Spectral Keepers of the Lights

Uneasy Souls at Tillamook Lighthouse

The New York Times had a story recently highlighting the problems of Eternity by the Sea Columbarium, which owns Tillamook Lighthouse, also known as Terrible Tillie. Decommissioned in 1957 it was eventually sold to the company, who turned it into a final resting place for the cremains of people, advertising it as a final resting place for honorary lightkeepers. After 25 years of operating it, their license has been pulled by the state of Oregon.

At least two urns containing the cremains of people have been lost, vandalism and neglect have left the lighthouse exposed to the weather and cormorants, gulls and murres have made it their nesting place. Bird droppings are everywhere, the roof leaks, and accurate records are not being kept. The state also says because the urns are being kept on concrete blocks and wood planks, the place doesn’’t even qualify as a columbarium. Survivors of the deceased, who have paid $1,000 to $2,500 to have their loved ones inurned there, are understandably upset at the deplorable conditions. Those who have paid in advance have not been able to have their ashes placed there. The license was pulled in 1999 and was rejected upon reapplying in 2005.

What do the owners say about this? “We didn’t do anything wrong,” according to the story. “The state shut us down unfairly for a technical violation, not renewing our license in time in the 1990s.” The executive director of the Mortuary and Cemetery Board, David J. Koach, rejected that notion was somehow protecting others in the industry when it rejected the application for a new license. He cited a 23-page summary of the decision, which noted that investigators for the board found multiple violations that included poor record-keeping and improper storage of urns.

Mimi Morissette, a real estate developer, bought the lighthouse with a group of investors in 1980 for $50,000. Access to the site is severely limited, with a helicopter landing the only way to access the rock, and is off limits even to he owners for spring and summer as a part of the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Nesting birds cannot be disturbed during that time. She has ambitious plans for the site even yet, hoping to raise $1 million dollars, reapplying for a license or skipping that process altogether, and constructing walls of niches in titanium that could store 300,000 urns.

As of 2005, the company’s bank balance was $451.51. And yet the company still is accepting clients and putting them on a waiting list.

Related Stories on the Web:

• Eternity at Sea Doesn’t Go Peacefully - Oregon Live
• Eternity by the Sea Columbarium - Website

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