Lady of the Valley Cemetery was established as the burial ground for the Dominican nuns who served at the convent that once stood in Ward, an early settlement situated between Colville and Kettle Falls, Washington. The land originally formed part of the Saint Francis Regis Mission and later the Dominican Convent. The cemetery lay behind the convent, on the south side of Highway 395, about two miles east of Kettle Falls, at T36N R38E Section 21.
Lady of the Valley contained 21 recorded burials. The cemetery was enclosed by a hedge on three sides and entered through a stone double-arched gate. When surveyed in 1999 and again in 2000 it was found to be in excellent condition, with well-preserved headstones. The convent no longer exists, but several associated buildings remain and now operate as a privately owned bed and breakfast known as My Parent’s Estate.
Across Highway 395 on the hillside is the Saint Francis Regis Mission Cemetery. Although near each other, Lady of the Valley Cemetery and Saint Francis Regis Mission Cemetery were separate and distinct. By the fall of 2011 all remains from Lady of the Valley Cemetery were removed and reinterred, likely at the Saint Francis Regis Mission Cemetery opposite the original site.
Transcriptions of the cemetery were documented by Maggie Rail on 31 January 1999 and later rechecked in August 2000. Earlier transcriptions by Mary Richards (NE Washington Genealogical Book 3, Rural Area Cemeteries of Stevens County) and the Stevens County tombstone inscriptions copied by Belva Pederson on 27 May 1975 were also consulted.
Baumstark, Sister Mary Adelberta, O.P., b. 1906, d. 1943
Boulet, Sister Mary Elizabeth, O.P., b. Nov 26, 1901, d. Apr 26, 1965, b. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, d/o Joseph and Rose Garott Boulet, res. Conrad, Mt, St Mary’s Convent Hospital as a bookkeeper
Carroll, Sister Mary Ann, O.P., b. 1884, d. 1965
Croh, Mother Mary Bonaventure, OP, b. 1877, d. 1942, Foundress
Dietz, Mother Mary Seraphica, O.P., b. 1877, d. 1967
Fichter, Sister Mary Yolanda, O.P., b. 1920, d. 1960
Freyland, Sister Mary Rhabana, O.P., b. 1893 Germany, d. Nov 04, 1951, 58yr old, residence 22 yrs Helena Mt.
Gerhardt, Sister Mary Cecilia, O.P., b. 1932, d. 1964
Hatfield, Sister Cecelia Maud, O.P., Tertiary, b. 1875 Cleveland, Ohio, d. Feb 23, 1944, age-68yr 10mo 28da, Music teacher
Joerg, Sister Mary Klodia, O.P., b. May 01, 1896, d. May 08, 1958, b. Germany
Kuhn, Sister Mary Agnita, O.P., b. Aug 22, 1917, d. Jul 02, 1954, b. Germany, d/o Fred Kuhn & Rose Lotz, res. Colville 17yr
Lang, Sister Aquilna, O.P., b. 1890, d.1942
Mathieu, Sister Mary Virginia, O.P., b. 1883, d. Dec 24, 1946 in Helena Mt, resided in Colville 17 years
Mayer, Sister Walburgis, O.P., b. 1885, d. 1946
Meyer, Sister Mary Matrona, O.P., b. May 10, 1885, d. May 05, 1965, b. Palatinat, Germany, d/o Maria Eva Lechnir and August Meyer, resided 17 yr in Tonasket, seamstress
Poetz, Mother Mary Belina, O.P., b. Apr 14, 1888, d. Apr 19, 1965, b. Greensville, South Carolina, d/o Adolf Poetz & Margaret Hass, Grandmother from Speyer, Germany, resided for 30 years at Kettle Falls Convent.
Riedmiller, Sister Mary Rose Francis, O.P., b. 1884, d. 1948
Schmitt, Sister Mary Hedwig, O.P., b. Sept 1916 Germany, d. Feb 14, 1956, d/o Phillip Schmitt and Elizabeth Hicks
Stalter, Mother Mary Arsenia, O.P., b. Jan 30, 1888 St Ingbert Saar, d. Jun 22, 1954, d/o Wilhelm Stalter and Maria Wagner, Provincial 1943-1949
Zimmerman, Sister Mary Alexander Barbara, O.P., b. 1878 Bellingshausen, Bavaria, d. Sep 02, 1942, d/o Barbara Schleier and Johann Zimmerman, 64y 6m 21d, First burial in this cemetery.
