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Devotion of early settlers reflected
in upkeep of Nibley and Millville cemetery
NEAT AS A PIN:
The cemetery is green and fair, thanks in part
to Theil Jenson. / Photo by Shannon K. Johnson
By Shannon K. Johnson
April 23, 2007 | NIBLEY -- When visiting the Nibley
and Millville cemetery the neatly trimmed green grass
and well-maintained roads are easily overlooked.
In 1945 Nibley and Millville cemetery district was
formed, and that large district was divided into three
smaller districts.
Representatives were then elected from each of these
districts. Theil Jenson, a World War II veteran, has
worked on the board for more than 22 years.
"It's time I retire. I keep saying that I should,
but they always say, 'No, no, you do a good job,'" said
Jenson.
Of the other two members, one spends only half the
year in Cache Valley and the other is a farmer.
"So, I guess I may do a little more," said Jenson.
Not every city has a cemetery district. Residents
of such a district pay a property tax to help maintain
the cemetery.
"I reckon there are probably seven or eight cemetery
districts in Cache Valley. Providence has their own
cemetery but no cemetery district," said Jenson
The tax hasn't gone up since 1987, said Jenson, "so
we have to be a little more conservative, instead of
so liberal like our government today."
On April 26, 1896, Abel Garr donated six acres to
be used as the cemetery after the death of his wife
of five weeks.
In 1932 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
gave care of the cemetery over to the city.
For Jenson the thing that makes the Nibley and Millville
cemetery unique is the care and devotion that the earlier
settlers had for their dead.
This devotion is carried on by Jenson.
"Whenever there is a soldier whose passed and I want
to say something to that family, I always say: that
guy in the casket deserves respect and honor, and those
people standing there mourning him are proud of him."
Jenson is in many ways like those early pioneers,
his daughter Tamera Fitting said, "Him having this job
has made all of us more comfortable with death,"
Fitting also said, "The pride he has taken with caring
for our real close relatives graves like his parents."
Jenson will not simply accept the compliment; he quips
in response:"Don't say things like that, or we are going
to die."
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