St. Joseph's Cemetery Veterans Memorial - Valley, WA
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 48° 09.214 W 117° 41.579
11U E 448460 N 5333600
St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church is a little country church just off Highway 395 near the little town of Valley, WA, in Stevens County. This is the church's cemetery.
Waymark Code: WMJNCV
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 12/08/2013
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member Math Teacher
Views: 1

Both cemetery and church were founded about 1898, with services being held in various homes until the adjacent church building was built. When the church was built, in 1905, the cemetery was moved here, to the site of the new church. The church was initially a Jesuit Mission, built by Jesuit missionary Father Aloysius Folchi, who was also responsible for the construction of St. Mary of the Rosary Parish in Chewelah.

As of this writing, Find A Grave lists a total of 364 interments in the cemetery.

This 108 year old Catholic cemetery is still in use and is well maintained. Just inside the south gate (nearest the church) is a memorial, a bright white obelisk, dedicated to the memory of all veterans of all wars. The same memorial can be found in most cemeteries in the area. All these memorials consist of a white concrete obelisk of about 5 feet in height. Each has a bronze plaque bolted to it with a Legion badge at the top and the inscription "In Memory of All Veterans of All Wars". All the obelisks can be found either at the entrance or in the centre of the cemetery near other memorials.

The cemetery itself is dedicated to the memory of Father Pius Mutter. Father Mutter was a long serving and much loved pastor of the church. There is an old story of the church, concerning Father Mutter, which I shall allow the church to relate here:

A popular parish legend involving beloved pastor, Father Pius Mutter, recounts the theft of the church’s altar cross, sanctuary lamp fixture, thurible, and other sanctuary implements. Every Sunday, Father Mutter pleaded that the “missing” items be returned, but to no avail, until finally, he threatened to cancel hunting season for the year, and all of a sudden, the “missing” items mysteriously returned.
Type of Memorial: Non-Specific Memorial

In Honor Of: All Veterans of All Wars

Marker Text:
In Memory of All Veterans of All Wars.


Who Put it Here?: American Legion

Description of Memorial:
See long description.


Wars mentioned (Multi-war only): Not listed

Date of dedication: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Visited Logs must contain, at least, a picture of the monument and your GPSr. Preferably YOU at the monument with your GPSr, but we understand that some people are camera-shy.
It is suggested you please include something about your visit here, as well.
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