The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Lakeview Memorial Gardens

Lakeview Memorial Gardens is the youngest of Avon Park’s three community cemeteries and the only one established and operated as a commercial memorial park. It occupies twenty-five landscaped acres at 854 Memorial Drive on the southern approach to town, bordering Lake Denton[lakeview-location].

Founding by Robert E. Sherwood (1968–1969)

The cemetery was conceived and built by local real estate developer and general contractor Robert E. Sherwood (1928–2015)[obit-robert-sherwood-2015]. A native of Linton, Indiana, who relocated to Highlands County in 1959, Sherwood served as CEO of Sebring Shores Development, Inc. (constructing the Sebring Shores Golf Course in 1966) and served thirty years on the bank boards of Tropical State Bank and Barnett Bank[obit-robert-sherwood-2015].

In 1968, recognizing that municipal Bougainvillea Cemetery was approaching full platting, Sherwood acquired twenty-five acres designed in an L-shape reaching toward Lake Denton, giving the grounds its name[lakeview-about]. He incorporated Lakeview Memorial Gardens, Inc. (Florida Division of Corporations Document 329423) and, with corporate secretary Harry Y. Britton, executed the formal dedication on 4 October 1968 for Section One (surveyed by registered land surveyor W. Dale Thomas across 15.24 acres), which was approved by the Board of County Commissioners on 7 January 1969 and recorded in Plat Book 9, Page 11[hc-plat-9-11]. Sherwood laid out curvilinear lawn sections with flat bronze markers flush to the turf, and later served on the board of directors of the Florida State Cemetery Association[obit-robert-sherwood-2015]. When Sherwood died on 23 May 2015 at the age of 86, he was interred in a graveside service in the memorial park he had founded[obit-robert-sherwood-2015].

The Inaugural Burial: SSG Charles Wayne Jenkins (1969)

Lakeview Memorial Gardens conducted its first interment on 2 April 1969, burying United States Army combat correspondent Staff Sergeant Charles Wayne Jenkins (1940–1969)[lakeview-about][fg-lakeview-jenkins].

Federal records from the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund confirm Jenkins’s service record:

  • Born 11 November 1940, with home of record in Lake Placid, Highlands County, Florida[dcas-jenkins-1969].
  • Served in the Regular Army as a Staff Sergeant (E-6) under MOS 71Q40 (Information Specialist / Journalist) assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)[dcas-jenkins-1969].
  • Commenced his Vietnam combat deployment on 3 September 1968; died on 19 March 1969 in Bien Hoa Province, South Vietnam, from non-hostile injuries sustained in a military vehicle crash[dcas-jenkins-1969].
  • Permanently memorialized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., at Panel 29W, Line 79[vvmf-jenkins-1969].

Jenkins’s military funeral on 2 April 1969 opened the cemetery’s burial registry (Lot 2833)[fg-lakeview-jenkins]. Highlands County civic and veterans’ organizations continue an unbroken tradition of gathering at Jenkins’s grave each Memorial Day for a ceremonial 21-gun salute, wreath presentation, and sounding of Taps[lakeview-about].

Find a Grave indexes 6,508 memorials on the property[fg-lakeview]. Earlier death dates recorded on a few family markers (dating from 1942 forward) represent reinterments or posthumous memorial markers placed after the 1969 opening[lakeview-about].

Physical Plant, Chapel of Peace Mausoleum, and Mortuary Operations

The cemetery’s built infrastructure was constructed across four decades under county permits and property tax assessments[hcpao-lakeview][hc-etrakit-lakeview]:

  • 1975 (Service Facility): A 2,724-square-foot concrete block utility and maintenance shop (Building 2) was erected on the grounds to house excavating equipment, lowering devices, and turf-maintenance machinery[hcpao-lakeview].
  • 1986 (Administration Office): A 1,201-square-foot brick veneer office and family arrangement facility (Building 1) was constructed to conduct perpetual-care sales and arrangement consultations[hcpao-lakeview].
  • 1997 (Chapel of Peace Mausoleum): Service Corporation International erected the Chapel of Peace Mausoleum and Columbarium, containing 2,001 crypts and 1,095 columbarium niches, surrounding a central, climate-controlled committal service chapel for indoor funeral liturgies and committal rites[hcpao-lakeview][lakeview-location]. Further modular crypt additions were permitted in 2022 under contractor Mausoleums-USA LLC[hc-etrakit-lakeview].

