NIAGARA FALLS —  Bernard and Sandra Linnane were walking their poodles past Memorial Park Cemetery in the Town of Lewiston one day and noticed the gates were rusting. It bothered them.

The Lewiston couple, who between them have eight relatives buried in Memorial Park, went inside the office to speak to the man in charge and learned a lot more about cemeteries that day than some people might ever care to know.

Michael Ellman, the general manager, told the couple that the 45-acre cemetery, built in 1928 and cared for by a staff of two dedicated maintenance workers, was struggling.

Most importantly, they were told that nonprofit cemeteries have a very finite amount of money, left to them by those who purchased plots and eternal care of those plots, despite increasing costs in every facet of the business.

“That’s when I actually found out if a cemetery is not (affiliated with a church) where there’s an abundance of money, there’s only so many dollars you can work with,” Linnane said. “My wife and I got to talking about what we could do here.”

The former maintenance man for the Niagara Falls School District said he and his wife like to have a project each year that they can donate to in an effort to make things a little better for the people around them.

The couple is not what some might consider wealthy. They own a few rental properties in Niagara Falls and Sandra is a nurses aide at Our Lady of Peace Nursing Home in Lewiston. But, last year they provided the money to purchase a school bus for Sandra’s childhood church in Ohio. This year, they decided, the Memorial Park Cemetery would be the object of their concern. They decided to spend about $5,000 to help out.

Bernard arranged to have the fence painted. They purchased a statue of a cherub to replace a rotted old flag post. They placed a new flag in another spot. In the Children’s Garden, they placed a bench where parents could sit and remember the little ones who had passed away.

Bernard worries that people think cemeteries have plenty of money.

The cemetery business is changing, he explained.

Ellman, who is voted into his position as director by the board which oversees the cemetery explained: “There’s never any money to spare. Everything’s expensive and costs have tripled in the last five years.”

For example, he said, people who prepaid years ago for brass name plates on their memorial stones paid $30. Purchasing those plates today costs $134, he said.

The 45-acre cemetery, owned by the plot owners and completely non-profit, is only half full. New and different ways must be undertaken for the cemetery to stay viable, he said, noting that if a cemetery cannot take care of itself, ownership and care revert to the municipality, in this case, the Town of Lewiston.

There are less and less burials and more cremations, Ellman told them, with about 40 percent of people choosing cremation these days for a variety of reasons, including cost.

Ellman said the cemetery is researching ways to offer less expensive internments, including a new “scatter garden,” called Strawberry Fields.

And while some people are choosing not to put their loved one’s cremated remains in cemeteries, Ellman believes they are often sorry that there is no place that relatives can visit through the years.

“People miss it. They don’t miss it right away, but within six months, in my experience, they miss it,” he said.

“Cemeteries are a place to leave your grief and to remember your family and friends,” he said. “Down the line, people need that. Families need that. It’s their heritage.”

 Even though Bernard and Sandra have their end of life plans at another cemetery, they believe that it’s important to help honor those who are laid to rest in Memorial Park. For no other reason than simple kindness.

“God’s been good to me,” said Bernard. “I have two wonderful sons. I’m kind of gifted.”

The sons, John, 29, and Bobby, 26, are in the service. John is a master sergeant stationed in Afghanistan; Bobby is a staff sergeant stationed in Hawaii.

“We’re not millionaires, but we try to make a difference,” he said.

Bernard’s hope is that when people hear about the financial conditions that non-denominational, non-profit cemeteries find themselves in today, they might be motivated to help.

“We want to make people aware,” Bernard said. For instance, he noted, “If somebody does blacktop work the leftover grindings can be used as fill on the roads.” Or perhaps, it could be as simple as donating a tree in honor of a friend or family member because any donation, he said, has the possibility of a certain kind of payback.

“I was raised with the idea that if you do good for people it comes back to you,” he said. “It makes a difference.”