Construction has started on new cemetery

On 69 acres at 32nd Avenue and Highway 27, just north of where the Spokane Valley turns to forest, workers are finishing the first stage of construction at the new Pines Cemetery.

“It really is coming together,” said Connie Vermillion, office manager at the existing Pines Cemetery.

The Opportunity Cemetery Association purchased the land 35 years ago, and the latest work is the first of several phases. The association hopes to open a shop and office there next year, and in about 20 years the plans call for funeral home on the site.

The original Pines Cemetery, which the not-for-profit association owns, was built 101 years ago and covers 39 acres. There are still about 1,200 lots available for burials, although side-by-side spaces are running low.

There are also open areas in the veterans’ section, and the cemetery has added space in the mausoleum and other places on the grounds for cremated remains.

“We have lots of room for ashes,” Vermillion said.

The existing cemetery should be taking in new remains in one form or another for another 50 to 100 years, she said.

Several people interested in buying into the new cemetery have already called Vermillion, and the cemetery board will probably decide when to start selling space there in four or five weeks, she said.

Phase one includes seven acres of plots, roads and landscaping.

Vermillion speculated that the first burials will take place there in mid-summer or later. The project is funded by money from investments established by the association over the decades.