Minutes
Wimberley Cemetery Association
Annual Meeting
February 28, 2026
Packets with the Agenda, the 2026 minutes and the 2026 financial report were distributed as the
members registered. A slideshow was presented throughout the meeting, compliments to Carroll
Czichos.
President Joe Pendleton welcomed everyone to the meeting and encouraged comments/discussion
from the group throughout the meeting and thanked them all for coming. Next, he introduced the
current Officers and Trustees.
President: Joe Pendleton Trustees: Diane Pollard
Vice President: Carroll Czichos Kelley Shand
Secretary: Nancy Kyle Mario Perez
Treasurer: Vanessa Jones (absent) Matt Meeks (absent)
Historian: Carmen Polhemus
Minutes: Joe asked for a motion to dispense the reading of the minutes and asked if there were any
corrections to the minutes. Diane Schindler made a motion that the minutes be approved as presented
and Julie Jones provided the second. The minutes were approved.
Nancy asked everyone to please state their name before speaking because she is writing and not looking
at who’s talking, plus she doesn’t know everyone’s name! Joe told everyone that if they have any
questions throughout the meeting, please do not hesitate to raise their hand and ask.
Financial report: Joe reported that the beginning balance for the Edward Jones account on 1/1/2025
was $320,785.83. The assets added were $51,793.24 ($37,700 of that is from plot assignments;
$14,093.24 from dividends & interest). Total expenses withdrawn were $2,000.00 (plot
relinquishments). Net Operating income was $49,793.24 which was built from CDs maturing which
resulted in an ending balance on 12/31/2025 of $358,178.07. Joe explained that we work to build the
interest/dividend income to be able to add money to our yearly expense/operating account at Ozona
Bank and for special projects. Someday we will be out of plot assignments and will need this income to
maintain the cemetery. But, we should have plenty of niches left to sustain us for a while. The Ozona
Bank beginning balance on 1/1/2025 was $1,927.73. Approximately $13,000 was added in January for
yearly expenses, which includes mowing, office expenses, insurance, etc. The ending balance on
12/31/2025 was $2,255.04. Bob Cadenhead asked how long before we are out of plots; Joe estimated
1-2 years, but we do have several cremation plots and 137 niches in the Columbarium. Patti Morgan
asked about donations for the Cemetery and maybe publish something to ask for donations. Joe said
we have received $650 recently for cleaning the headstones. Diane Schindler suggested posting it on
the website. Patti suggested posting in the newspaper too. Joe asked if there were any corrections to
the financial report. Emma Davenport made a motion to accept the financial report as explained, Julie
Jones provided the second. The financial reports were approved.
Summary of Burials, Plot/Niche Assignments & Available Plots: Joe reported that we had 21 full burials
and 12 cremation burials. Of those 12 cremations 3 were inurnments into the columbarium. This is
opposite of what we expected since we had more cremation burials than full burials in the past couple
years. The plots assigned were 8 (10x10), 3 (5x10), 7 (5x5) and 7 (Niches). There were 3 plot
relinquishments back to the cemetery (2 - 10x10’s, 1 – 5x10’s). The available plots left are 21 (10x10),
10 (5x10), 53 (5x5), 137 (niches).
Patti Morgan asked about the cost of plots/niches. Joe explained the following costs for assignment:
10x10 plot - $800 assignment fee, $400 loving care fee (received $9,600 - 2026)
5x10 plot - $400 assignment fee, $400 loving care fee (received $2,400 – 2026)
5x5 plot - $200 assignment fee, $400 loving care fee (received $4,200 – 2026)
Niche - $2,500 assignment fee, $400 loving care fee (received $20,300 – 2026)
(The Niche includes 2 urns, all engraving and 2 opening/closings for inurnments)
Joe explained that the cost of a burial in ground for a 5x5 plot adds up due to the digging of the grave,
cost of the plot assignment, the headstone & funeral home expenses (if using) and can actually be more
than the cost of the niche (which is all inclusive)
Unfinished Business/Summary of Projects for 2025
Installing Permanent Markers: Joe showed what the 8”x16” marker looks like with plans to
install 15-20 each year. We have about 7-10 left to do from years past. Joe has reached out to the
families of most of these that have contact information and some have donated the $100 expense to
have the markers made, the others are being done by the cemetery to complete this project. Joe also
explained that there is a 3-year time limit to install headstones after a burial according to our Bylaws.
History Project: Carmen explained the process of finding the obituaries through different
websites and how her committee divides up the names for research. The project has grown way past
what they expected. They have accumulated obituaries/information on 1,138 names of the deceased in
the Wimberley Cemetery. Diane Schindler is on the committee along with Diane Pollard, Mario Perez
and several others. Carmen brought one of the books with the obituaries to show what they are doing.
They have found some free websites to use and have purchased a couple too. Carmen also asked for
volunteers if anyone was interested. They have received more than just obituaries; there is a lot of
history being discovered too. From newspaper.com an article was found written by Susie Danforth (a
substantial developer) whose relatives included William Winters, Ada Gold and Oscar Farris. William
Winters started the name of our town as Glendale, then William Winters (Winters Mill) then Cude’s Mill,
then Wimberleyville. The Post Office didn’t like the “ville” part of the name, so they settled on
Wimberley. Carmen said that obituaries are becoming obsolete because of the expense. Legacy.com
has obituaries from Legends, Thomason & Pennington funeral homes. The obituaries not naming a
place of burial are being kept in case they end up being buried at our cemetery. They find that many
people keep the cremains for a long time before burial. Another interesting find was about Judge Eli
Hill. Back in the 1900’s he only collected $4.50 in fees during his 18 years of service. He was famous for
settling out of court, he also was a Texas Ranger and a Civil War soldier. He settled in Wimberley which
was described as the wildest area in Texas!! (that got a huge laugh during the meeting!!!)
