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Llano Cemetery

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The Morrow family was headed west in 1888 when they passed through the newly formed town of Amarillo, a thriving piece of property in the dry, windy Panhandle. Their daughter, Lillian, died at 24 years old and the family needed a place to bury her. She was laid to rest on a plot of land that belonged to J.T. Gillespie, who ended up donating more of his land to the county for the construction of a formal cemetery.

“The cemetery was actually outside the city limits, and other burials started going on around her,” says Joe Alonzo, 10-year General Manager of Llano Cemetery. “There was a group of ladies who got together to tend to the graves and they paid dues, something like $1 a year, and they bought tools and trees to plant in the early stages. Then it just started growing.”

The Llano Cemetery is the resting place to a majority of people who make up Amarillo’s history, from notable families like the Harringtons, Whittenburgs, Bivins and Hagys, to civic leader Matthew “Bones” Hooks and astronaut Rick Husband. The first girl born in Amarillo, Mayvi Amarillo Cornelius, on July 18, 1888, was laid to rest there in May 1970.

As the number of burials in Llano grew, prominent figures in the community contributed to the erection of a private mausoleum. It was built in 1929, despite The Depression, and was constructed out of Bedford Stone, the same natural stone used to build Westminster Abbey. Not only did Mrs. M.D. Oliver-Eakle purchase a private room in the now-public Llano Pantheon, she and her horse, Prince, led many a funeral procession in the early years of the cemetery.

“In the back part of Llano are Civil War veterans and Confederate soldiers. Each grave is marked, even if it’s just a brick,” says Joe.

Like most cemeteries built in the late 19th century, there are sections dedicated to infants (in Llano it’s called Babyland) where young children were buried after living only months, days or hours. The grave markers are small and compact. There are also sections where, before the Civil Rights movement began, people were buried in areas according to their race and ethnicity.

“Back when people weren’t treated fairly, they’d bury them together. My great-great grandfather Raya is buried in the ‘Mexican section,’” says Joe, pulling back the headstone wreath, revealing that he died in 1937.

Former Governor James Browning signed the charter for Llano on November 9, 1921, and incidentally, died that night. Though he was born in Arkansas, he was buried in Llano.

In 1964, there was an addition to the back of the Pantheon, though the addition was built underground. In fact, it was the first underground mausoleum built in the country.
As the cemetery grew, so did the acreage. Currently, Llano holds 147 acres of developed land, with an additional 100 acres undeveloped. In 1990, Llano east was built and is home to the Field of Honor, a memorial for law enforcement officers, and the Garden of Angels, a place for babies and children.
On the main grounds are other significant memorials, such as the Garden of the Four Chaplains, an outdoor mausoleum, and the Caretakers Cottage, where the cemetery manager used to live (until 1979). It currently serves as a meeting place for the board of directors.
“I guess if it were still used as a home, I would live there,” says Joe, laughing. “You’re not going to get a lot of people knocking on your door in the evening trying to sell you something.”
When Joe took a summer job mowing the Llano grounds with his grandfather 39 years ago, he never considered the possibility that he’d one day be the general manager. In fact, he wanted to be a mechanic and attended Amarillo College for such training. However, after helping several families when the cemetery was short-staffed, Joe realized he had a talent, and subsequent desire, to guide people through their loss.
“The foreman took a vacation and I was left in charge, and they said I had to go home and put on a suit. Turns out I still had the suit I got married in, so I wore that,” he recalls. “It felt different to be dressed like that. I was the same old Joe, but different. I was the Grounds Superintendent and then the Assistant Manager in 1996. I didn’t always like waiting on families because you just don’t always know how it’s going to go, but it’s become like a ministry for me. I’ve seen all types of losses.”
In 1987, the Texas Historical Commission recognized Llano as an historical site. It was the first cemetery in Texas to receive the honor.

“Llano is a special place,” says Joe. “You know, we used to take a drive after church on Sundays to visit graves. It was peaceful. That was just what people used to do. The first day I was here, we had about seven services. I thought, ‘This isn’t for me. People are dying, people are crying. This just isn’t for me. But I stuck it out a week and that week turned into 39 years at Llano. Sometimes I wonder, if these headstones could talk, what would they say?”

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by Jennie Treadway-Miller

Jennie was a columnist for the Chattanooga Times Free Press for eight years prior to moving to Amarillo in 2008. She is an avid reader, runner and writer.