STAFF PROFILES

Edward C. Martin, Jr. – President & Director, Hartsdale Pet Cemetery
Edward C. Martin, Jr. has been the director of Hartsdale Pet Cemetery since 1974.  He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.B.A. and M.B.A. in accounting.  He had a successful private practice where he provided tax, accounting and financial consulting services following a career at the public accounting firm now known as Ernst & Young.  He is a retired professor of accounting at Iona College where he taught for 25 years and served as chairman of the accounting department.

He is the author of Dr. Johnson’s Apple Orchard: The Story of America’s First Pet Cemetery.  His family has had a long association with Hartsdale Canine Cemetery.  His father, Edward C. Martin, Sr. was a master engraver who for more than four decades designed and created most of the Cemetery’s magnificent monuments that make the Cemetery a showplace of ultimate artistic expression.  His mother, Bertha Martin, who answered the sorrowful calls from bereaved pet owners was the Hartsdale Canine Cemetery’s executive administrative secretary for over twenty years and was known for her compassion, honest sympathy and respect for their grief.  Finally, Ed’s great-grandfather and his cousin Robert Caterson were proprietors of a successful monument business outside of Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.  Robert Caterson was a renowned designer and sculptor who had worked on many distinguished buildings, including Grand Central Station in New York City.  In 1918, he was chosen by the Hartsdale Canine Cemetery to design the War Dog Memorial in honor of the canine heroes of World War I. 

Two of Ed's sons, Ed and Brian, are now part of the full-time staff of the Cemetery.  His third son, Dan, worked at the Cemetery while completing his schooling and now is part of the part-time staff.

Ed’s cocker spaniels, Ophelia and Mona are buried at Hartsdale Canine Cemetery.

Thomas M. Pollina – President & Director, Hartsdale Crematory
Thomas M. Pollina has been the director of the Hartsdale Crematory since 1997.  He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.B.A. and M.B.A. in accounting. He had a successful private practice where he provided tax, accounting and financial consulting services following a career at the public accounting firm now known as Ernst & Young.  He is also a retired professor of accounting at Iona College where he taught for 25 years.  Tom is responsible for designing and creating a sophisticated, customized database for Hartsdale Canine Cemetery in 1996.

Tom’s canine, Atticus, is buried at the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery.  
 
Edward C. Martin, III – Vice President, Hartsdale Pet Cemetery
Edward C. Martin, III is vice president of Hartsdale Pet Cemetery.  He is a licensed attorney (New York and Connecticut) and Certified Public Accountant.  He had a successful career at the accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP where he practiced corporate taxation.  He is a former adjunct professor of accounting at Iona College.  Ed has been associated with Hartsdale Canine Cemetery for most of his life, spending his summers during high school working on the grounds and eventually moving into the office during his college years.  He assisted in the design and implementation of a customized database for the Hartsdale Canine Cemetery in 1996.  He also designed and implemented the first web site for the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in 1996 and supervised the recent major redesign of the web site in 2006.  

Ed’s cocker spaniels, Ophelia and Mona are buried at Hartsdale Canine Cemetery.

Mark Larson – Controller & Office manager, Hartsdale Crematory
Mark has been at Hartsdale for over ten years.  The North Dakota native had always been a pet owner as he and his two brothers had more than their share of pets growing up ranging from dogs, cats, turtles, horses and the occasional salamander.  After graduating from high school he joined the U.S. Navy where he spent time in South America, Hawaii, Scotland, Italy, France and both U.S. Coasts.  After his military service, Mark went to school to earn his accounting degree.  He took a part-time job as a bookkeeper for Hartsdale during his studies.  This eventually led to a full-time position after graduating with honors. 

Leonard Saccardo – Administrator & Office Manager Hartsdale Pet Cemetery
Len is the brother-in-law of Director, Ed Martin.  He has been the Cemetery administrator for over thirty years.  Prior to his tenure with Hartsdale, Len was the administrative manager with American Can.  He gladly accepted a position at Hartsdale when Ed invited him to come aboard.  Len specializes in monument orders.  His canines, Scalawag, Samantha and Abbey are all interred here.  Many plot-holders know that Len is an avid golfer. 

Trevor Gill – Grounds Foreman, Hartsdale Pet Cemetery
Trevor has been with us since 1976.  He has been the Cemetery foreman for over twenty years.  Born and educated in Barbados, Trevor emigrated to the United States in 1971.  Always interested in animals, he went to work with his father at the famed Animal Medical Center in New York City.  Shortly thereafter, he joined the staff at the Peaceable Kingdom in Hartsdale as a staff groundsman where he quickly advanced into other important duties at Hartsdale. 

Brian Martin – Administrative Staff, Hartsdale Pet Cemetery
Brian is the youngest son of Director, Ed Martin, Jr.  He started on a part-time basis during his studies and took on a full-time position in 2003. He is being trained about the both administrative and grounds procedures of the Cemetery.  Brian’s dog, Nellie, is the Cemetery’s mascot.

Saskia Martin – Hartsdale Pet Cemetery
Saskia Martin is the daughter-in-law of Director, Ed Martin.  Saskia is a licensed attorney in New York and received her undergraduate degree from Barnard College.  She had a successful career at Goldman Sachs. Saskia has a pet turtle at home named "Jenny."

Nellie & Delilah – Hartsdale’s Mascots
The Cemetery has a long history of having pet mascots to greet our plot-holders at the gates.  Many plot-holders have found comfort from these pet angels that are on hand to share their grief and offer solace.

After several years without a pet mascot, we are delighted to inform you that the vacancy has now been filled by two new canines.  “Delilah” is foreman, Trevor Gill’s very energetic miniature pinscher while “Nellie” is administrative staff, Brian Martin’s friendly Staffordshire terrier-Basset hound mix. “Nellie” was one of the pets that was available for adoption at one of our adoption days.