Diane Schindler asked if anyone attending had obituaries to share to let her know. Carmen said that out
of 1700 burials 1200 obituaries are done. Joe mentioned that people are splitting up the cremains and
burying them in different places. He also said he really appreciated all the hard work the committee has
been doing, they’ve spent lot of hours on this project!!
New Business:
Replacing old 8’x10’ storage shed with a new 10’x16’ building: There is a maintenance area at
the north end of the Cemetery where the original shed is located, and it has been there longer than Joe
or Carmen have been with the association!! It is an 8’x10’ structure that’s divided in the middle where
supplies are stored. The floor joists are rotten on the old shed making the floor very unstable. With a
new shed it can be put on a cement slab for protection. We’re looking at a 10’x16’ building and will
move it closer to the front of the maintenance area which is on higher ground. The dirt used for burials
is stored in that maintenance area too. We have options for a one or two door opening to the outside.
There will be a partition wall inside in the middle to separate between storage of records, obituaries,
urns, keys & decorations and the other side for tools, flag markers, metal detector, etc. There will be a
3’x3’ window to let in some natural light. Also, a walk-through gate to the shed to be added instead of
going through the large gate for maintenance. (slides were shown of the different types of layouts)
There are 2 bids we’ve received from contractors. One from Brad Wubbena for $15,500 (includes metal
roof, quality siding, sealed/partitioned, 3’x3’ window for light and all on a cement slab) and another
from Cyrus Evans for $10,500. We are asking for approval to spend up to, but not over $18.000. Nita
Leinneweber made a motion to approve spending up to, but not over $18,000 on the construction of a
new shed. Susan Johnson provided the 2 nd …. Motion approved. There was concern about the records
being kept without climate control, but Joe reassured everyone that the records are all safely scanned
into the computer, backed up by Carbonite software and kept on a zip drive. Gary Cadenhead asked
about the price for the upkeep of the shed and was told it is minimal. Also asked where the money
comes from and told it’s from the Money Market.
Cleaning of Headstones/Markers: Joe reported that we are using D2 for cleaning at the cost of
$65/gallon, $28/quart. Tri-County came out to the cemetery and gave several of us a demonstration on
the use of the D2 cleaner, slides were shown of the before and after cleaning of a couple headstones.
(Cowan & Motter) Cowan’s made a $100 donation towards the cleaning after Joe happened to run into
them at the cemetery and told them that we were about to start the cleaning task. Next, Joe explained
the cleaning process and handouts were provided for anyone to pick up if interested. The pictures
showed how well the D2 cleaned the mold & debris away. We are still in the planning stages of how to
tackle this endeavor and talked about starting with the older headstones that don’t have any contacts
available anymore. Carroll mentioned the D2 is biodegradable and not hazardous to your skin. He also
asked if anyone would like to volunteer to please sign up. Joe said that Vanessa has contacts with the
Boy Scout Troop and would talk with them for help. Emma Davenport asked if we need to get
permission from the family before cleaning their stone and it was suggested to post on the cemetery
website to see if anyone had a problem with this process to let us know. Carmen brought up writing an
article for the newspaper in the free section about the project/donations. Patti Morgan made a $500
donation as well. Thank you so much! Carmen gave a special thank you to Patti for such a generous
donation!! Patti Morgan said that Carmen writes beautifully and suggested she write an article to post
in the News & Views about the cleaning project and asking for donations even though this would cost
money to post, it might be worth it to get donations and feedback. Carmen said she would make note
of that, so she doesn’t forget! Carmen also wanted to acknowledge all the work that Diane Pollard has
been doing with not only the research, but she’s doing all the scanning of the obituaries too. Carmen
also asked for volunteers to put the obituaries into plastic sleeves. Diane Schindler said plastic sleeves
may not be a good idea because of being stored without climate control, they may stick to the sleeves.
Carmen said they would investigate that.
Election of Officers/Trustees: Nominees are as follows:
President: Joe Pendleton Trustees: Kelley Shand (2yr term)
Vice President: Carroll Czichos Mario Perez (2yr term)
Secretary: Nancy Kyle
Treasurer: Vanessa Jones
Historian: Carmen Polhemus
Joe presented the slate of officers/trustees that were up for re-election. All officers are up for a one-
year term. Joe asked for nominations from the floor for any officer position or Trustee position, there
were none. Jerry Roberts moved that the Officers/Trustees as slated be elected for another term, Patti
Morgan provided the second. The Officers/Trustees were approved. All were re-elected. Joe thanked
the Board for their service. Carroll asked if anyone is interested in learning more about the Board to
please come to our monthly meeting and get to know what is going on. We meet the 2 nd Monday every
month at 5:30pm at the Fire Station. Diane and Carmen both said it’s a fun group and we have a good
time. Carroll said you might even get a cookie when you come!
Carroll Czichos thanked our President, Joe Pendleton for his DAILY dedication and oversight of the
Cemetery!!! All agreed with a round of applause!!! THANK YOU, JOE!!
Joe announced that if there is nothing further that the meeting is adjourned.