Under Chapter 497 of the Florida Statutes, Lakeview Memorial Gardens holds state cemetery license #F039415 issued by the Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services to NorthStar Cemetery Services of Florida, LLC[fldfs-lakeview-f039415]. Lakeview operates as an endowment-care cemetery and mausoleum; it does not maintain an on-site crematory retort or mortuary embalming suite at 854 Memorial Drive[fldfs-lakeview-f039415]. Instead, complete funeral and cremation packages arranged at Lakeview utilize the Chapel of Peace for committal services, while physical embalming and crematory retorts are handled off-site through regional licensed funeral establishments and county crematories[fldfs-lakeview-f039415][lakeview-about].

Corporate Ownership and Management (1968–Present)

Over more than five decades, Lakeview Memorial Gardens transitioned across four ownership structures:

  • Founding Corporation (1968–1996): Operated by founder Robert E. Sherwood under Lakeview Memorial Gardens, Inc. (Document 329423)[sunbiz-329423].
  • Service Corporation International (1996–2002): Acquired in 1996 by Houston-based Service Corporation International (SCI), updating headquarters to 1929 Allen Parkway[sunbiz-329423].
  • Statutory Merger (2002–2004): On 31 December 2002, Lakeview Memorial Gardens, Inc. was formally merged into Lakeview Memorial Gardens, LLC (Document L02000030618), extinguishing corporation 329423 under inactive/merged status[sunbiz-329423][sunbiz-L02000030618].
  • Keatley Investments and NorthStar Memorial Group (2004–Present): On 27 December 2004, the property was conveyed for $320,000 to Keatley Investments-Lakeview (Highlands County Official Records Book 1812, Page 1703), while the SCI LLC filed voluntary dissolution[hcor-deed-1812-1703][sunbiz-L02000030618][hcpao-lakeview]. The acquiring operating company (Keatley Investments - Lakeview, LLC, Document M04000004253) amended its name to NorthStar Lakeview, LLC in July 2007 under parent company NorthStar Memorial Group, LLC (1900 St. James Place, Houston, Texas)[sunbiz-M04000004253]. In September 2024, NorthStar transitioned Florida operations under its statewide entity, NorthStar Cemetery Services of Florida, LLC (Document M04000004100), with on-site cemetery and funeral chapel management led by Managing Partner Gina Smith[sunbiz-M04000004100][lakeview-about].

References

Where this comes from

Evidence
corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
Review
unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
Rights
society

Sources

  1. Highlands County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, Lakeview Memorial Gardens, Section One, Plat Book 9, Page 11, Highlands County Public Records (1969) · official
  2. Lakeview Memorial Gardens, About Us, Lakeview Memorial Gardens and Cemeteries (2026) · secondary
  3. Lakeview Memorial Gardens, Lakeview Memorial Gardens and Cemeteries in Avon Park, FL (2026) · secondary
  4. National Archives / HonorStates, Staff Sergeant Charles Wayne Jenkins, Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) / HonorStates (1969) · official
  5. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Charles Wayne Jenkins, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Wall of Faces, Panel 29W, Line 79 (2026) · archival
  6. Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home / Legacy.com, Robert E. Sherwood Obituary (December 28, 1928 – May 23, 2015) (2015) · archival
  7. Find a Grave contributors, SSGT Charles Wayne Jenkins (1940–1969), Lakeview Memorial Gardens, Find a Grave memorial 100742918 (2012) · secondary
  8. Find a Grave contributors, Lakeview Memorial Gardens, Avon Park, Find a Grave cemetery 72169 (2026) · secondary
  9. Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, Lakeview Memorial Gardens, Inc., Florida Profit Corporation Document 329423 (Merged/Inactive) (2002) · official
  10. Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, Lakeview Memorial Gardens, LLC, Florida Limited Liability Company Document L02000030618 (Dissolved) (2004) · official
  11. Highlands County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, Warranty Deed: Lakeview Memorial Gardens, Inc. to Keatley Investments-Lakeview, Highlands County Official Records Book 1812, Page 1703 (2005) · official
  12. Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, NorthStar Lakeview, LLC (formerly Keatley Investments - Lakeview, LLC), Foreign Limited Liability Company Document M04000004253 (Withdrawn) (2024) · official
  13. Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, NorthStar Cemetery Services of Florida, LLC, Foreign Limited Liability Company Document M04000004100 (Active) (2026) · official
  14. Highlands County Property Appraiser, Highlands County Property Appraiser Parcel C-02-34-28-A00-0090-0000 (Account 012297), Keatley Investments-Lakeview (2026) · official
  15. Florida Department of Financial Services, Florida Division of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services License Search: NorthStar Cemetery Services of Florida, LLC d/b/a Lakeview Memorial Gardens, License #F039415 (2026) · official
  16. Highlands County Engineering and Building Department, Highlands County Building and Engineering eTRAKiT Permit Records for Parcel C023428A0000900000 (854 Memorial Drive) (2026) · official

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