Opened in the early 1970s, Lake Havasu Memorial Gardens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, serves as a final resting place for the remains and cremains of many residents and visitors. According to Findagrave.com, the cemetery is home to 4,945 gravesites, along with a couple of mausoleums and several columbaria.
The gardens were created to provide a peaceful and dignified environment for families to honor and remember loved ones. Over the years, the site has evolved to include landscaped grounds, memorial markers, and spaces dedicated to reflection and remembrance.
As Lake Havasu City grew, the memorial gardens became an integral part of the community, hosting ceremonies and offering support to those in mourning. Its history reflects the city’s commitment to preserving memories and honoring lives within a tranquil desert setting.
I was interested in finding the first person buried there and a bit of history about that individual. It appears that Karl Joseph Baunach is number one. Karl, born in Germany on March 11, 1898, married Theresia Schmitz in 1948.
The couple had two children, Erika and Eric. Their father died in Lake Havasu City on April 13, 1970. Theresia died in 1995, some 25 years after him. She is buried in Lake Havasu Memorial Gardens, along with their son.
Sgt. Eric Baunach served with the US Army in Vietnam, later becoming an archaeologist in Arizona and Oregon and owning his own construction company. His sister Erika Baunach-Hinkel died in 2025. She’s buried in Oregon.
I tried to find out what brought the Baunachs to Lake Havasu City, with a 1956 ship manifest showing him as a shoemaker. That’s the year this family came to America, ultimately landing at Ellis Island. It seems unlikely that a shoemaker would be needed in our fledgling town at such an early period.
Karl was 72 when he passed away, so working in construction also seems unlikely, though some would argue otherwise. My guess is that he was one of the early realtors. If someone knows for sure, they can email me.
Undoubtedly, there’s so much more to be told about Karl Baunach, yet I was only privy to information available through archived newspaper articles, Ancestry.com, and Findagrave.com. Karl’s grandchildren might know some of the history, but the truth is, most young people have little interest in such.
Without question, there are other interesting people buried in Lake Havasu Gardens, and as time allows, I’ll research and release more findings. A graveyard to me is like an open book.
What unique and nonstop stories these tombstones would tell if only they could talk. It’s up to writers like me to create the historical chit chat for them.
I like to write junk... 