When Brenda O’Dell went to visit her father Mike O’Dell’s gravesite last week in the Holbrook Cemetery, she was struck about how well kept the cemetery looked, especially the older section. “It was just really nice and clean, like someone had taken great care with it,” she noted. She said she spent about an hour at the gravesite when she noticed a man towards the back of that section with a rake, busily gathering pulled weeds and leaves together in a pile and decided to approach him. He introduced himself as Esteban.
O’Dell said after visiting with Esteban for a few moments she learned that he was somewhat of a nomad, traveling wherever time led him and that he was researching for a book he was writing when he came to the historic portion of the city’s cemetery. “He said he was looking at the markers, and just started moving the leaves away from them, then asked one of the city workers if he could borrow a rake and gloves and just got to work.”
O’Dell said Esteban had raked and cleaned the entire area of the historic portion and was even watering the grassy areas at least over the course of days. All of this on his own time, without asking for compensation or even recognition. “He said he just enjoyed working with his hands and saw that it needed to be done.” O’Dell was especially pleased as this section of the cemetery was also near and dear to her father’s heart, and this gentleman seemed very much like someone her father would have enjoyed meeting. “It just felt like he was an angel sent to do some good work, and it was really touching to see what he’d done. It was just really special.”
The Tribune attempted to locate Esteban as he worked at the cemetery and was unable to locate him there, or perhaps he had traveled on to another town to do more good work just because he felt inspired to do so.
