Hard on the edge of the gritty city of Paterson, established along the banks of the deceptively beautiful (and polluted) Passaic River, Holy Sepulchre has been the final resting place for Paterson-area Roman Catholics since the 1840s. One picturesque entrance gate is on the Passaic River side off of Totowa Avenue. At the other end of the cemetery, one can enter through the more pedestrian gates off of Union Ave. Among the notable...or "famous"... people buried here are boxing manager Lou Duva (my oldest friend's father was friendly with him); John Phillip Holland, considered the "father" of the modern submarine; Mychal Judge, the priest who served as chaplain to the NYC Fire Department and was the first certified fatality of the September 11 terrorist attacks; Dave Prater of Sam and Dave musical fame; and labor activist Matthew Maguire. I grew up in the general area, and back in the day, spent a fair amount of time here. Sometimes, with friends, we'd get ice cream at the nearby Gelotti Ice Cream store, and consume our purchases in the tranquility of the cemetery. Or I'd park off to the side when I was in college and study. Or I'd walk along the crowded rows of tombstones, fascinated by the sense of history that permeated the place, a history that reached back to the days before my great grandparents fled the famine of Ireland or the militaristic tyranny of Germany. (Although, as far as I know, I don't have any relatives buried here.) In many ways, it's a utilitarian, semi-urban cemetery, and contains not much in the way of beauty necessarily (although, to quote Shakespeare: ":Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."). The graves run along in densely packed rows, with the occasional mausoleum breaking up the "monotony." The roadways and paths are pretty narrow, and if the cemetery is crowded, you'll find it necessary to be watchful and pay particular attention to where you drive and/or park. (I should mention that there are occasional spots of awe-inspiring loveliness throughout-- for instance, the "main road" that stretches from the gates on Totowa Ave. to the gates on the other end by Union Ave. is impressively lined with age-old trees, and in the fall, when the leaves turn a blazing orange/red, the view is breathtaking. I've always been fascinated by Paterson-area tombstones that have the enameled portraits of long-dead Italian and Syrian immigrants affixed to them. Stern-faced Patriarchs with handle-bar mustaches; robust grandmothers smiling kindly from a decades-gone past; sad, doomed children in Confirmation dresses and suits, tragically short-lived infants. Not to disparage the more "famous" residents of this (or any) cemetery, but this is the "real" history of Paterson, or NJ, or anywhere in America. And I actually (inadvertently) encountered some of my own history while walking here. A childhood friend is buried here. We lost touch when I moved out of the area in my teens, but I heard that he was killed in a car accident while still a teenager (I've heard that the other driver was drunk). Walking along the rows at random, I came across his impressive tombstone. He died a long time ago, but his grave is adorned with football mementos and prized toys. Obviously, he is still loved, and remembered, and mourned. I also stumbled across the grave of an older girl who lived in my neighborhood, and who also died as a teenager in a car accident (I remember that I used to have an enormous childhood "crush" on her). Also buried here among the "famous" and the ordinary is at least one person who perhaps qualifies as "infamous"-- Angela Atwood nee DeAngelis, a member of the SLA terrorist group that kidnapped Patty Hearst in 1974. She died a few months later in a fiery shootout with LA police, along with several members of her fanatical group. The stone with the family name on it is fairly large, but you'll have to look hard for her name on it. (Her name is listed unobtrusively on the stone as "Angel 1949-1974." My oldest friend's father knew her father, who was involved with the Teamsters.) There's a tranquility, a serenity, about the cemetery that is its own form of beauty. If you're interested in history (be it personal or non-personal), as I am, or the Holy Reverence of a Roman Catholic burial ground, or you're the relative/friend of someone interred here, and you wish to mourn and remember in an atmosphere of peaceful, reflective contemplation... ...Holy Sepulchre is the cemetery that can accommodate all. read more

I have been having trouble with the gatekeeper since my father passed in 2021. I work and then I rush there to visit for a few minutes because they close at 5pm. Well, they start kicking you out around 4:50 pm. Recently I lost my Mom and I was visiting her on her first birthday in Heaven. It was a very emotional experience for myself and my 2 children who were there with me. The gatekeeper starts beeping his horn uncontrollably at 4:50pm. When he didn't get a response, he then gets out of his car, tramples all over the graves, puts his foot on a gravestone and yells at myself and my children that they are closing now and I need to leave. I didn't realize that the horn was for me. I was there paying my respect to my Mom. I told him it wasn't 5pm yet. We went back and forth. It was then 4:59 pm. We started heading to our car. The gatekeeper went to his, sped backwards and made a 3 point turn. Proceeded to the gate and locked us in. Then he left. I had to call the cops to come and get us out. Needless to say I filed a police report and I will also be filing a complaint with the court. We were stuck in the cemetery for a half hour. I also have it all on video when he started yelling at myself and my kids before 5pm. How disrespectful!! I wish my parents were never buried there!! Please reconsider going there. There are much better places. You want to be welcomed when visiting loved ones. This is NOT the place!!! BEWARE!!!! read more

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