The UUCDC Memorial Garden is a peaceful space to honor those who have passed.

Dedicated in 1994, it is located to the right of the main entrance parking area. It is a final resting place for the cremated remains of members and contributing friends of UUCDC, spouses or significant others of members and friends, minor children and parents of members and friends, Unitarian Universalists who belong to other congregations that don’t have memorial gardens, and others at the discretion of the minister. 

The Memorial Garden is an area of serenity for those who consider UUCDC their spiritual home. It is a place for peace and solace during sorrow and bereavement and a restful setting for contemplation and remembrance.  

Our church was built in 1964 and according to “The Legacy of the Mulberry Tree,” written by member Susan Adnopoz, the idea for the garden began in the late 1980s. There was a very old Mulberry tree growing outside the southeast window of Fellowship Hall. It showed signs that it might need to be felled. At that time, church member Jim Norcross cared for the tree and at his expense had cables installed to support its branches. When Norcross died, his widow, Helen Norcross, quietly placed his ashes in a hole dug at the base of the tree. In 1991, the widows of member Rob Higgins and former minister Dave Kirby also wanted their husbands’ remains interred on the church property. This interest led to the formation of a group to plan the creation of a Memorial Garden.

After work done by the committee in consultation with lawyers, landscapers, horticulturists, and the congregation, the garden was dedicated in a Flower Communion Sunday ceremony in June 1994. Each member placed a flower in a hole dug on the site of the garden which was then covered with a rock and dedication plaque.   Since that time, many members have had their ashes interred in the Memorial Garden, each marked with a memorial stone.

For information about reserving a plot in the Memorial Garden, click here. 

Next time you are at church, take a few moments to savor the peace and quiet of the Memorial Garden.