Preserving Legacies: Northeast Resident’s Business Keeps Headstones Clean

Bryan Stalder
Contributor

As Veterans Day approaches, one Northeast Kansas City resident is working to ensure that the memories of those who have passed are treated with dignity and care.

Brad Finch, a Historic Northeast resident and trustee of Elmwood Cemetery, runs a small preservation business called Grave Matters. His work focuses on the respectful cleaning and maintenance of headstones, gravestones, and monuments across the Kansas City metro area. Using only National Cemetery Association–approved materials and methods, Finch specializes in low-impact cleaning designed to preserve fragile stonework without causing damage.

“Headstones and monuments are not owned by cemeteries, but by families,” Finch notes on his website. “In many older cemeteries, families are long gone or unable to provide upkeep. That’s where we come in.”

Through Grave Matters, Finch offers services ranging from standard cleaning — which includes weeding and trimming around markers — to more specialized options like flower placement, minor leveling, and resetting of small markers. He serves cemeteries within a 50-mile radius of downtown Kansas City, helping both families and communities honor loved ones.

In August, Finch, with the assistance of local volunteers, helped reset the 1,000-pound granite McCutchen monument at Elmwood Cemetery after it was knocked over by a fallen tree limb. It was the latest example of how his passion for preservation combines with hands-on service. The project, Finch said, reminded him how community members can come together to protect shared history — one stone at a time.

Finch’s dedication is rooted in both professional expertise and personal passion. With a background in historic preservation and memberships in organizations such as the Association for Gravestone Studies and Missouri Preservation, he views each stone as a piece of family legacy and community history. What began as a hobby has evolved into a calling, blending craftsmanship, history, and compassion for those who came before us.

Although much of his time is spent at Elmwood Cemetery, where he serves as a trustee, Finch’s commitment extends beyond Kansas City. “Although my position on the board of Elmwood Cemetery has led me to focus most of my efforts there,” he said, “I recently traveled to a small, rural cemetery outside of Rolla to help a friend reset and clean a couple of his family’s markers.”

For Finch, cemetery work offers something increasingly rare in today’s fast-paced world — a chance to slow down, listen, and connect with the past. He often says that every inscription tells a story, and every repaired stone represents a family’s love that once was, and still is. “You start to recognize names, dates, even carving styles,” he said. “It becomes a quiet conversation between generations, and that’s a privilege to take part in.”

That sense of personal responsibility, Finch said, is what drives him — whether the marker belongs to a friend’s relative or a long-forgotten veteran. As Veterans Day draws near, his work takes on added meaning. Military headstones, he emphasizes, are a vital part of the nation’s story. His business helps ensure those markers remain clean and cared for, honoring the service of the men and women they represent — and preserving their memory for generations yet to visit, remember, and reflect.