KAPAIA — It was a dream of Robert E. Simpkins Sr. to own a mortuary on Kaua‘i.
A decade to the day after his death, his daughter will dedicate his dream.
“My dad always wanted a mortuary, and I was finally able to build one,” said Roberta L. Simpkins, owner and operator of Kauai Memorial Gardens & Funeral Home.
The blessing is 11:30 a.m. tomorrow, Sunday, March 21, and the public is invited, she said.
The opening not only marks the official launch of the Lihu‘e-area’s only mortuary, but the synergy of the island’s first mortuary and cemetery owned and operated by one company, and on the same site, along Maalo Road on the way to Wailua Falls, Simpkins said.
Also new at Kauai Memorial Gardens & Funeral Home is Julie Garcia, funeral director, who has over 15 years of experience as a funeral director on the island.
Among the nine employees of Kauai Memorial Gardens & Funeral Home are morticians Kai Leleo and Jaime Barbieto.
The new, two-story building that will be blessed and dedicated tomorrow has offices upstairs, with the first floor consisting of a family viewing area, reception area, crematorium, and embalming and preparation room, as well as a space for display of urns and other memorials.
The building alone cost $715,000. The total cost of the project, including equipment, a new hearse and a new van, was over $1 million, Simpkins said.
The Simpkins family also owns and operates a mortuary and cemetery on Guam, with Roberta Simpkins’ sisters and younger brother running that operation.
Associate Editor Paul C. Curtis may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
