Sunset Memorial Gardens – A Spot of Green in the Northwest Desert

By Patrick Hollick and Mike Grace, Sunset Memorial Gardens. Photos by Mike Grace

Robert Evans drives the cemetery?EUR??,,????'???s Toro Groundsmaster 455D over part of the 20 acres of turfgrass to get ready for Memorial Day 2006. Note the flush marker stones?EUR??,,????'??+raised memorials would require more trimming and take at least twice the time for each mow cycle.

Sunset Memorial Gardens sits near the banks of the Columbia River in southeast Washington state. To the north is the Dept. of Energy?EUR??,,????'???s Hanford Site, where material for atomic weapons was developed during World War II and later decades. The hillsides surrounding Richland are often dry or even dirt-bare, a consequence of the area?EUR??,,????'???s low humidity and average seven inches of annual precipitation.

Sunset is a 30-acre memorial park, with 20 acres of turfgrass lawn (40 acres are undeveloped, for future expansion). There are two mausoleums in the park, and four columbariums (or repositories for cremated remains). Memorial benches are spread across the perimeter areas of most gardens. All of the older gardens are adorned with statuary of Carrera marble, sculpted in Tuscany (Italy) by master craftsmen. Each monument is surrounded by manicured shrubs and other landscaping.

 

Albert Vargus uses a Toro blower to clean leaves and mowing debris off a sidewalk near the cemetery?EUR??,,????'???s family estates?EUR??,,????'??+which includes five separated, private family plots.

Crewmembers apply a slow-release, granular fertilizer with a 25-5-15 rating each spring. The formula promotes slow, even growth and cuts down on trimming requirements around markers, statues and mausoleums.

The man-made lake serves a practical purpose as an irrigation reservoir, while providing a beautiful setting for the families we serve. The park relies on an extensive irrigation system to keep things green. Workers carefully bring the system to life each spring, checking it for leaks, programming time clocks and checking valves for proper operation.

The main equipment used to maintain the grounds is a Toro Groundsmaster 455D, Red Max Trimmers, Case Backhoe, Cushman and Daihatsu turf rigs.

For Memorial Day, volunteers help place more than 850 casket flags donated by military families. The special flags are mounted on 14-foot poles and kept rolled up under plastic sheeting in a storage facility the rest of the year.

Richland?EUR??,,????'???s Rich History

With World War II, Richland?EUR??,,????'???s fame would ultimately stretch from Washington state to Washington D.C. Soon the whole world would know about Richland and the ?EUR??,,????'??Manhattan Project?EUR??,,????'??. In April of 1942 the city was evacuated to make way for a vast Defense Department Project. Before Richland became a ghost town, the Richland Woman?EUR??,,????'???s Club as one of its last official acts, purchased daffodils to be placed on the graves at Resthaven Cemetery (the community?EUR??,,????'???s original five-acre cemetery), lest the dead be forgotten. This loving act was re-enacted 46 years later, in 1988, by the Women?EUR??,,????'???s Club of the day.

Through the Second World War, the city of Richland was United States Government property. Resthaven was not immune. The government, looking for a way to handle the burial needs of a changed community turned to the one remaining independent entity, the Richland School District. Under the District?EUR??,,????'???s supervision and the daily volunteer management provided by co-owner of the old Richland General Merchandise Store, John Dam, the cemetery continued to serve the needs of the community. In 1957 Duaine L. and Rosemary “Bobbie” Einan started Richland?EUR??,,????'???s first funeral home just a short distance from Resthaven Cemetery.

General Manager Thomas Bock (standing) watches Grounds Superintendent Patrick Hollick set a memorial marker in the cemetery?EUR??,,????'???s Garden of Prayer. This part of the cemetery has some above-ground markers (this one projects eight inches above the turf). Raised markers are surrounded with black volcanic rock to eliminate the need for trimming.

As part of their community service work, Einan?EUR??,,????'???s Funeral Home volunteered their services to help with the management of the cemetery. As the government relinquished control of the community back to the people in the late 50s, an election was held and the community supported a bid by the newly formed Richland Cemetery Association, a non-profit organization formed through the untiring efforts of the Einans and a small group of dedicated individuals. The association?EUR??,,????'???s only purpose would be to serve the burial and memorial needs of the Greater Tri-Cities area. An elected board of directors, who serve without compensation, still govern the organization today.

As the community grew, the association secured 70 acres to develop a second cemetery in Richland: Sunset Memorial Gardens, located at 915 By-Pass Hwy. (State Route 240 and Swift Blvd.).

A pair of Carrera marble statues keep watch over the cemetery?EUR??,,????'???s turfgrass, which depends on spring and summer irrigation to stay lush. The view of Badger Mountain emphasizes the arid conditions in southeastern Washington.

As its name suggests, the Association?EUR??,,????'???s newest cemetery offers a park-like setting with open gardens containing central works of art and numerous locations for burial, entombment and interment. For the public convenience, the Einans relocated their funeral home and crematorium next to Sunset Memorial Gardens in 1970.

Today the association?EUR??,,????'???s cemeteries offer a wide variety of choice from traditional to modern memorial designs, meeting the changing needs of the community. The association believes that cremated human remains are due the same respect as casketed human remains. The association has created and will continue to create areas and unique features for that purpose.