Mt. Baker Cemetery now owned by Woodlawn Cemetery District

The San Juan County Cemetery District #2, better known as Woodlawn Cemetery on Orcas Island, has expanded to include Mt. Baker Cemetery in Eastsound.

On August 5, Fred and Peggy Nichol turned over operation of the cemetery to the Cemetery District Commissioners, Pierrette Guimond, Joyce Nigretto and Niki Bardan.

The Nichols have been directors of Orcas Island Cemetery Association since about 1975. In recent years, they made an agreement with the school district that it would maintain the cemetery adjacent to Buck Park in exchange for use of some of the cemetery property.

But maintenance of the cemetery became a burden for the school with no use of fields to offset those costs.

However, Woodlawn’s records and property have had intensive maintenance over the last three years. The new retaining wall has been installed, and over 100 gravestones set in place over previously unmarked graves (about 15 graves are still unmarked, said Guimond, the Chair of the Cemetery District).  The grounds have been re-aligned, and records for nearly all 700 occupants are current.

Mt. Baker cemetery can accommodate only urn burials as the caskets become too wet in the ground there. “It became a real problem, ” said Guimond.

Mt. Baker cemetery is smaller than the Woodlawn facility, with 190 graves. The Nichols turned over to District Commissioners a fund of about $2,300 as a gift; the money has been acquired by donations to the Orcas Island Cemetery Association.

Woodlawn became a taxing district in 1985. This year’s budget calls upon about 52 percent of its allowable property taxes, or $14,000. The maximum allowable amount under the Cemetery District levy is $26,625. With the acquisition of the Mt. Baker property, Guimond feels there may need to be a higher request made on the district’s property tax levy.

A part-time assistant is the only staff paid by the district; duties include taking minutes at the commissioners’ meetings and selling plots.

The District Commissioners and the clerk for the Mt. Baker and Woodlawn Cemeteries can be contacted at 360-472-1573 or emailed at woodlawncemetery@rockisland.com.