The Mount Lawn Cemetery Association is made up of individuals with ties to Watauga County, most of whom have loved ones buried at Mount Lawn Cemetery.

BOONE — The Mount Lawn Cemetery Association is awaiting approval from the NC Cemetery Commission to have official ownership over Boone’s perpetual care cemetery, Mount Lawn Memorial Park and Gardens.

The Mount Lawn Cemetery Association is in the process of establishing a trust in order for their contract to be approved by the NC Cemetery Commission, which meets four times a year and is scheduled to meet in April. The association shares that the approval is a “formality” as the commission is already aware of the contract and plans of the Mount Lawn Cemetery Association.

The nonprofit corporation began as a group of community members concerned about the condition of the Mount Lawn Memorial Park and Gardens in June of 2021. The group was led by Jerry Harmon and gathered at a meeting space at Hampton Funeral Services, Inc. Since initially meeting, the group established an official nonprofit corporation with a board of directors and is in the application process to receive a 501 c 13 tax ID number to be used for tax deductions for large donations.

“The upkeep of the cemetery has gone downhill. It doesn’t take very long for you to talk to someone in Boone and hear that they’re upset that the cemetery is not being kept up the way it needs to be or the way people would like for it to be,” said Mount Lawn Cemetery Association President Nancy Williams. “There was a group of people that started meeting in June … we decided that the way we wanted to try to approach this was to develop a nonprofit association which could gather funds from the community.”

The board of directors, which consists of Nancy G. Williams, Jerry Harmon, Billy Ralph Winkler, Barney Hampton, Mike Austin, Graydon Eggers, David Cottrell and Mike Wilson, officially signed the contract with current cemetery owner Klee Liles on March 10.

Moving forward, the organization has a mission to “purchase, repair, maintain and manage Mount Lawn Cemetery … to restore the cemetery to a pristine state honoring those who are interred there as well as their families and friends.”

Williams shares that many community members that she has spoken with are interested in making donations but have hesitations about where the money is going.

“My mother and father reside there now and my husband and I probably will, too. We have several plots for families, and many community members are in the same situation,” said Williams. “This is our cemetery, we’re going to need to depend on each other … There are some initial concerns about where the money is going, people feel like they’ve been burned making donations and not seeing any benefit.”

The Mount Lawn Cemetery Association’s board of directors will not be paid for their services. All donated money will be used for the maintenance of the property and to pay the salaries of the current staff.

Current plans include patching the cemetery roadway which will be done through the donations of Wiley Roark of Maymead, Inc. and Jim Moretz of Moretz Paving. The organization is also working with Branch & Vine Landscape Design long range landscape planning, focusing mainly on the entryway to start.

Hampton Funeral Service, Inc. owner and president and Mount Lawn Memorial Park and Gardens former owner Barney Hampton shared that he believes the entire community should be interested in what is happening at the cemetery.

“It’s very important for the community and all the county, and people in other counties to know that this is happening,” said Hampton. “Drive up (the cemetery road) and see the condition of the street, the holes in the pavement, the buildings and mausoleum need painting.”

The 13.26 acre Mount Lawn Memorial Park and Gardens was established in the 1950s after William Sturdivant of North Wilkesboro purchased the land. Sturdivant was the owner of Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home, which had locations in North Wilkesboro, Boone, West Jefferson, Newland and Independence, Va. Mount Lawn Memorial Park and Gardens became Boone’s first perpetual care cemetery.

The cemetery went through 11 owners between its conception in the 1950s and current day. The current owner Liles purchased the cemetery out of bankruptcy in February of 2005 after previous owner Derek Roberts pleaded guilty to two counts of identity fraud and was accused of embezzlement.

In 2018, Liles offered the property to the town after receiving no credible offers in his attempt to sell the cemetery. After the town declined his offer, Liles sought other options. If he had abandoned his role with the cemetery, it would have gone under authority of the county, though it would not have the responsibility to manage it.

“Klee has been there for 17 years trying to make a go of it, and he just hasn’t had the means to do it. He could have walked away and moved to California and just left it, but he didn’t do that,” said Williams. “He’s done a great job with what he had to work with.”

The Mount Lawn Cemetery Association is currently accepting donations to restore and maintain the condition of Mount Lawn Memorial Park and Gardens. To learn more about the Mount Lawn Cemetery Association, call their office at (828) 264-3977.

