Longwood Cemetery’s Outdoor Chapel Is Complete

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Longwood Cemetery’s Outdoor Chapel Is Complete

Tue, 09/29/2020 - 14:07
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A dream of Billy and Darla Church has now become a reality. Longwood Cemetery is proud to announce the completion of their outdoor chapel. The chapel provides a very serene place to hold a graveside service for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. Since its completion, there has been one service held in the chapel and this chapel is offered at no cost to any family who is burying a loved one at Longwood Cemetery.

The outdoor chapel seats 30 people and there is room for many more people to stand at the back. Incase of inclement weather, curtains will be installed to block off any adverse weather conditions. The chapel has a four foot wall on the west end that is covered with artificial stone. The wall offers a nice backdrop for the casket or cremains. Due to Covid-19, there are no dedication ceremonies being held at this time.

In the Fall of 2019, Billy and Darla Church approached the Longwood Cemetery Association Board with a dream of Longwood Cemetery having an outdoor chapel. They made a request that the chapel have a metal roof with cedar columns. The Church’s made a very generous donation to get the ball rolling on the construction to begin for this dream of theirs.

A special meeting of the Longwood Cemetery Association Board was called to consider the idea that the Church family had brought forward. The Board discussed the project and voted to start a fundraising campaign to raise donations to help build the chapel.

The fundraising campaign began in December of 2019 and by February of 2020 enough donations had been received for construction to begin. Many local citizens and some folks that were from afar, made very generous donations to help make the dream become a reality.

The Longwood Cemetery Association Board would like to thank all of the donors for their generous contributions and they would also like to express how they could not have completed this project without the assistance from all of the donors.

Sadly, Billy Church passed away before his dream was completed. His wife, Darla Church, was able to watch the various phases of construction. She has visited the site many times.

Construction began in February of 2020 and today, the chapel is complete, with the exception of the side curtains which are yet to arrive. These curtains have been ordered and should be here in the very near future.

Longwood Cemetery has a long tradition of serving the community and providing a peaceful place for families to bury loved ones. The cemetery was established 125 years ago and the addition of the outdoor chapel will allow the cemetery to continue their legacy.