Leon Asner’s passing left him without family in Atlanta to oversee the purchase of a gravestone for his burial plot. Despite this, his funeral in January 2020 drew dozens of attendees, honoring the life of a Holocaust survivor who achieved his long-awaited bar mitzvah at the age of 85.
Now, the community is rallying together to support Asner and other Jewish individuals resting in unmarked graves across Atlanta’s cemeteries. The Hebrew Order of David, a fraternal Jewish organization with branches in Atlanta and nationwide, is spearheading the Atlanta Gravestone Project. Their aim is to mark all Jewish graves in the city, starting with Asner and two other men interred at Greenwood Cemetery in southwest Atlanta: Michael Aptak and William Peca, who passed away in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
Individuals end up in unmarked graves due to reasons like lacking family to organize arrangements or being unable to afford gravestones, a situation also faced by some infants who passed away shortly after birth.
Rabbi Judith Beiner, the community chaplain at Jewish Family & Career Services of Atlanta, expressed her concern about these anonymous graves and highlighted the importance of honoring these souls by providing them with named markers.
The Jewish faith places significant importance on mourning and burial customs, including a tradition of a tombstone “unveiling” toward the conclusion of the mourning period, usually within the first year of death.
This weekend, in collaboration with several local Jewish institutions, the Hebrew Order and others are hosting an unveiling ceremony for Aptak, Asner, and Peca at Greenwood Cemetery near the Workers’ Circle Arch. The service involves unveiling the tombstones, making remarks, and reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish, a prayer commemorating the deceased.
The project hopes to continue these ceremonies, with 36 unmarked Jewish graves identified at Greenwood Cemetery alone, alongside others at Arlington and Crestlawn cemeteries.
Permission from the family or exhaustive attempts to contact them is a prerequisite before placing a marker on a grave, ensuring respect for the deceased and their kin. Inspired by successful initiatives in Houston, the local community leaders, including Rabbi Yossi New and funeral care representatives, collaborated to launch this project.
While progress may be gradual, the group remains committed to their mission and welcomes donations to fund future burial markers. The unveiling service on Sunday is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Greenwood Cemetery on Cascade Circle SW, near the Workers’ Circle Arch.
