St. Luke’s Cemetery is more than just a resting place for those who are buried or memorialized there. Stories of pioneers from other states and homelands with differing languages and traditions formed a church community in north central Kansas when Kansas was still a brand-new state. Many of the tragedies endured by early pioneer families are embedded in the cemetery’s history. The stories of those who survived and thrived are also recorded here.  

The location of the cemetery was selected in January 1875. Today, it sits alongside Kansas Highway 28 and is officially assigned to the Randall zip code although the cemetery lies an equal distance of six miles from both Randall (Jewell County) and Jamestown (Cloud County.) Located on the Jewell County side of the Jewell-Cloud County line in north central Kansas, the cemetery is just one mile south of the Republic County intersection with Jewell and Cloud counties. The cemetery is only five miles north of the intersection of Jewell, Cloud and Mitchell counties. The church drew members from all four counties, many of whom are buried in St. Luke’s Cemetery. 

Through the years, burials in St. Luke’s Cemetery have been limited to church members and their descendants. St. Luke’s Cemetery remains an active cemetery, maintained and managed by the Board of Directors of the Guardians of St. Luke’s Church and Cemetery, Inc. The board has closed the eastern sections of the cemetery to new burials due to the large number of unmarked graves in the older areas.  

Within days of the organization of St. Luke’s Church, Morens F. Brechan, one of the charter members of the church, died. Fred H. Elniff, another charter member of the church, set aside a one-acre plot in the northeast corner of the land that he and his wife Anna owned in Jewell County for a cemetery. St. Luke’s Cemetery was dedicated on July 11, 1875, but the land was not actually deeded to the church until May 12, 1885.

According to the pastor’s records, M. F. Brechan was buried in St. Luke’s Cemetery and an old hand-drawn map shows Lot 13 labeled as Brechan. However, his gravesite has not been confirmed and remains unmarked. Dowsing in 2022 did not find any graves in Lot 13. 

The next recorded death in the church congregation was the daughter of John O. and Anna Bodding. The church records say Agnes Marie Bodding was born May 12, 1877, and died May 6, 1878. However, her gravestone – the oldest marker in St. Luke’s Cemetery – reads “Agness M. died May 12, 1878, aged 11 months, 21 days.” 

In the early days, St. Luke’s Church was served by pastors who served multiple Lutheran churches and congregations. Whenever the pastor was available at St. Luke’s, baptisms were held for several children and the dates of birth and baptism were recorded by the pastor, along with the parents’ names and those of the baptismal sponsors. If the pastor was not present at the time of a marriage, death or burial, those were not recorded until the pastor came back around to St Luke’s. This means those types of early church records were not complete.

Many families still gather to remember those who came before them while other names are lost to time. The cemetery was surveyed and mapped in 2022. The cemetery was also dowsed to confirm the location of unmarked graves that appeared on an earlier map and the location of graves in family plots having multiple names on a single stone. Additional unmarked graves were also discovered through dowsing. 

There are more than 175 known marked and unmarked graves in St. Luke’s Cemetery. This includes church members and descendants who immigrated from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and France.  

There are nine known veterans buried or memorialized in St. Luke’s Cemetery. This includes John S. Nieceschwander (1821-1881), an immigrant from Switzerland who lost his first wife and four children at sea during the voyage to America. Once here, he Americanized his name, joined the Union Army and served during the Civil War. He is the only known Civil War veteran to be buried in St. Luke’s Cemetery. 

Branches of military service represented in St. Luke’s Cemetery include the Army, Navy, Merchant Marines, Coast Guard and the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Of note, two brothers who were both World War II veterans are memorialized in their family plot in St. Luke’s Cemetery. Carl Olaf Bodding (1914-1942) was a Pilot Officer in the Eagle Squadron of the Royal Air Force. He went missing in action during air operations over St. Omer, France. His brother, Ralph Edward Bodding (1917-1972,) served in the U.S. Army during World War II and is buried in the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery in Leavenworth, Kansas. 

There are two women veterans buried in St. Luke’s Cemetery – Alma Opal Moe (1907-2003) and Margaret Ann (Locke) (Kaad) Claywell (1935-2001.) Alma O. Moe was a Lieutenant Commander of the U.S. Naval Nurse Corp and served seven years during World War II and in the Naval Reserves. Margaret Ann (Kaad) Claywell served in the U. S. Navy during the Korean War. She is buried beside her husband James Edward Kaad who also served in the Navy during the Korean War. 

Little is known about some of the people buried in St. Luke’s Cemetery, including charter member Morens Frederick Brechan and Christ “Chris” Thompson (1859-1908.) According to a brief statement in a newspaper, Chris Thompson was “a bachelor who lived over in the corner of Republic County” and he was born in Denmark. 

Others lie in unmarked graves, including Ingeborg Marie (Thoe) Litsheim, the first wife of Pastor John Obert Litsheim, and her daughter Annette Magdalene. The couple were married on July 3, 1888, and came to St. Luke’s Church in 1888 following his graduation from seminary. Tragedy struck when the pastor’s wife died following childbirth on July 21, 1889. The baby died in August 1889. Pastor Litsheim left for Iowa immediately after, recording the baby’s birth and baptism but neither of the deaths. Dowsing in 2022 confirmed the mother and child are buried together as indicated on an old cemetery map.

Peter J. Johnson, who immigrated to the United States from Denmark in 1878, lies in another unmarked grave. His gravesite is also recorded on the old map. Johnson’s son, George I. Petersen, was a stone mason who helped build St. Luke’s Church and many other limestone buildings in the area. Johnson’s three daughters – Anne Katrine (Peterson) Kaad, Mary (Johnson) Olsen, and Tena (Johnson) (Dennis) Collin are also buried in St. Luke’s Cemetery. Tena’s grave beside her father is confirmed but remains unmarked. 

Dowsing in 2022 identified several previously unknown burial sites in the older areas of St. Luke’s Cemetery. As a result, the Board of Directors has closed the eastern sections of the cemetery to new burials.