Five new columbaria have been constructed, each containing 400 niches, at CalVet’s Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo. 

This means that the 154 families who have been waiting specifically for the columbaria now have the opportunity to inter their loved ones. 

“We’ve already started reaching out to families for scheduling,” Cemetery Operations Manager Christine Odson said. 

Funded by a Veterans Cemetery Grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the new columbaria will bring the total number of niches to 4,800 and should meet the cemetery’s needs for many years to come.  

Five years in planning and overseen by the state’s Department of General Services, actual construction began last spring and went smoothly, she said. “Construction started in April and finished in August,” Odson added. “The weather cooperated, and we had minimal delays.” 

The new columbaria represent the third phase of columbarium construction at the 133-acre cemetery, which opened in 2005. The cemetery is also in the planning stage of expanding its in-ground burial capacity. 

The Northern California Veterans Cemetery is one of three cemeteries operated by CalVet; the other two are the California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery in Seaside and the Veterans Memorial Grove Cemetery on the campus of the Veterans Home of California-Yountville.  

For more information, contact the Northern California Veterans Cemetery staff at (866) 777-4533 or visit CalVet’s webpage at www.calvet.ca.gov/VetServices/Pages/Northern-California-Veterans-Cemetery.aspx.