For more than 60 years, Columbia Gardens Cemetery has been working with clients to design personalized and lasting memorials. Our team of on-site staff and highly skilled subcontractors have extensive experience in all aspects of monument design and production, including:

• customized design services
• site excavation and foundation setting
• installation of monuments, crypts and mausoleums
• ongoing routine maintenance
• restoration services

In 2022, the monument and grounds teams at Columbia Gardens received on-site training from John Arpel of Atlas Preservation, an expert in monument and gravestone restoration.

KATHERINE CAPILONGO

With more than 10 years of experience in the monument industry, Katherine brings genuine care and creativity to every project, ensuring that each piece reflects the unique story it is meant to tell. Specializing in upright monuments, Katherine has extensive knowledge of more than 70 granite colors, allowing her to select the perfect materials to balance beauty with durability. She has designed a wide variety of memorials, including traditional headstones, granite markers, bronze on granite markers, custom memorials and granite benches.

Prior to joining the Columbia Gardens Cemetery team in 2018, Katherine worked at various cemeteries throughout Virginia, where she built close relationships with families. Her ability to listen to clients and understand their wishes is at the heart of her work. She carefully incorporates meaningful symbols, engravings and design elements to craft memorials that honor their loved ones in a deeply personal way. Her work in the monument industry has touched countless lives, and her dedication to her craft continues to have a lasting impact on the families we serve at Columbia Gardens and beyond.

WALLY FRANKLAND

An Army veteran, Wally has more than 20 years of experience with the American Battle Monuments Commission and Arlington National Cemetery. Both organizations are renowned for their world-class standards and collaboration with leaders in design, construction and maintenance of private and federal memorials in the United States and 11 countries around the world.

Wally’s expertise and background have been invaluable in continuing Columbia Gardens’ legacy of creating customized memorials, which began in 1964 with Ned R. Thomas. He has completed the nationally recognized Elberton Granite Association Monument Retailers Course.
Today at Columbia Gardens, we are always learning and staying current with the newest advances in the monument industry. We incorporate industry best practices into our daily operations to provide our clients with the highest level of service during and after the memorialization process.

GREG JENC

A long-time member of the Columbia Garden’s grounds crew, Greg brings extensive experience to all aspects of monument installation, maintenance and preservation. In 2023 Greg earned JAHN Certification in Masonry Restoration from Cathedral Stone Products. In training led by expert stonemasons, Greg received hands-on experience in repairing multiple types of masonry to achieve long-lasting results and the best possible finished product.

In addition to nearly 10 years working with monuments, Greg has 30 years of related experience, including Certification by the National Fire Institute in fireplace construction. These skills have proven valuable in his work at Columbia Gardens building monument foundations to precise standards and assembling multi-piece monuments using state-of-the-art techniques. Greg understands the importance of each step in the process and is a talented coach and mentor for his teammates at the cemetery.