Navy Veteran Leads Effort to Repair, Update River View Cemetery

The cemetery is the final resting place of 14,080 burials, including doctors, lawyers, war heroes,

Photo (from left): Dave Hizer, Janet Hart, Debbie Fehling, Julie Whitaker, DiPuccio, Nancy Turner & Diane Peters. Photo provided.

(Aurora, Ind.) - In May 2021, Andy DiPuccio and three friends, took their first guided tour of River View Cemetery with historian and volunteer James G. Waldon.

The annual walking tour, sponsored by River View Cemetery Board of Directors, is a way to share the beauty of the 30-acre, tree-lined pathways and Victorian styled grounds established in 1869.

The cemetery is the final resting place of 14,080 burials, including doctors, lawyers, war heroes, the elderly, children and the renowned red Cadillac. The cemetery includes traditional burials as well as cremains in the columbarium or ossuary.

Mr. DiPuccio saw a need for repairs and updates to the cemetery and through his efforts has awarded River View Cemetery $14,143 in funds since his first walk thru River View.

Annually DiPuccio, a Hidden Valley Lake resident, hosts a Memorial Day concert at the HVL sports complex, this year with music by Flipside, with proceeds again going to River View. The Memorial Day concert is also supported by sponsorships from many local businesses supporting DiPuccio’s mission.

DiPuccio graduated from North College Hill High School and Miami University Oxford before becoming a Naval Officer for 20 years before returning in 2006 and starting a career in home financing. River View Cemetery Board has presently earmarked DiPuccio’s donations for a future Veteran Columbarium in the cemeteries Soldier Field.

As River View, a non-profit 501c3, does not receive state nor federal funding, the cemetery runs on a shoestring budget of monetary donations and burial sales. In 2013 The Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing its status as one of the state’s best examples of the “rural cemetery” movement.

Anyone wishing to volunteer time or contribute financially can contact any board member or Superintendent, Gil Alford. www.aurorariverviewcemetery.com