William R. Halley

William R. Halley, “Bill”, has been a cemeterian almost his entire life. As a youth he would go to work with his father, Heber Halley, who for 40 years was the Clerk and Secretary of the Riverside Cemetery Association in Cleveland, OH. He learned the business from the outside in. He would continue to work at the cemetery when he could as he grew up and went to college at Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, OH. Graduating with an Accounting Degree, Bill took a job at Republic Steel Corp. He labored there for ten years, but his love for Riverside Cemetery never waned. Then one day, his opportunity came.

Heber informed Bill that he was ready to retire. Bill said that he would like to take over for his father. Heber thought that Bill was crazy – who would want to leave a good job in the steel industry to work at the cemetery? Bill knew that he would like nothing more than to come to work at Riverside and so he interviewed with the Board of Trustees for the position. The Board was duly impressed enough to offer Bill the position which he quickly accepted. When Heber said he was retiring, that is exactly what he did. He left the cemetery and let Bill fend for himself. Bill had a lot of on the job training and worked closely with the Cemetery Superintendent, Bob Andrews, who worked at Riverside for 60 years when he retired! When Bob retired, Bill combined the jobs of Clerk and Superintendent into one job of General Manager. Bill continued in that capacity until his full-time retirement in 2010 after almost 40 years of continual service in addition to all his years growing up.

Bill still helps at Riverside when the funeral schedule is heavy as well as filling in when others are on vacation. He remains on the Board of Trustees as Secretary-Treasurer and is the internal auditor for the Association making sure that everything is running as it should by reviewing the finances and accounting on a monthly basis. In addition to these duties, he also helps with annual tours and other events at the cemetery. Bill knows the stories of many of the ‘residents’ of Riverside and is a wealth of knowledge concerning the history of the west side of Cleveland.

Bill’s crowning achievement surrounds our historic Chapel at Riverside Cemetery. This structure was the first permanent building erected at Riverside in 1876. This building along with our Administrative building erected in 1896, are both listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1953 the Chapel was closed, having fallen into disrepair, and the Association without the funds to make the necessary improvements. It remained closed for decades until a strange thing happened on June 22, 1988. This was the day that the former Superintendent (and Bill’s mentor) Bob Andrews was buried. On that day, a short time following Bob’s funeral, a part of the Chapel fell off. It was as if Bob was sending Bill a message, and he then knew what he must do. Not wanting to see the Chapel razed, Bill undertook the massive task of raising the funds to restore the old building. Over the next few years, Bill was able to form the Riverside Cemetery Foundation with a 501(C) 3 designation to allow people to make tax-deductible donations to the cemetery. He also secured grants from various individuals as well as corporations for this project. The Chapel was eventually restored and is still used today for funeral services, other memorial services, our Easter sunrise service, and even some weddings. When Bill retired, one of the first things that the new General Manager along with the Board of Trustees did was to name the Chapel in honor of Bill Halley and all that he has done for its restoration as well as his life time of dedicated service to the Riverside Cemetery Association. It will now and forever be known as the William R. Halley Chapel.

Bill was a long time member of the OACS&O. He continues to serve as Secretary of the Greater Cleveland Cemetery Association which he has been doing for many years. Bill was also the Chapter Advisor for the Fairview Chapter Order of DeMolay for numerous years helping to mold the characters of many young men including the present General Manager of Riverside Cemetery – Mark Bollinger. Bill also enjoys singing at his church and spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren.