Beeman, Roteman, Thomas and Harmony: Lummi Island Cemetery Commission

How did you become a Lummi Island cemetery commissioner?

Beeman: I would say all three of us were recruited. I thought it was something important for me. I have family buried here and there’s the genealogy and preservation of Lummi Island history.

Thomas: We also have to be elected. It’s a volunteer position, and I think that’s important for the community to know. We’re compelled to get it right — the names and histories, and to put it in the black book our historian is working on. 

Roteman: We operate under the Open Public Meetings Act, which means our meetings are at a specific time and the notices are posted ahead of time. Anybody is always welcome to attend on the fourth Tuesday of the month at the Lummi Island Library.

In your position, what do you do?

Thomas: Well it’s a county position, so we have the RCW rules and regulations that we have to follow. That includes knowing who’s in which plot, where they are and when they were buried.

Harmony: The commissioners are the ones that people contact if they want to purchase a plot, or they contact them if there’s a burial. They make arrangements and we have to mark off where the burials are, and we need to be present when they’re here to make sure that they are following the rules.

How do you keep track of who owns plots?

Beeman: The black book has a lot of information in it. So we’re dealing with generations back. Some of these plots were bought 40, 50 years ago or even longer. You can inherit plots.

Harmony: [Some plots] were given as compensation for the development of this cemetery when it was owned by the township of Lummi Island.

Thomas: We have a map of the cemetery and the red spots are where somebody’s there or if the plot is sold.

What’s the biggest problem you face?

Roteman: At the moment we are running out of space. We’ve designated a little bit of an extension of the Green Cemetery but mainly the area behind our office is going to be regular plots because that will get us into the next generation.

What’s the Green Cemetery?

Thomas: The Green Cemetery is where people are buried naturally. They’re wrapped in shrouds, in a box. There can be no nails, no paint. It’s totally decomposable. 2011 was our first burial and we have 10 people buried with room for a total of 16. The type of burial we’re describing requires more space because of decomposition. You have to have some place for the stuff to go and then we have to continue to fill it up with dirt to keep it level with the surface of the cemetery.

Why is caring for the cemetery important to you?

Harmony: Well they’re all friends and we all help each other out. Whether it be a funeral or weather scenario, everybody’s here to help everybody else out.

Do you plan to get buried here?

All: Yes. We have plots, either inherited or purchased.