Paul St. Pierre is the president of Wilson St. Pierre Greenwood Chapel. St. Pierre Family Funeral Homes is comprised of 11 funeral homes located throughout the southside of Indianapolis and from Seymour to Zionsville.
St. Pierre joined the Greenwood Rotary Club in 1994, where he became good friends with Paul Totten, who was a POW in World War II. The pair frequently had lunch together, and one day in 2006 Totten told St. Pierre that he was working on a veterans memorial to be erected in Greenwood. His fellow Rotarians, a tight-knit group, supported Totten and other local veterans in getting the project off the ground. St. Pierre, a Greenwood native, has always liked getting involved in community projects, so he was on board too.
Projects take time and money, and Totten estimated the cost to be three quarters of a million dollars. As a result, he struggled to get it started.
“They did a great job raising funds on bricks and coming up with designs, but that’s as far as it went at the time,” says St. Pierre.
During Totten’s last days, he asked St. Pierre if he would carry forth with the veterans memorial. He didn’t hesitate, as he was committed to honoring his friend.
“Paul is my personal hero, so making sure this gets done is important to me,” St. Pierre says. “Plus, I’m passionate about the city of Greenwood and want to respect veterans.”
Despite facing multiple hurdles, including the COVID pandemic, they have made strides. It’s advantageous that St. Pierre works in the funeral industry, as he can procure monuments and granite at an affordable price. For example, engraved benches that might retail in the $7,000 range, he can get for much less.
In the last six to eight months, they’ve seen more enthusiasm for the project than they had in the combined four years prior. This newfound momentum means that they are now within six weeks of ordering what they need to get the first phase of the project open. Their first order of granite for the memorial will be in November. Around the same time, they should have sidewalks ready to pour, thanks to a generous donation from both the City of Greenwood, and Bill Blocher of Blocher Construction & Electric.
“Bill’s company does a lot of building, concrete work and pools,” St. Pierre says. “They wanted to be a part of the project and we are so grateful.”
St. Pierre anticipates that once people see how beautiful the first phase of the memorial is, they will want to get involved.
“I liken it to a new neighborhood that’s being built when you put the roads in, and you see a few houses going up,” he says. “It kind of gets things rolling. We’re at the point where it’s imperative to get it off the ground. Doing so will create even further excitement to remember these veterans.”
The Veterans Memorial Park is located in the heart of Greenwood behind the Greenwood library, at the intersection of Surina Way and Old Meridian. All through the planning stages, the project was referred to as the Greenwood Veterans Memorial, but Veterans Memorial Park seems to help the project extend beyond the boundaries of Greenwood.
“If someone wants to come honor their veteran who lives in Whiteland or Perry Township, they won’t feel like it’s an inappropriate place,” St. Pierre says. “This park is to honor all veterans.”
Leadership Johnson County had a committee that helped on the project for about nine months.
“That group shared some great ideas, and those volunteers are still out there willing to help,” says St. Pierre, noting that they’ve also received donations from the Johnson County Community Foundation, Warrior’s Hope, Inc., and the Greenwood Rotary Club. St. Pierre believes that more organizations will get on board as the project develops. They intend to have flagpoles, branch memorials, bench memorials and some bricks in by next summer. These memorials are all laser-engraved black granite. Every branch of service is represented by a 6-foot upright tablet. Bench memorials are lower to the ground and more affordable. Bricks are $150.
“It’s important to provide a place that people can be remembered and where the public can be educated,” St. Pierre says. “It’s my hope that we can get local Scout troops to the flagpoles that will be erected there as they learn how to raise a flag, or as they learn the importance of the wars that our local veterans have fought in. The park will be quite an education for young people who are moving into downtown Greenwood.”
As a funeral director, St. Pierre has interacted with many families who want to remember their veterans. He’s also talked to veterans who want to leave some kind of legacy in the community by purchasing a bench, a brick or some other kind of memorial.
“I’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot of history over the years from veterans and their families,” says St. Pierre, who has family members who served in World War II. He recently buried a friend who was an Afghan war veteran in Alexandria National Cemetery. His story can be told at this memorial.
“Every veteran’s story matters,” St. Pierre says. “This park can help share that story.”
St. Pierre estimates needing between $50,000 and $60,000 to complete the project. If your business would like to sponsor a branch memorial, or if you’re interested in donating money or volunteering your time, contact St. Pierre at paul@stpierrefamilyfuneral.com.