East Lawn Memorial Park has roots that go back more than 110 years — before “six feet under” was just a euphemism. Groundsman Nick Ustymchuk uncovers a concrete chamber, which will hold a casket or cremated remains
Because of these vaults, the 6-feet-under rule became a 4.5-foot rule about 60 years ago. “Rules, regulations and technology have changed,” says East Lawn’s superintendent and project manager, Igor Kalenyuk. “So the legal requirement is four-and-a-half feet down, and the soil has to be 18 inches above the concrete lid.”
Nick Ustymchuk, a groundsman at Sacramento’s East Lawn Memorial Park, uncovers a concrete vault after foreman Mike Kalenyuk opens the burial site with a backhoe. Kalenyuk is related to Ustymchuk by marriage, and his brother, Igor Kalenyuk, is East Lawn’s project manager.
Igor says the family extends to those whose graves it tends as well as to friends and relatives of the deceased. “We take care of every single person like they were our own,” he says. “This job isn’t about just training or skills; it has to come from your heart. People grieve here, and you have to understand and pay attention.”
Many prominent residents call East Lawn Memorial Park their final resting place, including Newton Earp, one of Wyatt Earp’s brothers.
Inside the gates of East Lawn Memorial Park stand many unique headstones.
East Lawn Memorial Park opened in 1904 and many of the grave markers date back over 100 years.
William Land was best known for his quarter-million dollar gift to the city of Sacramento to establish a park which was eventually named for him.
The William Land private mausoleum sits on the highest elevation point within the city and is a Sacramento landmark.
Grave digging with crew of East Lawn Memorial Park
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