The headstone of a mass grave containing the remains of patients who died at the Western State Hospital in Lakewood, Wash. is shown. Volunteers are seeking to place named markers on the more than 3,000 graves at the hospital, which were previously only marked by numbers.
Faded numbers stamped into small cement blocks marked the graves of more than 3,200 mentally ill patients buried here at Western State Hospital between the 1870s and 1953. Over time, the stones themselves sank into the earth, leaving the dead in almost perfect obscurity.
But a nearly decade-long effort by volunteers — buoyed by national efforts to bring light to these forgotten cemeteries — has put names to some 660 people who went unclaimed by either family or friend after dying at the state’s largest mental hospital, about 40 miles south of Seattle.
The remaining numbered stones have been restored to the surface, cleaned and await their own personalized plaques. Another 59 markers will be added this fall.
“It’s righting a wrong,” said Laurel Lemke, chairwoman of Grave Concerns Association, the volunteer group working to give each person a named marker. “For me, a lot of it is reducing the stigma of mental illness.”
The hospital has always had a mapped list of the names of those who are buried in what once was the hospital farm, but the stigma of mental illness, and the state’s confidentiality laws, led to decades of numbered markers, Lemke said.
One of the newest markers identifies the grave of Sabra Garwood Langworthy, who entered the hospital in 1879.
Richard Chiaravalloti, left, and Laurel Lemke, right, chairwoman of Grave Concerns Association, stand in a shady section of the Western State Hospital Memorial Cemetery in Lakewood, Wash. They are both part of the volunteer effort to place named markers on the more than 3,000 graves at the hospital, like the one shown at lower right, that once were marked only by a number.
Stewart felt sadness and anger when she learned her ancestor was buried in an anonymous grave, marked only by the number 1412.
“There are records of the family visiting her, but the last 10 or so years, either they don’t have records or people didn’t visit,” she said. “I was angry about that too.”
Stewart, a 72-year-old Portland, Ore., real estate broker, said she had remembered hearing stories about Langworthy being institutionalized, but she said no one really remembered details.
Langworthy died of pneumonia at the hospital in 1915 at age 79. Records Stewart acquired from the hospital show the brutal diagnosis of the day: Insane.
Stewart said that Langworthy was “lost in time to a mental disorder of some kind and also lost to her family.”
“The records I found and the placing of a named marker was in some small sense a way to recover her, bring her back to the family,” she said.
The project at Western State is part of a national movement to attach names to more than 100,000 such graves across the country, “symbolically giving voice and dignity to people who have been ostracized by their communities,” said David Shern, president and CEO of Alexandria, Va.-based Mental Health America, a national advocacy group.
Similar efforts have been undertaken in several states, including Massachusetts, Georgia, New York and California. A new national memorial dedicated to the unnamed graves of the mentally ill broke ground at Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. in June.
Western’s cemetery is within what is now Fort Steilacoom Park, across the street from the hospital, once the site of Fort Steilacoom. The named plaques are scattered through the cemetery, surrounded by a dog park, playgrounds and trails.
The oldest remaining building on the hospital campus is the 1934 administrative building, which replaced the first brick-and-mortar building that was built in 1887. The original asylum was established in 1871 in officer housing and military barracks at the fort.
Through the years, Western’s cemetery was overgrown and the stones sank.
“It just seemed abandoned,” said Lemke, who said that her own battles with bipolar disorder made her want to restore the cemetery. “I felt kind of a kinship for people who didn’t have the same opportunities I had.”
a handicraft left by a visitor helps mark a grave identified only by a number, at the Western State Hospital Memorial Cemetery in Lakewood, Wash.
A large monument at the cemetery’s entrance was put up in 2003 in honor of all of those buried there, but because the state’s confidentiality laws still prevailed, Lemke’s group wasn’t able to disclose names. After lobbying the Legislature, her group was successful in getting the law changed in 2004. The first individual marker was placed later that year.
More than 530 names belonging to those who died and who were cremated between 1939 and 1952 are engraved on a large marker bearing the legend, “Rest in Peace.” An additional 127 people have individual markers on their graves.
On a recent summer day, tall, prairie-dry grass filled the cemetery, but the markers — both the numbered and the named — are clearly visible.
The granite marker of Robert Beatty, who died in 1888, is next to stone number 124, which has faded so much that the number is barely legible.
“I don’t know what their mental illness was, I don’t know if they were born in another country, I don’t know if they were a farmer,” said Lemke, who said she doesn’t have access to any of the personal medical records of the patients.
