History of Cherokee Memorial
Park & Funeral Home
Founded in May, 1940 by local businessman R.L. Martin, Cherokee Memorial Park began as a private cemetery two miles south of Lodi. Its main entrance at the time was on Cherokee Lane, now known as Highway 99. Mr. Martin was a concrete contractor who believed that a memorial park-type cemetery (one that uses memorial markers level with the grass) would be best for the region. In 1942 he returned all of his stock to the company and filed to become a non-profit corporation. In 1948, after Mr. Martin suffered an automobile accident, Laurence P. West became the manager and, soon after, became president of the park until 1979, when ill health overcame him. In three-quarters of a century, there have been only 4 managers -- all local.
In 1998, the Board of Directors realized that, in order to serve the public more effectively, we needed a funeral home. We received our license operating permit on Dec. 23, 1998 and served our first family later that day.
Moving forward, we transformed a simple warehouse building into a 16,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art, funeral home facility located a mile and a half north of the park. This facility served us well but our end goal was to bring our Funeral Home on to the grounds of the cemetery. We began our transition in May 2017 when we opened the doors of the Vineyard Chapel the beginning step of moving all of our staff into one location. The Vineyard Chapel seats nearly 300 people in this beautiful facility. Two visitation rooms as well as arrangement offices allowed us to serve all your funeral and cemetery needs all in one location.
September of 2022 brought a 24-year dream of combing both funeral home and cemetery offices into a new and beautiful building a reality. This 18,000 sq. ft. addition provides an open entry, arrangement offices, additional visitation rooms and a modern merchandise selection area. This allows families to select caskets, urns, burial vaults, markers and flowers in a comfortable setting.
Over the years we’ve added thousands of new burial spaces, including the spectacular original bronze and stone "Wings of Freedom" sculpture. This feature adds to the beauty of our Garden of Freedom and includes more than a thousand cremation niches. Three, hand-carved Italian marble angels overlooking the Garden of Angels, which also affords many cremation niches continue to add to the beauty of Cherokee Memorial. May of 2023 we completed the final phase of the beautiful Sierra View Mausoleum with a cascading waterfall and comforting streams branching out along each side of this tranquil building where time and loved ones can be remembered.
In the spring of 2023 we added the J. Charles Irwin Reception Center where families can share memories and stories after the funeral service. The Center offers tables, chairs, linens and audio-visual system to play a memorial slideshow throughout your event. We also work with a select few caterers to offer food service as families continue sharing highlights of their loved one’s life.
We are constantly at work making Cherokee Memorial among the most beautiful and full-service cemetery and funeral home facilities in northern California.