Mount Lawn Cemetery is under the care of a new non-profit which hopes to restore the cemetery to a “pristine” condition. 

BOONE — The Mount Lawn Cemetery Association is inviting family and friends of the cemetery to a spring cleanup. On April 15 and 16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., participants will gather to spruce things up for the spring season. Participants will rake, pick up debris, trim bushes and trees, pot annuals, mulch and enjoy time with friends who share a common interest.

Individuals are invited to come at any time and stay as long as they would like and be a part of the restoration of Boone’s only perpetual care cemetery. This event is weather permitting.

For more information, contact Nancy Williams at (828) 268-2061.

Trees at Mount Lawn Cemetery  bloom in the spring.

BOONE — Friends of Mount Lawn Cemetery Association made their first major renovation to the cemetery. On Tuesday, May 3, work was done on the roadway throughout the property with donations of materials and labor from Moretz Paving and Maymead Inc. This work gave the cemetery a much needed improvement in the roadway.

Friends of Mount Lawn Cemetery hope the community will come visit and see the beauty the spring season provides and also the work that has been done by many volunteers.

For more information, call (828) 264-3977.

Work was done to repave the road at Mount Lawn Cemetery.

BOONE — The transfer of ownership of Mount Lawn Memorial Park & Gardens from Klee Liles to the Mount Lawn Cemetery Association, a non-profit entity, took place on Thursday, July 14, in the office of local attorney Jim Deal of Deal, Moseley, and Smith LLP.

Vice-president of the Mount Lawn Cemetery Association, Billy Ralph Winkler, represented the cemetery association at the closing.

“The transfer of Mount Lawn Memorial Park & Gardens to Mount Lawn Cemetery Association will allow the board of directors to move forward with plans for renovation and revitalization of the cemetery where so many people have family and loved ones interred,” Winkler stated. “We are already working with a local landscape architect as we consider upgrades, new features, and beautification of the area. We also look forward to having an active website up for the association in the near future.”

Volunteers and local companies have pitched in hours of time and effort toward important initial improvements at the cemetery.

“We’re grateful for the generous folks who’ve sent us contributions, as well as for volunteers who’ve helped us get started and clean up the grounds. Both Moretz Paving and Maymead Asphalt have graciously donated time and asphalt for improvements throughout the cemetery,” added Nancy Williams, president of the MLCA. “The restoration of Mount Lawn Memorial Park and Gardens is and will be based in community interest and effort. We have exciting plans and projects in the pipeline.”

Presently, the Board of Directors of the MLCA is awaiting approval of a 501-c-13 tax status application for the association. With the approval, the board can then move forward with a capital campaign, as well as apply for funding to enhance the grounds and improve the entrance, mausoleum and other areas. Inquiries about the purchase of burial plots and other funerary needs can be made by calling Mount Lawn Memorial Park and Gardens.

The Mount Lawn Cemetery Association holds a monthly board meeting for reports and updates on plans and projects. Current board members of the association include Nancy Williams (President), Billy Ralph Winkler (Vice-president), Jerry Harmon (Secretary/ Treasurer), Graydon Eggers, Barney Hampton, Mike Wilson, Mike Austin and David Cottrell.

The entrance to Mount Lawn Cemetery off Old U.S. 421.

BOONE — The Mount Lawn Cemetery Association will hold a Veterans Day Memorial Service on Friday, Nov. 11, at 3 p.m., in the Mount Lawn Cemetery at the flag pole area near the mausoleum.

Rev. Bud Russell will officiate the service, which will include remarks by a local veteran. The Pershing Rifle Honor Guard, composed of state and national flag bearers and two rifle bearers from the Appalachian State University ROTC program, will begin the event with the presentation of colors. Capt. Jim Fisher, Retired Navy Chaplain will then speak.

The ceremony will conclude with the playing of “Taps,” followed by a gun salute. The service is open to family and friends of all veterans, as well as to any interested members of the community at large.

Those attending can bring lawn chairs for seating if they wish.

