In a continuing effort to keep Forest Lawn Cemetery current with evolving public demand, a memorial wall is now available for families to commemorate their loved ones.
Ross Beddoes, the Town of Creston’s director of municipal services, credited the development to the Cemetery Select Committee.
“The memorial walk (wall) was one of the eight projects recommended in our Forest Lawn Cemetery Development Plan completed in 2017,” Beddoes said last week. “At the 2017 Fall Fair, staff set up a booth and presented all of the projects. Through our engagement, we were able to rank the projects based on their popularity.
“Funnily enough, the rankings from the public matched exactly with the rankings of the CSC.”
The stone and block construction offers several benefits.
“The Memorial Walk acts not only as a retaining wall, but also a location for memorial stone plaques where a family can have the name of their loved-one engraved for permanent memorialization,” Beddoes said. “Also included are several 10-niche columbariums, similar to the larger units installed to the north of the Walk.
“All these projects are designed to take an underutilized space and create a walk with memorialization, interpretation and cremation intermittent opportunities, while still accommodating service access.”
More improvements to the cemetery are intended to be made yearly, as budgets allow, he said.
“We are pleased that the cemetery development plan and Cemetery Select Committee have provided us with a framework for the future of Forest Lawn Cemetery, which is owned and operated by the Town of Creston,” Mayor Ron Toyota said on Monday. “The memorial wall is a great addition, adding to the choices families already have.”
For more information, families can contact the Town of Creston or their funeral provider.