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As spring blooms over the state, Calvary Caretaker Terry Miller begins the mental shift from snow and frost to grass and trees.

With 40 acres of grass and over 500 trees, there’s a tremendous amount of upkeep every year. Pruning, broken limbs and dead tree removal are par for the course.

Over the last 30 years, Calvary has had a major ally in forestry: Joe Koberoski, owner of Joe Koberoski Tree Service.

“Honestly, Joe is the best friend Calvary has ever had,” said Terry. “He is responsible for every tree that has been placed in Calvary for the last 30 years.”

“He has been there when we didn’t know what direction to go,” Terry said.

“I remember a huge storm – I believe it was in 2010. After the storm we didn’t have one passable road at Calvary. I called Joe. He and his son, Jake, were there quickly. We attached the winter plow on the pickup and pushed the trees off the road, just to get in,” Terry recounted.

According to Terry, once the roads were clear, Joe used his lifetime of knowledge in logging and landscaping and “every piece of equipment known to man” to clean up 22 cedar trees and a vast amount of debris.

Terry said there have been countless times during his tenure at Calvary that he’s relied on Joe’s knowledge, elbow grease and equipment when the job at hand was too much for Calvary’s crew and equipment.

“Many people are wondering what all the young trees planted in the open field in the northeast corner are for,” he said. “Well, Joe and I planted them to use as future replacement trees. Eventually they’ll be moved to areas where damaged or dead trees are removed.”

Some of Joe’s many other contributions:

  • Designed, built and installed the fencing in front of Resurrection Garden and Wings of Hope.
  • Boom truck use for repairs and painting on the chapel steeple.
  • Landscaping design for Resurrection Garden.

“In life, you run across people who you get to know, and you wonder if there is anything that person can’t do or fix or build. Well, Joe is one of them,” Terry said.

“I always tell him for all his work – Joe, if you don’t go to Heaven, no one will. He just laughs,” says Terry.