Garland Memorial Park
Garland Memorial Park is located at the intersections of Garland and Miller Road. It is currently divided in to 4 editions including, Knights of Pythias, Garland Memorial Park I (Joyce Edition), Garland Memorial Park II, and Garland Memorial Park III (Marion D. Williams IV Edition).
Knights of Pythias
The Knights of Pythias Cemetery was established March of 1900 and is divided into 4 sections. There are many resting places for early pioneer families in this addition. This section is known for it's large developed trees and classic grave markers. It was also widely regarded for the large red oak tree which spanned nearly 70 feet tall with a crown spread of 95 feet and a trunk circumference of more than 14 feet at chest height.
It was designated by the Texas Forest Service as the largest of it's kind in all of Dallas, Tarrant, and eight adjoining counties. Unfortunately this near 200 year old fixture became sick with a wood decay fungus (Ganoderma applanatum) along the tree's root flare. After several years drought conditions, the tree also became infected with hypoxlylon canker, another opportunistic pathogen. The tree declined rapidly and began to pose serious safety risk to cemetery visitors as well as traffic along South Garland Road.
Few other tree's of it's kind exist in Texas as it is native to the U.S. Pacific Coast. Legend has it W.B. Bell planted seeds possibly brought from California by cousins near the family plot around 1832. The Knights of Pythias fraternal order began developing acreage as a cemetery around 1900, when the tree was already around 70 years old.
Records in this section are incomplete due to the Knight of Pythias organization not providing the originals. Current records were assembled by survey of existing headstones.
Samantha Jones, Project Manager
Garland Memorial Park - Joyce Addition
Garland Memorial Park I, informally known as the "Joyce Addition" was established in April of 1934. Garland Memorial Park I sits adjacent to the northside of Knights of Pythias. Originally this property was owned by Charles Joyce. His daughter, Marita Joyce later inherited this property and began to expand the cemetery one row at a time as needed. Eventually the foundation took over the property sales, while Marita would designate new rows as needed. After her passing, the additional property she owned to the north was donated to the Presbyterian Village Nursing Foundation. The foundation was later able to purchase these additional properties to expand the park further into Garland Memorial Park II & III.
Garland Memorial Park - 2nd Addition Est. 1991
Garland Memorial Park III - Garden of Serenity
The third addition was founded in 2004 and named for Marion D. Williams IV for his outstanding dedication to the improvement of Garland Memorial Park and Garland Mills Cemetery throughout his lifetime.
Garland Memorial Park III - Garden of Peace
Garland Memorial Park III - Garden of Reflections
This large new section has expanded Garland Memorial Parks space inventory by over 2000 available spaces. It is scheduled to officially open Monday, February 20, 2017 for at-need and pre-need sales. Tree placement has recently been completed and bench rights have been designated. Due to demand, every other available row starting with row 1 will be designated for upright monuments.
Garland Memorial Park III - Columbarium Garden Phase 1
This new development lies to north side of the park, adjacent to the Williams Funeral Directors office area. It is specifically designated for cremated remains only, and compliments the Radial Columbarium Niche area. It includes a traditional niche garden area in the center, and private estate designs located in the 101-126 areas.
