Glendale may sell historic city cemetery

Ron Short knows many of the names on the headstones in Glendale Memorial Park Cemetery.

Through his research as president of the Glendale Arizona Historical Society, he has learned their stories, their families’ stories, and their hopes and dreams for this community.

“Our whole history of the city is buried here, since 1895,” Short said, looking out over the graves at the cemetery, on the southwest corner of 61st and Northern Avenues.

A few dozen feet in front of him, there’s a plaque dedicating the land to the city in 1962.

“By the settlers of this community,” it reads, “the dedication of this memorial and the acceptance by the city of Glendale assures future generations the perpetual care of this hallowed ground.”

Soon, the perpetual care of this historical cemetery may be in someone else’s hands.

In August, the Glendale City Council will vote whether to approve the sale of the city-owned cemetery to a private company. The vote is set to take place at the council meeting on Aug. 13 or Aug. 27.

Councilman Jamie Aldama is hosting a community meeting on the topic at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7 at Glendale Woman’s Club, 7032 N. 56th Ave.

City assures perpetual care by new owner

The potential sale has many people who grew up in Glendale, and who have generations of family members buried there, worried about what will happen to their loved one’s graves.

“Everyone knows someone who is buried there,” said Renee Howard, whose great-grandparents were among Glendale’s early settlers in the late 1800s. “We wouldn’t want that to go away.”

Chris Anaradian, an assistant city manager in Glendale, assures residents that, if the city sells the cemetery, it will continue to be cared for perpetually by the new owners.

The owner of the company that wants to buy the land, John Hassett of Serenity Memorial Group, says the same.

“I wish I could talk to every Glendale resident individually so I can show them and express to them the compassion I have for the families we serve,” Hassett said.

Private company would get $3.8 million fund

The city decided to sell the cemetery because it was losing money on maintaining the grounds each year, Anaradian said.

In fiscal 2018, for example, the city made $200,000 from cemetery revenue, and it cost $300,000 to maintain.

It put the cemetery up for sale on May 2, Anaradian said.

The decision comes as the city reconsiders what type of land it should own and maintain. It closed Glen Lakes Golf Course in March and is looking for a buyer for the land.

“We looked at operations like golf and like the cemetery and asked ourselves, as a community, should we be in this space or not?” Anaradian said.

The city paid a consultant to search for potential buyers for the cemetery.

The consultant reached out to Serenity Memorial Group, Hassett said, which offered to buy the cemetery from the city for $100,000.

In return, the city would sell the company the 21.6 acres with 17,000 burial sites. Only 1,000 sites are vacant and available, Anaradian said.

Also in return, the city would give Serenity $3.8 million of a fund that the city has saved up for the perpetual care of the cemetery.

Under state law, perpetual care cemeteries are required to put a portion of the money they make from each burial

into a separate fund for perpetual care of the cemetery.

The city has a total of $5.8 million saved for the perpetual care of the cemetery, but it calculated that the cost of perpetual care is $3.8 million, Anaradian said.

Under the deal, Serenity would be required to keep the name of the cemetery as Glendale Memorial Park Cemetery, Anaradian said.

Historic cemetery there before city

The cemetery has been around since before Glendale was a city.

When Glendale’s first settlers came to the city in 1892, they at first buried their loved ones on their land, Short said.

In 1895, residents informally started the cemetery, Short said. Then, in 1900, three churches formally established the Glendale Cemetery Association and purchased the cemetery from Vic Messenger, a prominent Glendale resident.

Glendale wasn’t established as a city until 1910. Several of Glendale’s founders, Glendale’s former mayors, other prominent Glendale residents, and Civil War veterans are buried in the cemetery.

One of them is Louis Sands, who founded Manistee Ranch and farmed on the land. Sands died in 1941. He his buried in a family plot, along with his son, Louis Sands Jr., who founded the Sands car dealership in Glendale.

Former mayors buried there include Ova Betts, William Kalas and John Pearson.

Also buried there is Tucker Sine, who founded many Glendale businesses including Sine Hardware Co. He died in 1942.

In 1962, the association gave the city the cemetery to operate and maintain.

Part of the reason why the ledgers are so clear is because of Theodore Sipes, a caretaker who worked at the cemetery in the 1970s, said Sipes’ daughter Josephine Sardinha.

Sipes saw that the cemetery’s ledgers were in bad shape, so he meticulously organized and rewrote them by hand, Sardinha said.

That allowed the city to mark graves that never had names, she said.

“There is no way they could have labeled those slots without my dad’s vigilance,” she said.

Growing up in Glendale, she said the cemetery was like a second home to her and her siblings.

“It was a piece of Glendale,” she said. “It’s like losing nostalgia. Glendale has given up so much of its history.”

Promise of perpetual care

On the city’s website, it states that the city is “committed to maintaining the cemetery as a place of honor and memories for present and future generations.”

The city currently only sells burial rights at the cemetery to Glendale residents, individuals who are purchasing space for deceased Glendale residents or nonresidents with immediate family already buried at the cemetery or who purchased a lot at the cemetery.

“This policy is expected to preserve the cemetery as a community resource for residents far into the future,” the city’s website says.

Serenity will not be required to adhere to these policies, under the proposed contract, Anaradian said.

Anaradian said, even with the sale, he thinks the city is still maintaining its promise of making sure the cemetery is cared for perpetually.

“If it’s available to residents and maintained in perpetuity, I think we have kept our end of the bargain,” he said.

Who is the potential buyer?

Hassett said his family got started in the funeral industry in the Valley in 1956.

In 1984, his father purchased a cemetery in Mohave Valley. Hassett’s family still owns that cemetery, Desert Lawn Memorial Gardens.

Along with that cemetery, his family owns three funeral homes, a pet crematory and a pet funeral home in Arizona.

The company prides itself as being family-owned and -operated, with family values, Hassett said.

Hassett said his family has been actively looking for funeral homes and crematories to purchase when Glendale’s broker reached out.

“It’s a beautiful cemetery,” he said. “I love the heritage and the fact that it feels like family.”

Hassett, who lives in Bullhead City, said much of his family lives in the Valley and he is there often.

While the Glendale cemetery is almost full, Hassett said his plan is to expand the space available for cremation remains, called cremation niches.

He said he understands the concern from Glendale residents about the cemetery being sold to a private company. He said he hopes to meet with families who have concerns and get involved with the community if the sale goes through.

“If I could show them the true level of care my family has shown to all the families we have served over the years, I think they would have a better feeling,” Hassett said.

Family members hope cemetery will be maintained

Howard’s great grandmother is buried in the cemetery, she said.

She’s worried about what would happen if Serenity goes out of business. She said if it was owned by the city, the perpetual care would be guaranteed.

“You would think since the cemetery is historic the city would make it a historic place,” she said.

Yolanda Gradilla said she was sad to hear the city was thinking of selling the cemetery.

“I want to cry,” she said. “I just think it’s so sad.” Her grandmother, grandfather, father, sister, four aunts and three uncles are buried there, she said.

Her family first came to Glendale in the 1940’s. She visits often. It brings her peace, she said.

Beverly Ruby of Yuma has a different view about the sale.

She grew up in Glendale and said many members of her family are buried at the cemetery, including her mother, father and some aunts. Her grandparents are buried in other cemeteries nearby.

Her father, Trinidad Modesto Leyva, was buried in the cemetery in 1948. He was a WWII Army veteran who got a Purple Heart after he was injured by shrapnel during The Battle of the Bulge.

She said if the property is managed well, she doesn’t see a problem with the city selling the land.