The cemetery was established in 1842 and is the final resting place for many prominent Westfield families.
Pine Hill Cemetery Superintendent Dale Dickson, left, discusses future landscape improvements with Suzanne Davis, chair of the cemetery board of directors. WESTFIELD – A fund drive is under way to help Pine Hill Cemetery match an anonymous $10,000 donation to help preserve and restore trees and upgrade the landscape at the Court Street cemetery.
The donation, according to Suzanne E. Davis, president of Pine Hill Board of Directors, was made by a Westfield resident in memory of police Patrolman Jose Torres, who was killed in the line of duty in July and buried at the cemetery.
“The donor did not know Officer Torres personally but was impressed with the funeral services and stories about the officer,” said Davis. Torres was buried at Pine Hill on July 31 following his funeral that was attended by more than 1,000 family members, friends and colleagues.
“The donor has family buried here as well,” Davis added.
The donor will match the cemetery fund-raising efforts up to $10,000, all of which will be used to clear and replace trees damaged by the October 2011 snowstorm. “The fund will also be used to make other landscape improvements at the cemetery,” Davis explained.
Cemetery superintendent Dale M. Dickson said the cemetery “suffered considerable damage from the snow storm and other weather events in the past year.”
Dickson explained that because the cemetery is a private, non-profit facility that sits on 42-acres, financial resources are limited.
The cemetery operates on plot sales, endowments, investments and donations. “There is no monetary support from local, state or federal government,” Davis said.
The cemetery is non-denominational and was established in 1842. Davis and Dickson said some 20,000 people are buried at in the cemetery.
Many prominent Westfield families are buried at the cemetery including Joseph Buell Ely, who served two terms, from 1931 to 1934, as Massachusetts governor, and Frederick H. Gillett, a former Massachusetts assistant attorney general and state representative who served in the U.S. Congress from 1893 to 1925, serving as Speaker of the House from 1919 to 1925.
Tax-deductible donations may be sent to the Pine Hill Cemetery Association in care of Superintendent Dale Dickson at 140 West Silver St., Westfield, MA 01085.