Is the Southwestern University campus a place that is special to you? For us, it feels like home. Perhaps, because it is a place of learning and where many of us met our spouses and/or lifelong friends, it feels sacred. That sentiment prompted us to think about whether Southwestern could be our final resting place, too.

So, we began a conversation with President Jake B. Schrum ’68 about the possibility of building a columbarium on the campus. A columbarium is a structure with niches that serve as a burial vault for the containment of urns holding cremated human remains. You may have seen columbaria built on the grounds of churches in Texas. When we first began looking into this, Texas state law did not allow for private universities, even those affiliated with a church, to build columbaria on their campuses.

That changed September 1, 2007, when the Texas House Bill No. 1614 went into effect. President Schrum took our idea to the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas (ICUT) and Southwestern’s state legislators. Not long after that, State Representative Dan Gattis authored the bill and State Senator Steve Ogden sponsored it. Now, Southwestern University, as a private institution affiliated with the United Methodist Church, may build a columbarium.

The passing of this law leads us to the next step of determining interest. Last year, Southwestern’s architectural firm drafted some conceptual drawings so that we could share the idea of a columbarium with alumni, faculty and staff and measure interest. Click here to view a copy of the drawing. Should we determine that there is enough interest to garner the necessary early commitments, we will ask the Board of Trustees to consider the columbarium as one of Southwestern’s building projects.

Niches in the columbarium would cost $5,000, which would include the cost of construction, maintenance for perpetuity and a scholarship contribution to the University endowment. We felt it was important that a memorial to our lives also benefit future generations. We would need a minimum of 125 initial commitments to proceed, so your response is important. Please let us know of your interest in the columbarium here.

Obviously, this is a very personal consideration, one that requires time for reflection. Should you have any questions, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations by e-mail (alumni@southwestern.edu) or by phone (800-960-6363).

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Rev. Morris Bratton ’47

Mrs. Nettie Ruth Brucks Bratton ’48

Mrs. Jane Woodman Schrum ’70

Rev. Jerry Jay Smith ’55

Mrs. Mary Ann Springer Whitfield ’56

Bishop Joe A. Wilson ’59