Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, 2022, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., learn about Albuquerque history through the lives of Historic Fairview Cemetery’s permanent residents. Speakers will be stationed throughout the cemetery and visitors can visit and learn at their own pace. Watch this video to learn more.
A donation of $20 per person is requested to help maintain the cemetery. You can also purchase Historic Fairview Cemetery T-shirts at the event for $20 each. The Historic Fairview Cemetery is accessed through the main entrance to Fairview Memorial Park, 700 Yale Blvd. SE. Sign up in advance through our secure PayPal account:
T-shirt sales help support our nonprofit cemetery.
There will be a short Memorial Day ceremony and flag raising at 9:15 a.m. in the American Legion #2 burial area within Historic Fairview Cemetery. Bob Deurloo, Commander of the VFW New Mexico District 2, and Chaplain Karen Street with the American Legion will speak.
Speakers will cover these and other topics:
- Davis Begay with the New Mexico Japanese American Citizens League will speak about the Japanese experience in the Southwest at the turn of the century, and two people buried at HFC, Kiku Honda and Seichi Ikemoto. (Location: Ikemoto’s grave north of Congregation Albert wall)
- Will Steinsiek on Reverend Thomas Harwood, Methodist minister, and his wife Emily. Location: Huning Harwood Road)
- Paul Duncan on the Simms family: Albert G. Simms, Ruth Hannah McCormick Simms, and her son John Medill McCormick. Paul will have his Model T Ford on display as well. (Location: family plot on Simms Road)
- Staff from the Menaul Historical Library of the Southwest on the Menaul family. (Location: Menaul family plot)
- Roland Penttila on Lyman Putney, constructor of the first building in New Town ABQ in 1882. (Location: Putney family plot)
- Jack Fox on New Mexico Rough Riders in the Spanish American War and Chaplain Ted Howden, who survived the Bataan Death March and died in the Davao Penal Colony in WWII. (Location: Howden family plot)
- Video highlights about New Mexico Governor Edmund G. Ross – featured in John F. Kennedy’s book, Profiles in Courage. (Location: Ross family plot south of American Legion #2)
Memorial Day Tour Information
Be prepared to walk! Attendees are asked to wear a hat, hiking boots or sturdy shoes (to protect feet from goat heads) and sunscreen. A bottle of water, a map and educational materials will be provided. Tours start at the interior entrance to the historic cemetery, located north of the Fairview Memorial Park office. Look for a registration table near the entrance to Congregation Albert’s section of the cemetery.
Please note that the roads in the cemetery are unpaved. Those who use walkers or wheelchairs will find it hard to navigate the cemetery.
Historic Fairview Cemetery Background
Historic Fairview Cemetery was founded in 1881. It is run by an Albuquerque nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining the cemetery and sharing the stories of its residents.While there are approximately 12,000 burial sites in the historic cemetery, fewer than 6,000 have markers. Among the well-known New Mexico family names in the cemetery are Dietz, Galles, Harwood, Huning, Menaul, Rodey and Ross. There are Rough Riders, Buffalo Soldiers, people from at least 23 countries and three Native American tribes interred in Historic Fairview Cemetery. Read more about HFC.
Cost: A donation of $20 for each adult and child over 12 is requested to support cemetery maintenance and provide educational materials. Register online through PayPal:
When: Monday, May 30, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Where: Historic Fairview Cemetery, 700 Yale Blvd. SE – Enter through the gates of Fairview Memorial Park, near the intersection with Avenida Cesar Chavez. Proceed east to the cemetery office, turn left and continue north into the historic cemetery area.
Contact: Gail Rubin, president of the Historic Fairview Cemetery nonprofit organization – Office Phone: 505-265-7215 Cell Phone: 505-363-7514 Email: [email protected]