Dunton Family Cemetery

Dunton Family Burial Ground
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August 26, 2013 - Retailing wall pour.

August 27, 2013

August 28, 2013 Forming up entry ramp.

August 30, 2013 - Ramp pour.

September 4, 2013

September 13, 2013

September 15, 2013

September 20, 2013

September 26, 2013

September 27, 2013

October 12, 2013

October 19, 2013

October 26, 2013 - Crypt seal installation.

October 28, 2013 - Crypt seal installation. I did this task. Basically it is a simple matter of "gluing" the crypt sealers, which are made out of ABS plastic, to the concrete walls. I used Tremco brand "Gray Bronze Vulkem 116 Polyurethane Sealant" which was recommend for the job.

October 29, 2013 - This was the last step before applying for the final inspection and the "Certificate of Occupancy."

January 7, 2014 - Jethro and his son got the ironwork (doors and cap) installed today. Jethro is a true artisan. I provided him with a few ideas that I had, along with the functional requirements, and he came up with a design integrating elements of the ancient white oaks original to Molalla Prairie's oak savannah. He went as far as to use cuttings and acorn samples from our trees in order to maintain accuracy. What can I say, they are beautiful and built to last centuries.

March 1, 2014 - The marble portion of this project took a lot of footwork and my learning curve was long. Steve and I spent a day in mid-November driving around the Portland Metro area looking at marble suppliers and ended up at an importer / commercial supplier called Oregon Tile & Marble on SE 3rd Street in Portland.

They had exactly what I had envisioned; nearly pure white, thick, marble slabs. I was able to "put a hold" on two matching slabs of "Carrara" marble from Italy. From the slabs, all of the crypt stones could be cut in such a way that when installed, all of the grains matched. A very finicky point, I know, and in my life, compromise has been a theme. But as this is a permanent, final resting place, I wanted it as humanly perfect as possible.

With the marble located, the folks there gave me the names of several stone works that could handle the transfer of the huge slabs and do the work. We received quotes and settled on a place that Steve had used in the past, Galaxy Stoneworks in Hubbard, Oregon. That whole process was not smooth. Our sales representative, Kevin Weiss, was awesome. He went above and beyond. The issue involved what he was having to deal with behind the scenes.

Long story short, he coordinated the accurate cutting of the material, had me come pick everything up, and even recommended a contractor that he knew who he believed could handle the installation job.

The contractor that we hired was Royal Remodeling Resources, Inc. in Tigard, Oregon. Dave and his son and son-in-law, came on a Saturday and did an awesome job!

March 2, 2014 - With the finishing touches of the iron work and marble installed, and twenty-two days before Mom (Carole) passed, we drove her down the hill to see it. She was to weak to get out of the vehicle, but since she helped design and pay for it, she wanted to see it. My only regret is that she didn't get to see the landscaping, that she also helped design, all installed.

Note: The 1909 is the date that Great-grandpa and Great-grandma Dunton were married thus beginning our farm.

March 22, 2014 - Moving soil and backfilling. Mom was in the last hours of her life. We were taking turns staying with her but this day, we had extra help and I spent hours working on getting soil covering the mausoleum.