To the south of the church, set back from 16th Avenue, is a shrine with memorials to some of the congregation who have passed on. This memorial plaque consists of a light colored polished granite stone with the inscription:
In Memory of the
Morelli Family
Dunmore Penna.
Designer and Builder
Fred Castellarin - 1964
The plaque is mounted at the bottom right of the shrine. We must assume that the Morelli of the plaque is Father James Morelli, past parish priest of Holy Cross Catholic Church.
From the Estate of Father J. Morelli
There have been many hundreds of people whose efforts on behalf of others have made a huge difference in the community, but we actually have very few objects that represent those people and their volunteer work. That's why we love this object so much. It's the insignia presented to Father James Morelli when he was inducted into the order of Canada in 1973. His citation for the honor simply reads "For dedicated services as parish priest, RCAF Chaplain and community leader" but his work went so much farther than those few words suggest. He lived and worked in the Valley for forty-nine years, and there is scarcely an organization in the community that did not benefit from his tireless efforts.
From the Creston Museum