Fairmount Cemetery
Someone once described Fairmount in these words,
"In summer's cool morning, I walk through this land. Today, I may come across a doe or a fawn; spy an eagle in flight or a fox with young. Fresh pine boughs and jasmine fill the air with the sweetness of life."
Fairmount is everything described in the following pages, BUT in reality, this simple poem says it all.
This historic and beautiful cemetery is a Denver landmark, founded in 1890. It is the lasting home for many well-known and prominent people in the Rocky Mountain Region.
The "Little Ivy Chapel listed on the national historic register, is located as you enter the cemetery from the Quebec street entrance. The "Ivy", is at the top of the hill. It is one of our four chapels used by our mortuary.
This wildlife preserve in the city is home to hundreds of species of wildlife and boasts over 3800 trees over 280 acres.
In the tradition of many beautiful cemeteries in the country, Fairmount offers a variety of choices to our families. Ranging from ground burial allowing for markers flush to the ground and the more traditional sites allowing above ground monuments. On our grounds you will also find the special areas for families and over 150 private mausoleums. The cemetery has both an outdoor and indoor mausoleum for those families who prefer to be above ground.
Located adjacent to Denver's historic Highline Canal, Fairmount's newest development, the Highline Gardens offers an inspired mix of memorial options for the families who prefer cremation. This garden offers a unique combination the history and beauty that is Fairmount with the new and innovative style that is our future.
Every month we feature an interesting headstone or marker and the person who lived a life remembered.
James Robert & Barbara Johnson Hartley
Located in Block D
- Only 2 people to be buried here
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Mr. Hartley was a well-known residential and commercial interior designer and founder and president of Hartley House Interiors, LTD since 1965. He had been an active member of A.I.D. and A.S.I.D. since 1961, having served as board chairman of A.S.I.D. Colorado Chapter 1967-1969 and various committee chairmanship positions.
He has contributed to countless civic and cultural and historical preservation projects in Denver over the past 50 years. He is a founding trustee of Historic Denver, former board member of the Central City Opera House Association and now an honorary board member, member of Denver Art Museum, Museum of Natural History, member of the Natural Trust for Historic Preservation, member of Allied Arts and is listed in Who's Who in the West and Who's Who International Designers.
Mr. Hartley was the designer for His Holiness, the late John Paul II's personal suite, reception hall and private chapel when he visited Denver in 1993. Other notable designs by Mr. Hartley included the foyer and theater area for the Central City Opera House, the Historic Teller House and Lillian Gish Parlour in Central City, the first Governor's Mansion Yule Decorations that continued for eleven years during Governor Love's terms, the first after-concert reception for Luciano Pavarotti, historic Denver's "Tivoli" opening, the Denver Art Museum's Fifty Years of Couturiers Reflection Ball, participation in the Waring House restoration at the Denver Botanic Gardens and the "Rocky Mountain High Tea" for First Lady Barbara Bush. Hartley House Interiors, LTD maintained a prestigious reputation with design projects in London, Hawaii, California, New York, Florida, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Virginia, Arizona and throughout Colorado.
His designs have been published in House Beautiful, Better Homes and Gardens, Interior Design, Town and Country, Empire Magazine, Home Living, Life Styles, Women’s World Weekly, The Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post. Jim was the “decorator & designer to the Denver social set - Barbara Johnson Hartley, a founding trustee of the Helen K. and Arthur E. Johnson Foundation. A very private person, Mrs. Hartley kept a low profile while also serving at the helm of one of Colorado's leading philanthropic Foundations. During her tenure as board chair, she oversaw grant-making that totaled over $130 million to nonprofit organizations in Colorado. Mrs. Hartley continually gave back to her community.