CELEBRATING
October 2021 Volume 20 | Issue 10
YEARS
Chaplaincy delays hospice project over rising costs By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz
Inside
Focus Magazine: Construction + Real Estate in the Tri-Cities
Business Profile
Pasco businesswoman discovers hidden cake decorating talent Page A31
Real Estate & Construction
New restaurant to take flight in Richland Page B1
NOTEWORTHY “I thought it was so interesting to see what businesses do to make money.” -Darcy Kooiker, a leading state tax accountant
Page A17
Chaplaincy Health Care is delaying construction of a 10-bed hospice house at the Richland Wye after construction estimates rose 30% past the $5 million price tag. The nonprofit intended to begin construction on a replacement for Chaplaincy Hospice House this fall at 1336 Spaulding Ave., near its Fowler Street administrative office. Instead, it will make updates to its existing hospice facility in Kennewick to extend its useful life by about five years. Costs coupled with Covid-related challenges to fundraising prompted the board to rethink the timing, said Tom Corley, a retired hospital executive who is serving as Chaplaincy’s second interim executive director. A nationwide search to replace Gary Castillo, who departed in the spring, is ongoing. Bob Rosselli, a board member who stepped in as interim, left in July. Chaplaincy hired Richland’s Bouten Construction, a veteran hospital builder, to assess the existing hospice building, which was constructed by volunteers in 1996 on West Entiat Avenue behind First Lutheran Church. Bouten will recommend repairs and updates to the board, along with cost estimates. The board will choose which to pursue. Corley and hospice staffers say the new building will serve a need, but the existing one remains useful and occupies a sacred space in the lives of patients and families facing death. “Hospice house is going to be here,” Corley said. He stressed that the new hospice is delayed, not canceled. Chaplaincy began contemplating the new building about four years ago. While the Kennewick hospice building is operational, it is about 25 years old and lacks the hospital-grade touches required in modern medical settings. Updates to the Americans with Disabilities Act are always a challenge in older buildings, Corley said. The board looked at the costs and the estiuCHAPLAINCY, Page A8
Photo by Kristina Lord Tim Morris, owner of Headstones by Cemetery Tim, sets a headstone at Pasco’s City View Cemetery with help from Gilbert Sanchez. His eye-catching branded pickup is parked behind him.
Cemetery Tim keeps memories alive in stone at the graveyard By Kristina Lord
publisher@tcjournal.biz
The proprietor of Headstones by Cemetery Tim makes death look cool. That’s what some of his clients have told him over the years. But Tim Morris isn’t trying to look cool. He’s going for approachable. His headstone company is based in Yakima but he recently opened a showroom in downtown Pasco. His front door at 325 W. Lewis St. features a caricature of him leaning around a tombstone engraved with the words, “The Headstone Whisperer.” There’s a welcome mat with the same logo. It’s also branded on his shirt. His Ram pickup is emblazoned with red
lettering, touting his business’ offerings: layaway options, service to all cemeteries, custom design work and his large social media presence. “I can’t tell you how many people pull out their phone and start recording my truck on their phone,” he said. Morris’ headstone-making business has been featured on several nationwide news outlets, including TMZ, BET and New York Daily News, because he’s designed extravagant grave markers for celebrities. His goal when he started the business five years ago was to be approachable. He wasn’t interested in being a buttoned-up, serious cemetery guy. “I feel blessed to be where I am right now. Through hard work and determination, things uCEMETERY TIM, Page A13
Farmers Exchange changes owners as fourth – and fifth – generations step in By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz
Farmers Exchange, the iconic purveyor of lawnmowers, chainsaws, trimmers, animal feed and garden supplies, has passed to a new generation. Christopher Ingersoll, great grandson of one of the original owners of the Kennewick business, bought it from his uncle, Keith Silliman, in a deal that closed Oct. 1. Silliman said he was thrilled to pass it to the next generation and pledged to support his nephew any way he can to ensure its continued success. The transfer included the $1.25 million sale of Farmers Exchange buildings and land at 215 W. Canal Drive as well as on North Benton Street. Ingersoll is the fourth generation of the
Silliman family to lead the store, founded in 1923 in the parking lot of Washington Hardware as a spot for farmers to exchange goods and services. Emerald Ambrose Silliman became a partner in 1930 and would sell it to his son, Clint, in 1948. Clint’s brother Ken Silliman joined shortly after that, after serving as a photographer in the Air Force curing the Korean War era. Keith bought out his father, Ken, in 1997. Ken Silliman, his son and grandson noted, didn’t know the meaning of the word “retirement.” He worked in the store until three weeks before his death earlier this year at 89. As Keith Silliman transitions out, he uFARMERS EXCHANGE, Page A4
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