39°
The Baltimore Banner
Nonprofit. Local news.
  • Politics and power
    • Local government
    • State government
    • Voter guideOpen in a new window
  • Education
    • K-12 schools
    • Higher education
  • Community issues
    • Criminal justice
    • Housing
    • Real estate
    • Economy
    • Health
    • Climate and environment
    • Religion
  • Arts and culture
    • Food and drink
    • Arts
    • Music
    • Film and TV
    • Astrology
    • Events calendarOpen in a new window
  • Sports
    • Ravens
    • Orioles
    • The Adam Jones Podcast
    • College sports
    • High school sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Community voices
    • Creatives in Residence
  • Places
    • Baltimore City
    • West Baltimore neighborhoods
    • East Baltimore neighborhoods
    • Baltimore County
    • Howard County
    • Anne Arundel County
    • Regional
    • Maryland
  • Collections and Guides
    • Baltimore Curated
    • Better Baltimore
  • NewslettersGamesEvents Calendar(Opens in new window)Gift Guide

NewslettersSupport UsPodcast
Sign Up for AlertsSelect the type of alerts you’d like to receive
Continue
You can unsubscribe from these alerts at anytime.By signing up for alerts, I agree to The Baltimore Banner's Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy and to receive news alerts and other communications from The Baltimore Banner.
Sign up for alertsEnter your phone number
Sign Up
You can unsubscribe from these alerts at anytime.By signing up for alerts, I agree to The Baltimore Banner's Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy and to receive news alerts and other communications from The Baltimore Banner.
Sign up for alertsA confirmation text has been sent.
Ok
Events CalendarInaugurationGames

Subscribe to The Banner

Get 6 months for $1

Community issues

Untold Stories: Illustrated Interview with Green Mount Cemetery’s Manager and Superintendent

By Gloria Mondo

Published on: December 31, 2022 6:00 AM EST

Sign Up for AlertsSelect the type of alerts you’d like to receive
Continue
You can unsubscribe from these alerts at anytime.By signing up for alerts, I agree to The Baltimore Banner's Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy and to receive news alerts and other communications from The Baltimore Banner.
Sign up for alertsEnter your phone number
Sign Up
You can unsubscribe from these alerts at anytime.By signing up for alerts, I agree to The Baltimore Banner's Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy and to receive news alerts and other communications from The Baltimore Banner.
Sign up for alertsA confirmation text has been sent.
Ok
Green Mount Cemetery with Tammi Prysiazny and Shawn Ward
(Gloria Mondo for The Baltimore Banner)
Tammi, manager since 1997. “It’s a sacred place… Our mission is to take care of the deceased and their families. I’m on the [Maryland Cemetery and Cremation Association] board and Green Mount was looking for a new manager. So they asked if I’d be interested. When I came for my interview, I told them I could not work under [these] conditions. So I’ve been fixing this place ever since. Shawn and I are both fixers, we like to fix things.”

“The cemetery opened in 1838. “So we get a lot of people [who] want to know about their ancestors that were buried here. We’re trying to put together a decent database so that we can help them. Now we think [Green Mount is] in great shape. We take a lot of pride in that… This place is our legacy. We have more tourists here than families for burials, which is different from the cemetery I came from. When I left, [they] were doing 600 burials a year. Here we do maybe 15 a year. It’s great because we meet people from all over the world… the stories that they tell you!”

Shawn, superintendent since 2007. “I’m a farmer by trade. I have mechanic experience through the Navy, which [also] plays in here pretty good. It takes you a while to learn all the intricacies of repairing the headstones… you can destroy things, thinking you’re repairing [them, if you] use the wrong hardware products. We’ve straightened up 600 headstones. You don’t see headstones lying down or tilted or whatever… We both like things nice.”

“I like seeing that something’s accomplished at the end of the day. You know, a wall reappointed, a mausoleum cleaned up, a new door on it, painting something... Trying to preserve the history with a lot of these people is important. I [try] to I feel like I’ve learned about somebody that I never would have known nothing about and use that as a, you know, a rewarding experience…”

Gloria Mondo is an illustration student at Maryland Institute College of Art. To see more of her work visit her website or find her on Instagram @gloebugg.

Company

  • About Us
  • Newsroom Policies & Code of Ethics
  • Culture & Careers
  • Our Impact
  • Creatives in Residence
  • Community Engagement
  • Support Us
  • Subscribe

Contact Us

  • Customer Care
  • Contact the Newsroom & Tips
  • Advertise with Us
  • Group & Enterprise Sales

Terms & Services

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Terms of Sale
  • Cookie Policy
  • RSS Terms of Service
  • Submissions & Discussion Policy
  • Ad Choices

www.thebaltimorebanner.com © 2022 The Baltimore Banner. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service and Privacy Policies | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell My Personal Information | Ad Choices


The Baltimore Banner may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


The Baltimore Banner is a trademark registered in the U.S. for The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Learn more about supporting local journalism.

The Baltimore Banner