Why Mission: Cherokee Memorial Park and Funeral Home

Cherokee Memorial Park and Funeral Home sits along the 99 Freeway in Lodi, California. The property is lush and green and displays a timeline of progress from the mid-century mausoleum and Japanese inspired gardens at the south end of the property to the brand-new state of the art funeral home and administrative offices near the north end.      

 

 

Walter Scheffer has been with Cherokee for 26 years and has been President of the organization for the last 10. He’s spent his tenure on a mission of continual improvement.  “We’ve added new gardens, we’ve converted our old cemetery office into a reception area, we’ve built the Vineyard Chapel as well as our funeral home and cemetery administrative offices that are just over 30,000 square feet.”    

 

The transformation has meant an expansion of services for the residents of Lodi and the surrounding areas.  “We can now serve everyone from one location, they can have funeral service, cremation, burial, f lowers as well as a reception all at one convenient location.”

 

An existing relationship with a banker brought Scheffer to Mission Bank, but he says it’s the reliability and experience that has kept him a customer. 

 

“Mission Bank understands our industry and are great partners for us. This construction has been going on for the last 10 years and Mission Bank has supplied the funds so we could move ahead and make all of this happen. When we need something, we can call and ask, and when they need something, they can call and ask. We are connected and we’re all on the same team.” 

 

Scheffer has spent 52 years in the industry and keeps a countdown timer on his phone reminding him of his upcoming retirement at the end of 2025. Even though he’s ready to sit back and relax, he can’t help thinking about the future of Cherokee.   

“The cemetery never stops growing, it’s always developing, we always need more land. Our next step is to go across the street and expand our gardens. We have 44 acres of land there and that’s where our cemetery will grow.”