Assistance and SUPPORT
USNA Columbarium Approaching Capacity - USNA AA&F Announces Expansion Plans and Fundraising Effort - 1 May 2025
The U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation (USNA AA&F) and the U.S. Naval Academy announced last month that the Columbarium - a popular and honored location for our alumni since its opening in 1987 – is nearly out of available niches.
Fewer than 20 new niches now remain at the Columbarium, and the USNA Memorial Affairs team estimates that the current Columbarium will reach capacity for new or first inurnments by the end of the summer of 2025.
USNA AA&F, in close partnership with the Naval Academy, is actively working on plans to expand the Columbarium. The expansion project aims to ensure that alumni who wish to be inurned at the Academy will have the opportunity to do so.
The immediate plan, thanks to lead philanthropic support from the Class of 1975, involves the construction of a new 650 niche wall at the top of the hill, overlooking College Creek. The design for this expansion is complete; however, the project requires $1.8 million in additional philanthropic support to move forward.
USNA AA&F is seeking other supporters to follow ‘75’s lead and consider contributing to this vital project.
"We need to raise the necessary funds to ensure that all our alumni have a dignified resting place," said AA&F Executive Director of Memorial Services, Wes Huey ‘87. "This is how we alumni take care of each other until that final bell, and we are committed to reaching our goal with the support of our community."
In addition to the immediate expansion, the AA&F and USNA staff are also planning for future phases of the Columbarium's growth. Options are being explored now, and designs will be developed for those future expansions.
“Memorial services at USNA for our alumni is an example of the partnership and synergy between the Yard and the AA&F,” said Huey, who has directed Memorial Services at the AA&F since 2023. “While the Naval Academy staff operates the Columbarium, it is the generosity of our alumni that provides for these places of final rest.”
The original Columbarium completed in 1987 was principally sponsored by the Alumni Association, including a major grant from the George and Carol Olmsted Foundation in memory of Jerauld L. Olmsted, Class of 1922. The Class of 1959 sponsored an oratory and upgrades to the Columbarium in 2004.
The Naval Academy Foundation has set up a general fund for the Columbarium expansion and is reaching out to classes to garner support.
In the interim, USNA will implement a waiting list for deceased alumni who expressed wishes to be inurned in the new annex of the Columbarium. The process for signing up for the waiting list is the same as for scheduling a Columbarium service – notify the Memorial Affairs team on the Yard when the qualified alumni or alumni spouse has passed away.
While awaiting the opening of the new annex, families are welcome to work with their local funeral homes for the arrangement of storage of remains or may choose to keep their loved ones’ remains at home.
For guidance and options on current services and bookings, please contact Joe Fagan ’89 & Chris Silva at
memorialaffairs-group@usna.edu or visit https://www.usna.edu/Cemetery/Arrangements.php.
Naval Academy Columbarium Update - 31 January 2025
The U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation (AA&F) connects, supports and actively communicates with family and friends mourning the loss of alumni. We support that difficult journey through a series of programs.
Among those is our liaison with the Naval Academy office of Memorial Affairs, who manages and performs inurnments and ceremonies at the Naval Academy Columbarium on Hospital Point.
The Columbarium has become a popular and honored location for our alumni since 1987, and now the 2448 niches available for inurnments are nearing capacity.
Fewer than 40 spaces or new niches now remain at the USNA Columbarium, and the USNA Memorial Affairs team estimates that the current Columbarium will reach capacity for new or first inurnments by the end of the summer of 2025.
There is a plan for construction on a new columbarium with additional niches, which will be located at the top of the hill behind the current columbarium, but the project does not yet have a scheduled start date.
This construction is expected to last two years, meaning new inurnments for alumni at the Naval Academy Columbarium will not happen for at least two years once all the new niches at the columbarium are filled in the summer of 2025.
We join the Naval Academy office of Memorial Affairs to encourage families considering interment at the columbarium for their loved one(s) to plan ahead. Once full, only secondary interments will take place until the new Columbarium is completed.
For guidance and options in services and bookings, visit www.usna.edu/Cemetery or contact Joe Fagan ’89 & Chris Silva at memorialaffairs-group@usna.edu.
Please also note that Ramsay Road, adjacent to the Columbarium, is closed for 18-24 months to undergo repairs and the installation of a seawall for flood prevention and to protect the current columbarium from tidal inundations.
During this time, memorial services will be held near Alumni Hall and Worden Field, with urn placement afterward with a member of the Memorial Affairs staff and designated family members.
If you are visiting a loved one previously interred at the columbarium, please note that there is no parking on Ramsay Road during this construction. Visitors to the columbarium will have to park adjacent to Sherman Field or in the triangle lot near Alumni Hall. A footpath is available from the parking area near Alumni to access the columbarium.
The USNA and AA&F Memorial Affairs teams are here to help with any questions or concerns.
In 1987, the Naval Academy constructed the Columbarium adjacent to the cemetery. The columbarium was built by the Naval Academy Alumni Association and principally sponsored by the Class of 1959 with $500,000 in gifts from alumni and friends of the Academy. This included a major grant from the George and Carol Olmsted Foundation in memory of Jerauld L. Olmsted, Class of 1922.
The U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation (USNA AA&F) aims to support family and friends mourning the loss of U.S. Naval Academy alumni.
Available assistance and information include advance planning, how to get the word out to classmates, preparing an obituary, choosing memorial tribute gifts, and honoring those lost in the service of our country.
We are here to help and appreciate any feedback you can provide about additional questions we can answer or information we can provide to better help our Naval Academy families navigate this process.
Recognition of Sacrifice and Valor
Honor Our Heroes
Honoring Deceased USNA Graduates at the Fluegel Alumni Center (FAC)
Every day a deceased Naval Academy graduate has a memorial service at the Naval Academy, the USNA AA&F honors them by flying their class & service flags at half-mast on the FAC masts. Our alumni community loses roughly 700 graduates each year, over 100 of whom have their memorial services at USNA. We are proud to play a small part in honoring their lives of service as alumni of USNA.
Visiting The USNA Cemetery and Columbarium
All visitors to the cemetery and Columbarium must adhere to Naval Academy access regulations. The current security policy is posted here. Since the Naval Academy considers the cemetery and Columbarium ceremonial spaces, visitors are asked to respect the dignity of the grounds. Smoking, eating, drinking, littering, dog walking, and jogging are prohibited at the cemetery and Columbarium.
In 2003, under the leadership of MIDN Tyler Hale Churchill, USNA 2003, the 13th Company placed benches in the cemetery for the convenience of visitors. The 13th Company's benevolent actions represent an important symbolic bond between today's midshipmen and those who have served before them.
In the Oratory of the USNA Columbarium is the Class of 1959 locator kiosk. This touch-activated kiosk shows the name/class of all those individuals who are interred or inurned and the location of the gravesite or columbarium niche.
Resources
Donating an alumni's Lucky Bag, sword, or other memorable items? Notify the local chapter or class. Also, you can contact USNA's Nimitz Library Archives or Preble Hall (USNA Museum).
Contact Information
Email Timothy Elizabeth Woodbury or call 410-295-4064
"THEY SHALL GROW NOT OLD, AS WE THAT ARE LEFT GROW OLD;
AGE SHALL NOT WEARY THEM, NOR THE YEARS CONDEMN.
AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM."
- LAURENCE BINYON, 1914