“We’re honored to pay tribute to all who have served in the military, especially those who are buried at Mount Lawn Cemetery,” stated Nancy Williams, president of the Mount Lawn Cemetery Association. “If anyone has a relative buried at Mount Lawn whose marker does not designate they are a veteran, please let us know. People can call 828-264-3977 or message us on our Facebook page, The Friends of Mount Lawn Cemetery, to make sure their family member is identified as a veteran,”

The Mount Lawn Cemetery Association was organized in the fall of 2021 as a non-profit corporation for the specific purpose of purchasing, managing, and restoring Mount Lawn Memorial Park and Cemetery. Donations toward those goals can be sent to The Mount Lawn Cemetery Association at PO Box 1787, Boone NC 28607.

BOONE — Community members gathered on Memorial Day afternoon at Mount Lawn Cemetery to celebrate and honor veterans who have passed.

While light rain moved the event inside the mausoleum, it continued as planned with Capt. Jim Fisher was the main speaker at the event. Fisher is a retired Navy Chaplain of 30 years but has worn multiple uniforms during his service as a chaplain with various branches.

When Fisher helped place decals on veterans’ graves to help identify them for volunteers to place flags at, he got to thinking about who those veterans were.

“I got to thinking as a Christian chaplain, ‘I wonder if their stories would be similar to stories of book I’m trying to get to know,’” Fisher said. “I wonder if they’re similar to the stories of the New Testament.”

Capt. Jim Fisher speaks to those in attendance at the Mount Lawn Cemetery Memorial Day event. Photo by Moss Brennan

Fisher shared three New Testament stories and asked those in attendance to consider whether that was their military family member’s story as well. He shared a story from John the Baptist that focused on integrity, a story about a Roman officer named Cornelius, and one from the Gospel of Matthew.

He asked those in attendance, “Would you consider your veteran who repose here in the quiet rolling hills of Mount Lawn to be a story out of the New Testament.”

“I know we’re all flawed individuals. Your family members are flawed individuals. We’re flawed individuals. People in the stories of the New Testament are flawed individuals,” Fisher said. “But they all stood for something. In terms of military service, they stood for integrity. They stood for truth. They stood for morality. Just like your veterans. They stood as an example in the community for service and commitment.”

Fisher asked that people leave the service and tell their veteran’s story.

Chris Bertolini performs Taps on the trumpet. Photo by Moss Brennan

“Go away from this service and tell your veterans story every day,” Fisher said. “To your sons and daughters, to your neighbors, to your friends, to your grandparents, tell them you appreciate them. Tell the story of a veteran that you know, and keep telling that story not just on Memorial Day, not just one day a year, but tell the story over again. Tell the story often tell the story well because, in the telling of their stories, you keep their memories alive. You make their inspiration real and you have an example to follow.”

After Fisher finished, Chris Bertolini performed Taps on the trumpet.

Also, at the event, Rev. Bud Russell opened and closed with a prayer.

BOONE — Members of the High Country Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America and volunteers from the community placed American Flags on more than 600 veteran graves at Mount Lawn Cemetery in Boone.

“This is amazing. It just is amazing,” said High Country MOAA Chapter President Frankie Groff. “I grew up during the Vietnam War, and I feel very strongly about supporting our veterans. So this is just one way to do it, and it’s just a start for us.

The event, which took place on Saturday, May 27, and is part of the new High Country MOAA initiative “Flags Over Our High Country Veterans,” was the first in which the MOAA placed flags on the graves of fallen veterans buried in Watauga. The group plans to expand to more cemeteries in the future.

The Saturday event took about a year of planning. Volunteers from Girl Scout Troop #10289, Boy Scout Troops #100 and #109, the Daniel Boone Chapter of the Daughters of American Revolution and members from App State’s Military Affairs Committee helped place the flags. Approximately 640 flags were placed on graves of local veterans.

To prepare for the Memorial Day event, members from MOAA met on Saturday, April 15 — in conjunction with members of the Appalachian State University ROTC Scabbard and Blade Club — at Mount Lawn Cemetery to place marking decals on the tombstones of local military veterans. The purpose of placing the decals on the gravesites was to help identify who the veterans were and where they were buried.

The group plans to continue this every year and plan to help guide other cemeteries to do this in the future.

On June 3, MOAA members and Watauga High School JROTC members will return to the cemetery to remove the flags.

More information on the High Country MOAA chapter can be found at www.hccmoaa.org/.