Posted: 8:00 a.m.Sunday, May 22, 2016

McCrabb: Woodside Cemetery’s‘man with the hat’ will be missed

By Rick McCrabb

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

FredrickTheodore Wehr was born to bury.

Forthe majority of his life — including the past 36 years at Woodside Cemetery& Arboretum in Middletown— Wehr has embraced caring for those enduring what he called “the worst time oftheir life, the most traumatic time of their life.”

The64-year-old is set to retire this summer as general manager of Woodside Cemetery, a position he has held sinceApril 1, 1980 and only the second job in his life. Before that, the 1969 Hamilton GarfieldHigh School graduate worked asassistant superintendent at Greenwood Cemetery in Hamilton,where his father, Theodore, served as manager for 38 years.

Likefather, like son.

“Ihope he’s proud of what we’ve done here,” Wehr said when asked about his latefather’s thoughts.

Nowit’s time for Mr. Woodside to walk away, time to celebrate his dedication tothe dead.

Eventhough death is inevitable, it scares most of us. Not Wehr.

Forhim, it’s a way of life.

“Sureit can be depressing, but my job is to help the families make decisions,” hesaid.

Henever has driven from his home in Milford Twp., and dreaded going to work. Howmany of us can honestly say that?

“Everyday is different,” was his reasoning. “I can’t wait to be here.”

Hesaid making the decision to retire was an easy one. His wife, Mary Ann, is aretired chemical engineer and they have a condo in Florida. He also wants to be a beekeeper,start a wine vineyard and continue woodworking.

“Thereare things to keep me busy,” he said with a smile. “It’s time. It can’t be‘Fred’s way’ all the time.”

Butit will be difficult to think of Woodside without Wehr.

ChuckBarton, president of the cemetery’s board of directors, said Wehr has been the“driving force and architect for making Woodside the special place it istoday.”

UnderWehr’s leadership, Woodside, founded in 1891, has become more than a cemetery,Barton said.

“Ittruly is a beautiful arboretum in addition to being a place that honors ourloved ones and preserves so much history,” he said. “It is one of Middletown’s hidden gemsthat our community can be proud of.”

Whenasked about his crowning achievement, Wehr thought for a few seconds, thenmentioned the Administration Building and CommunityCenter. The 6,000-square-foot facility, five times larger than the previousoffice, was built in 2005 at the cost of $1.3 million.

“Moneyvery well spent,” he said.

Hesaid the extra space in the building has allowed cemetery office employees tobetter serve their customers and has given the community another place to holdmeetings. Several non-profit agencies hold walks/runs around the 135-acreWoodside property, the largest cemetery in Butler County.

It’s“a sacred place,” Wehr concluded.

Wehrwill end his career at Woodside Cemetery on June 30. Hestopped working full-time in January, spent two months in Florida with hiswife, and since then, has worked with his successor, Dan Diver, a fourthgeneration owner of Diver’s, a garden center and the city’s longestfamily-owned business.

Hewants to help Diver through what he called the cemetery’s “Christmas,” which isMemorial Day. Even in retirement, Wehr is concerned about those who visitWoodside.

WhenWehr walks away, they probably should retire his hats and golf cart, hisconstant companions. A doctor once told the fair-skinned Wehr to wear a hat toprotect his face from the sun. He rarely is seen without a hat.

Therehave been times, he said, when cemetery visitors with questions, have beentold: “Go see the guy with the hat.”

FRED WEHR’S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Hereare some of Fred Wehr’s highlights during his 36-year career at Woodside Cemeteryin Middletown:

·                      The creation of a cremation scattering gardens

·                      Five new or redeveloped in-ground burial sections and a Jewishsection specially designed for the requirements of the Jewish religion

·                      Four additions of mausoleum buildings to the Garden Mausoleumcomplex.

·                      Erection of a cremation facility in 1996. The cemetery hasperformed more than 6,100 cremations for Butler Countyfamilies.

·                      For its 100th anniversary, Woodside became an arboretum. Thestaff identified the more than 2,000 trees and shrubs on the property.

·                      In 2005, the Administration Building and CommunityCenter was built for $1.3 million

·                      The former office was converted into a cremation columbarium,where funeral urns may be stored. Families can access the climate-controlledbuilding via a key-fob system.

·                      Erected a Ten Commandments monument that was received from HolyTrinity Catholic Church

·                      Erected a monument and area to commemorate babies who weremiscarried or stillborn. Once a year, Helping Endure A Loss (HEAL) holds amemorial service and the cemetery inters the cremated remains of the babieslost in the previous year.

·                      Three Civil War cannons were refurbished. The cannons were usedon the USSS Ohio warship.

SOURCE: Fred Wehr, former general manager ofWoodside Cemetery