Lakewood’s Mountain View Memorial Park marks centennial of its storied history

What do the brother of the 34th U.S. president, the founder of the Nalley food company and one of the most decorated World War II infantrymen have in common?

All are buried at Mountain View Memorial Park in Lakewood.

Their stories, along with many other notable people buried at the park, will be told this weekend as part of Mountain View’s 100th anniversary celebration. The park will provide free activities Saturday and Sunday.

Spending the weekend in a graveyard might not be at the top of everyone’s to-do list, but Mountain View general manager Clarke Thomson hopes people make a point to stop by.

“People drive by on the road every day and they have no idea how far this goes back and the history that’s here,” he said.

The cemetery at 4100 Steilacoom Boulevard is across from Clover Park Technical College. Part of its property line is bordered by railroad tracks. A century ago, it was common to build cemeteries next to rail lines, Thomson said.

The first burials at Mountain View occurred the day it opened Dec. 15, 1915. Those graves — of John Wiley, and relatives William Rowe and Hugh Rowe — will be on display, despite having no markers.

Also on the tour:

▪ Edgar Eisenhower, brother of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

▪ Helen B. Stafford, community activist and the state’s first black social worker.

▪ Ben B. Cheney, lumber businessman, philanthropist and the namesake of Cheney Stadium.

▪ Marco Narancich (later changed to Nalley), founder of Nalley food company.

▪ Harry L. Brown, co-founder of the Brown & Haley candy company and Almond Roca candy.

▪ Cmdr. Llewellyn Chilson, one of the nation’s most decorated World War II veterans.

▪ Jose Calugas, Medal of Honor recipient.

▪ Ralph “Six Pack” Edwards, kingpin of a notorious 1980s motorcycle gang who had his motorcycle encased in cement and buried in the plot next to him.

Also buried there is cemetery founder James Thompson, whose cremated remains are interred at one of the gardens adjacent to a small pond.

More than 100,000 people have been buried across 110 acres of the 160-acre park. Five sections are dedicated to veterans. The park also has a first responders memorial, put in place after the 2009 shooting deaths of four Lakewood police officers. One of the four officers is buried at Mountain View.

“We have police officers down here almost daily stopping in,” Thomson said of the memorial.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 12:27 PM with the headline "Lakewood’s Mountain View Memorial Park marks centennial of its storied history."