Family members who have a relative buried at the cemetery and want to find out additional details can request the records from the hospital.
Some of those buried here have historical significance, including John Moore, one of the first homesteaders in Des Moines who died in 1899, and Charles Victor ‘Victory’ Faust, who pitched two games for the then-New York Giants, and died at the hospital in 1915.
Of the additional markers planned for the fall, Lemke is planning a special ceremony for one of them — a Civil War veteran, Charles Cooley, who up until now has only been marked by the number 200.
Lemke said her group’s goal is to complete replacing all of the markers in the next 10 years, and she hopes that each unveiled name will bring honor to the memory of the people who had such troubled lives.
“To me it’s a peaceful place,” Lemke said. “For myself, I don’t have a family cemetery to visit. Many people have cemeteries they tend to, so this is mine.”
EXTRA – Western Washington State Hospital
EXTRA – ‘Grave Concerns’ to identify and mark 50 more graves at historic Western State Hospital cemetery
I am looking for my Great Grandpa Fred Runge. Sr.’s grave. He was burried in the cemetery across the street from the mental hospital. Can you help me in some way?
I looked his name up on findagrave.com – There is a picture of a grave marker with his name and what appears to be his year of birth. The site does not list a date of birth or date of death for him. His plot number is listed as: GRAVE 2078, CAN.
I’m happy to hear he was not forgotten. I hope you will add information to his memorial so he can be remembered as more than just a name and number.
Dear Nicole, Thank you so much for caring enough to respond to my message about my Great Grandpa Fred Runge. Sr. My daughter did find a site with his name, grave number and death date. I did contact the Western State Hospital to find out more information on Great Grandpa. I sent in the proper records to prove I am indeed the Great Granddaughter of Fred W. Runge. They were very nice to release all his medical records to me. I was very pleased to find out that he had only spent about 3 years at the State Hospital before he passed away. He had a stroke two years before and was partially paralyzed on the right side. He was having little attacks and was gradually getting worse, so the court system placed him in the State Hospital in 1928. He chocked on a piece of bread Jan 18th, 1931, and ended up having a cerebral hemorrhage from the after effects. He ended up bleeding to death on Jan. 23, 1931. My Grandpa Fred Runge, Jr. Was a bleeder and so was my Dad. They all 3 bled to death, so it ran in the family. I feel so blessed to find out this information, so I will know more about our family heritage. My daughter and I are planning to visit my Great Grandpa’s grave on Friday Oct.15th, 2021. We are hoping to be able to visit the State Hospital also, if possible. Thanks again for caring!
I forgot to mention that the State Hospital sent me a picture of Great Gra spa Fred Runge, Sr. It is nice to fit a face with my story. Thanks again!
Susan, you are very welcome. Thank you so very much for sharing this information. I have been checking back here almost daily in the hopes that you would receive my message.
With the information you have provided I now now that the year on the stone, although written 1931-, was his year of death. I am very pleased that you were provided the information you requested and that you plan on making a visit to his grave.
It makes me happy to know that your Great Grandpa can now be remembered as more than just a name and a number.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me. Blessings to you and your family.
Nicole, Thanks again for responding to my message. I hope Laurel Lemke checks back to these messages, because I would like her to know how thankful I am for all she did to renovate the cemetery and place name markers there. She sounds like an incredible person. It is just so nice to know that someone cared enough to give these forgotten people a name. We are looking forward to visiting my Great Grandpa’s grave in Oct. Thanks again for caring and God Bless! Susan Pibal
My daughter and I visited the burial site at Western State Hospital after being told the history by a person we met at the dog park. It is one am, I’m unable to sleep. It is heartbreaking to think that many families are still unable to identify the grave of a family member. It is wonderful to know that effort’s were made to identify the people who at the time were given a number and that there are still many that will never have a grave marker. We don’t live in close proximity to the area but plan to visit as often as possible. I am a senior citizen and although , being on a fixed income, am unable to donate money, however It would be a privilege to help groom the area or assist in any other way.
My daughter, Kim, and I were able to visit the cemetery on October 15, 2021. We were looking for my Great Grandpa’s grave. He had a stroke and ended up in the State Hospital in 1928. He died in 1931 from a Cerebral Hemorrhage. It was an overwhelming feeling to find the missing puzzle piece to our family history. Hopefully, I will be able to finish the story about our family history for my Aunt Joyce and my cousins. It has been an incredible journey, and I want to thank everyone who helped me along the way. God Bless!