Expansion at Guarding Angels Cemetery
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 years, 4 months AGO
Jerry Kayser/courtesy photo The new columbarium at Guarding Angels Cemetery is designed to house cremation urns.
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | November 13, 2018 2:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — Kayser’s Chapel has expanded its Guarding Angels Cemetery near Moses Lake.
The new columbarium was installed earlier this month. The columbarium is designed to house cremation urns.
Development of the cemetery began in 2009, said owner Jerry Kayser. “At the onset this columbarium project was to be the centerpiece for the entire cemetery,” Kayser wrote. But development costs delayed completion of the project, he said. He estimated initial costs were more than $1.6 million.
Development of the columbarium started about two years ago, Kayser said. “Sorting through numerous design and granite options, decisions were finalized for stone to be quarried in China. Fabrication halfway around the world took place over several months.”
The circular space has a central block with other blocks radiating around it in a circular pattern, with concrete walkways. Installation of individual units required a crane.
Ronda Kayser said she was pleased with the result. The Kaysers did not intend to start a cemetery, she said, but the space and what it means “will always be our most rewarding venture.”
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