memorial service Assistance and SUPPORT
USNA Columbarium REACHES Capacity
USNA AA&F Announces Expansion Plans and Fundraising Effort - 1 May 2025
The U.S. Naval Academy Columbarium - a popular and honored final resting place for USNA graduates and their spouses since its opening in 1987 – is now out of available niches.
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.
FAQs for Families During the Pause in First Inurnments at the USNA Columbarium
Q1: Why is the construction of an additional Columbarium annex necessary?
A1: The U.S. Naval Academy Columbarium has reached its capacity for first inurnments, necessitating the construction of an additional annex to accommodate future needs. That new annex is planned to open in the summer of 2027.
Q2: What is the difference between a first and second inurnment?
A2: At the USNA Columbarium, there is enough room in each niche for two urns. By policy, USNA allows qualified graduates to be inurned alongside their spouses in each niche. The first spouse inurned in the niche is called the ‘first inurnment.’ When their spouse is inurned in the same niche, that is called the ‘second inurnment.’ Second inurnments will continue without pause in the current Columbarium at time of need for the second spouse.
Q3: My mother/father is already inurned at the Columbarium and their spouse has now passed away. Can they still be inurned at the current Columbarium?
A3: Yes. When spouses are inurned in the same niche, these are called ‘second inurnments’, and will continue without pause in the current Columbarium. When the qualified spouse has passed away, families desiring a second inurnment should contact the Memorial Affairs team on the Yard at the contact information below to schedule the service.
Q4: Can qualified alumni and their spouses make arrangements for first inurnment in the new annex before it opens?
A4: Yes. USNA Memorial Affairs will serve the needs of alumni families by maintaining a waiting list for niches in the new annex for qualified USNA graduates and their spouses, in order of time of need. Additionally, they will provide options for families to memorialize their loved ones during the pause in first inurnments.
Q5: What is the process for getting on the waiting list for the new annex?
A5: Families should contact USNA Memorial Affairs when the qualified graduate or graduate’s spouse has passed away. Reach Joe Fagan ’89 or Chris Silva by phone at 410-293-1101 or 1105, or by email at memorialaffairs-group@usna.edu.
Q6: What documentation is required to be placed on the waiting list?
A6: The following documentation is required to be placed on the waiting list:
• DD214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) of the qualified USNA graduate.
• Marriage certificate if the deceased is a qualified graduate’s spouse.
• Death certificate for the deceased applicant.
Q7: What options are available to alumni families for memorial services during the first inurnment pause?
A7: The USNA Memorial Affairs department will offer families the following options for memorializing their deceased loved one(s) during the pause in first inurnments at the USNA Columbarium:
• Immediate service with delayed inurnment in the new annex.
• Delay of service and inurnment in the new annex.
Q8: What do I do with my spouse/parent’s cremains while waiting for the new Columbarium to be finished?
A8: You have the option of working with a local funeral home of your choice to store your loved one’s cremains, or keep the cremains at home.
Q9: USNA had been my first choice, but I don’t wish to wait for the new Columbarium to be finished to inurn my spouse/parent. What other options are available?
A9: Please be aware that Arlington National Cemetery will also likely have a wait period, but if you wish to pursue that route, please visit (https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Funerals/Scheduling-a-Funeral). Another option is to find a National Cemetery near you. Please visit (https://www.cem.va.gov/find-cemetery) to find VA cemeteries in your area.
Construction on Ramsay Road and Impact on the Columbarium
Please note that Ramsay Road adjacent to the Columbarium is closed through the summer of 2026 to undergo repairs and the installation of a seawall for flood prevention and to protect the current columbarium from tidal inundations.
During this time, military honors for USNA graduates normally rendered at the Columbarium oratory will be rendered at the firing battery adjacent to Alumni Hall and across the street from Worden Field. Service attendees will then proceed from the firing battery to the Columbarium via the footbridge for placement of the urn in the niche. It is about a 1/4 mile walk.
If you are visiting a loved one inurned 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 footbridge is available from the parking area to the Columbarium.
The AA&F Memorial Services team is here to help with any questions or concerns.
Call Wes Huey '87 at 410-295-4023 or Timothy Woodbury at 410-295-4064.
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