from last semester’s class and a few other people came to the cemetery to clean headstones along the main pathway.
The first step is to clean the graves with a little soapy water and a lot of elbow grease. Then the chemical D-2 would be applied. D-2 is a cleaning product designed to remove harmful bacteria and pollutants which stain stonework. As a test to see how well the product works after one application, a face on the top of Joseph Davies grave was treated. D-2 was sprayed on and left to work. Three graves were treated with D-2; Enrica Glickman, Grace Meiss, and Rebecca Harris.
The headstones for Mary Brill, Martha Elkan, Frances Shaw, Joy Montague, Patricia Montague, Charles Rapp and Samuel Ruskin were cleaned with soap and water and will be treated with D-2 at a later date. The following images were taken by Leah Freedman.
Busy at cleaning:
Before and After:
October 8, 2023
A couple who would like to remain anonymous joined Amber Woods after they had done some gardening at the Zachor Wall to complete the cleaning of Isador Braverman’s grave.
October 4, 2023
Shoshana Litman and Laura Rosenberg joined Amber Woods in cleaning the grave of Isador Braverman. Laura and Shoshana worked on the headstone before moving onto the tiled surface. Amber focused on the tiles.
September 14, 2023
Phoebe, Annie and Joseph Levy’s family plot before and after moss cleaning.
August 20, 2023
Laura Rosenberg and Andy Muchin joined Amber Woods at the cemetery to clean the Franck grave of Mollie and Julius Franck. Laura and Andy began by cleaning the headstone while Amber removed bits of moss from the ledger stone. Laura continued to work on the headstone while Andy and Amber used dish detergent and water on the ledger stone. When she was finished, Laura became the water bearer bringing water in a small bucket from the sink to the grave site. Slowly the tiles began to emerge from their cocoon of schmutz which has been building up for decades.
Cleaning the Levy Markers 2
On Sunday, August 13, 2023 Amber was joined by Leah and Peter Freedman. Finishing touches were given to the Levy family plot. Following are before and after photos taken by Leah Freedman.
Cleaning the Levy Grave Markers
In July 2023, Amber Woods began the first cleaning of the headstones in Phoebe Levy’s family plot.
On August 8, 2023, Amber was joined by Laura Rosenberg and Andy Muchin and most of the graves in Eva Levy’s family plot got their first cleaning. The next step is to apply the chemical D-2 which will remove remaining moss and lichen.
Cleaning and Restoration Begins
The question of whether or not to remove moss from gravestones has no easy answers. Moss eats away at the concrete and will destroy it in time. Removing the moss preserves the stone for longer. Leaving the moss to grow, gives the graves their older look and is part of a natural process.
In the summer/fall of 2023, before the Cemetery Committee had made a decision, Amber Woods cleaned the ledger stones on the graves for Rabbi Marcus Berner, Aaron Shnitka, Sarah Shnitka, Leah Black, Minnie Berman and on the family plot of Phoebe, Joseph, and Annie.
By 2024, the Cemetery Committee had come to the decision to leave the moss in place. By that time, the moss had totally repopulated the cleaned ledger-stones restoring the look they had prior to any cleaning.
As concrete is toxic for the environment, by 2025 the Cemetery Committee decided not to allow any more concrete ledger stones. The moss would be left on the graves. When the concrete ledger-stones become unsafe, they will be removed. A pioneering landscaping project was begun in the spring of 2026.
Levy family plot
The Jewish Cemetery of Victoria, British Columbia 