THE island’s various cemeteries may be out of space and plans are in the works to expand and improve them. But in order for that to happen, a better accounting and estimation of the amount of space needed must be made, especially for Guam’s public and Catholic cemeteries.

The Department of Parks and Recreation recently passed a resolution to develop the island’s public cemeteries, which include Vicente A. Limtiaco (Tiguac) Cemetery in Nimitz Hill, Ija Cemetery in Inarajan, Umatac Cemetery, and Merizo Cemetery.

The Variety sat down with DPR Director Pete Calvo about the state of the public cemeteries. However, he could only provide information for the Vicente A. Limtiaco Memorial (Tiguac) Cemetery. There are about 1,573 burial sites at the site which he said is already going over the boundary line into the National Park Service area.

“It is out of bounds from the property,” he said. The area of concern is where young children and babies are buried.

Calvo said he only has one person handling the tally of all the cemeteries the government of Guam maintains.

Calvo added other cemeteries are also going over their boundaries in the south and his office has to ensure cemeteries are in compliance with federal mandates.

“We need to look at the compliance issues and boundary issues. If it means adjusting re-interment and placing the bodies within the boundaries, then those things have to be planned out,” he said. As far as the cemetery in Nimitz Hill, Calvo said they have a proposed design to include crypts and even crematorium niches.

Capacity

Joshua Perez, of the Catholic Cemeteries Office, didn’t have a specific answer as to the capacity of the cemeteries overseen by the Archdiocese, which includes Pigo Cemetery in Anigua, Holy Cross or Togcha Cemetery in Yoña, and Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Agat.

“I’d say right now we’re 50 percent full but each cemetery varies,” he said, adding there are plans for expansion.

Then there is the Veterans Cemetery in Piti. Cindy Gogo, of the Veterans Affairs Office, said they’re reaching their capacity of about 3,685 for both crypts and in-ground burial spaces. They are currently at 3,451.
“We probably have only three years (till the cemetery reaches full capacity),” she said. A federal grant was awarded to the VAO for improvement and expansion of the cemetery.

Funeral companies that run their own cemeteries like Our Lady of Peace Memorial Gardens in Apra Heights and Guam Memorial Park in Leyang, Barrigada are ensuring they have space.

Rogelio S. Alim, Our Lady of Peace vice president and general manager, said they can accommodate 18,000 interments, and 2,100 have had burials. The property, which is on 24 acres of land, is still under development

“When fully developed, Our Lady of Peace can have a total capacity of 25,000 burial spaces,” he said.

Guam Memorial Park, on the other hand, sits on 18 acres, nine of which are currently developed, according to Len Mayer, funeral director. The existing gardens can accommodate 26,000-plus burials in double-depth burial plots. The company has started developing its next phase of gardens at the park to add on 2,000 additional burials.

Northern cemetery

When asked if there should be a cemetery in northern Guam, Calvo said there is property already identified requiring the governor’s signature. The area is in Dededo near Ysengsong Road.

Although the property is on top of an aquifer, Calvo assured there will be no ground burials and that only crypts will be used. “It’s a coral area not conducive for ground burials,” he explained.

For their part, both Gogo and Perez believe there should be a northern cemetery.

“Right now we only have the private cemeteries and even those that are run by the Catholic Church are slowly being filled to capacity,” Gogo said.

Alim doesn’t think a northern cemetery is needed because of the current number of cemeteries the island already has. Mayer thinks it’s possible to build another cemetery on Guam, but the longterm investment may not be attractive when factoring in the cost of land, development, and the environment.

“The final price of a burial plot to the consumer may be prohibitive,” he said.