Wind whips Terri Conley-Terroni’s hair as she accelerates down a gravel path.
Her John Deere Gator utility vehicle is full of storm-downed leaves that Conley-Terroni – a seasonal groundskeeper at Evergreen Cemetery – has just raked.
The 57-year-old Raymond resident has worked at the cemetery for four years. Between April and “when the snow flies” Conley-Terroni works full time tending to the cemetery’s 239 acres – its gardens, flowers (petunias are her favorite) and headstones.
Evergreen Cemetery, founded in 1854, is Portland’s second-largest public space. Year-round, the city employs three groundskeepers to maintain it. In the warmer months, the staff grows to six, including Conley-Terroni.
“I love being outdoors,” she said, “the sun, the fresh air and the quietness.”
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