Kayser's expansion continues with cemetery

MOSES LAKE - The first construction phase of Guarding Angels Cemetery is 90 percent complete.

The nearly $1.2 million project, located near Moses Lake on Road L N.E., is part of  Kayser's Chapel of Memories.

The business is owned by Jerry and Ronda Kayser.

Although the cemetery is a business expansion and can greatly enhance their work, the Kaysers consider the addition a community project done for Moses Lake's future generations.

"The primary goal is to make it something the community could and would use," said Bill Bailey, owner of BNB Construction, the project's general contractor.

The next big projects at the cemetery entail paving the roads, drilling a well for drinking water and adding restroom facilities, explained Jerry Kayser.

In fact, one family liked the cemetery so much they donated several thousand dollars for landscaping, he said.

Donations are used for the rest of the remaining work, he explained.

"We wanted it to be a source of pride for the community," Jerry Kayser said. "We felt Moses Lake was lacking that type of an asset."

Bailey said the cemetery serves the community for hundreds of years.

Another cemetery feature is an ossuary, an underground area for remains.

The cemetery's construction started  in June 2008, on an 84-acre piece of farmland the Kaysers bought from Harvey and June Ottmar, of Moses Lake.

Harvey's family goes back to the 1800s in Grant County. His grandparents, the Jeskes, donated land for the City of Warden's cemetery.

"Harvey is a pioneer resident here," Jerry said. "He and June both have been very gracious to work with and very supportive."

The cemetery started as literally drawings on paper, Jerry explained.

"You always look immediate needs on what you need for the cemetery itself," he said. "The fun of it is looking forward and way past your lifetime. What will make this attractive for people? What will make this a park like setting for people?"

They faced some challenges with the project, such as the irrigation system.

"When we originally planned the design, we wanted underground sprinklers," Jerry recalled. "Then we decided we needed holding ponds. Now we have two holding ponds with lit fountains. It turned something that was a need into a real point of beauty."

Ronda said their cemetery is different from others because they allow upright markers throughout, instead of just one section.

"We took that into consideration with the design of the cemetery," Ronda said.

Bailey added the cemetery was designed before it was built.

Probably, the older cemeteries that have been here for generations originally started as very small and simply expanded, said.

"There was never a master plan, I wouldn't think, for any of the local cemeteries," Bailey said.

If you see an area for a columbarium, which is an area for ashes, in other cemeteries, they are an afterthought, Jerry said.

At Guarding Angels Cemetery, the columbariums are designed and planned with the need of the community in mind, he said.

"When that reaches capacity, the central feature of the cemetery will be a much larger columbarium in the back," Jerry says. "It will literally be the central feature of the whole cemetery."

The second columbarium is five to six years away from being added.

He also discussed how a quality cemetery  is a "tremendous asset for a community."

"I felt Moses Lake was lacking that kind of an asset, he said "I wanted it to be a source of pride for the community."