DUANE
Duane's take
The marker's the one doing the talking here — I'm just the voice it rides into your ears. Now, out on the west side of Lubbock, there's a place that doesn't announce itself the way you might expect. No towering granite obelisks, no upright monuments reaching for the sky.
Just ten acres — to start — of flat markers laid into the ground, trees, flowers, shrubs, and the kind of hush that makes you lower your voice without being asked. In 1963, a man named George Assiter — born 1920, would live all the way to 2006 — purchased those ten acres with a vision. He wanted something different.
A cemetery, yes, but one that felt like a park. He laid it out in individually named gardens, sections A through F, and he held to that flat-marker rule from the very beginning. No upright monuments.
The landscaping did the talking instead. But here's the thing about beginnings — they don't wait for you to be ready. The very first burials at Peaceful Gardens were Patsy Mojica, born 1933, and her daughter Tammy, born 1962.
Both gone in 1963. Both lost in a tragic car accident. Before the trees had grown tall enough to offer shade, this new place of peace was already asked to hold something heavy.
The cemetery kept growing. Expanding to the west, again and again, over the years. By the time you're hearing this, Peaceful Gardens has stretched to over twenty-three acres and holds nearly thirteen thousand interments.
What started as ten acres and a vision is now something considerably larger than that — in acreage and in meaning. In 1967, the cemetery opened a pet cemetery. Now don't you smile and move on too fast — more than seventeen hundred animals are at rest there.
Dogs, cats, birds, snakes, and — I want to make sure you heard that right — one pony. One. Pony.
Somebody out on the Llano Estacado loved that animal enough to see it properly buried, and Peaceful Gardens said yes. Then there's the chapel, built in 1970, which comes with something that raised eyebrows at the time — an underground mausoleum, one of the first of its kind in the area. Above ground, the gardens.
Below ground, more room still. The cemetery holds multitudes in every sense. Section L is dedicated to those who practice Islamic burial rituals.
The Masonic garden is marked with a granite altar statue, though Masons are buried throughout — alongside Shriners and Eastern Star members, their iconography quietly telling their stories in the flat stones. Veterans rest here too, from every major U.S. conflict since World War I. And then there are the names some folks in Lubbock will recognize right away.
Christopher B. Stubblefield — known as Stubb, born 1931, died 1995 — noted restauranteur and music patron. And Donnie Moore, professional baseball player, born 1954, died 1989.
Both of them here, flat markers like everyone else, no monument taller than any other. That's the quiet philosophy of the place, isn't it. Over twenty-three acres.
Nearly thirteen thousand souls. The famous and the forgotten, the veterans and the beloved pets, the families who practice different faiths, the fraternal brothers with their symbols carved in stone — all of them level with one another under the trees George Assiter planted the idea for back in 1963. Peaceful Gardens.
The name doesn't oversell it.
What the marker says
In 1963, George Assiter (1920-2006) purchased ten acres to develop as a cemetery with individually named gardens (sections A-F). Peaceful Gardens has grown to over 23 acres and nearly 13,000 interments. Since the beginning, the cemetery emphasized a park-like atmosphere, evident in the landscaping of trees, flowers and shrubs. Additionally, the cemetery’s grave markers were all flat, with no upright monuments. The first burials were Patsy Mojica (1933-1963) and her daughter Tammy (1962-1963), who were involved in a tragic car accident. The cemetery has been expanded to the west several times. The chapel, built in 1970, includes an underground mausoleum, one of the first of its kind in the area. The cemetery hosts a number of distinctive features. Section L offers lots that accommodate those who practice Islamic burial rituals. Several artistic decorations are present throughout. In 1967, the cemetery opened a pet cemetery, which is the final resting place of more than 1,700 dogs, cats, birds, snakes and one pony. Burials include veterans of every major U.S. Conflict since World War I. Many grave markers have iconography that denote membership in a fraternal order. The masonic garden is denoted with a granite altar statue, but mason burials appear throughout the cemetery, along with Shriners and eastern star members. Well-known persons buried here include noted restauranteur and music patron, Christopher B. “Stubb” Stubblefield (1931-1995), and professional baseball player, Donnie Moore (1954-1989). Historic Texas Cemetery - 2022