Magna cemetery donates land for Susan Powell memorial

West Valley City • Pleasant Green Cemetery in Magna is donating a plot of land for a memorial to Susan Cox Powell and her two sons, West Valley City Mayor Mike Winder announced Tuesday.

Hiram Bertoch, president of the nonprofit cemetery at 9200 W. 3500 South, came up with the idea, and the cemetery board approved the donation of a 15-by-15-foot plot.

A Kearns sculptor, Stan Watts, is donating his time to make a statue, according to Powell's friend Kiirsi Hellewell, who will head a memorial committee. Hellewell said she likes the idea of a statue of a mother and two sons but no decision has been made yet.

"There's a real need for everyone to heal," Bertoch said.

A Susan Cox Powell Memorial Fund has been set up and donations can be made at Cyprus Credit Union. Bertoch hopes to have the memorial completed by Powell's birthday in October.

Susan Powell has been missing since December 2009, when she mysteriously disappeared from her West Valley City home. Her husband, Josh Powell, 36, was the only person of interest in her disappearance. He killed himself and their two boys, Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5, on Feb. 5 by setting his rental home ablaze.