Many gathered to remember a friend, a companion and a loved one during a dedication Friday morning at the Memorial Rose Garden at the Great Bend Cemetery. A statue was dedicated in the honor of Mary Kummer-Maneth, who those present said she is truly missed in the community.
The Great Bend Garden Club along with the Great Bend Beatification Committee, family and friends came out to the rose garden to dedicate the statue of an angel. It sits as the center piece of the rose garden at the Great Bend Cemetery.
“The importance of the statue is to remember a great person who donated so much of her time to the beatification of the community,” Chairperson of the GBGC Alice Young said.
Among the many friends and family, her husband Paul Maneth and her son Steve Kummer and his wife Kim came out to see the dedication of the statue bestowed to their loved one.

Mary Kummer-Maneth
Manenth was a avid gardener who took care of many gardens throughout Great Bend.
A few of the gardens that Maneth took care of in Great Bend include the gardens at the Great Bend Public Library and at the Heartland Cancer Center. She was also a member of Prince of Peace Parish, Altar Society, Daughters of Isabella, Great Bend Cemetery Board, Prince of Peace Hospitality Commission, EHU and PEO, all of Great Bend. She was a 1956 graduate of Cunningham High School and a 1959 graduate of the Dominican School of Nursing.

Other memorials at the gardens
Among the many rose bushes at the Memorial Rose Garden sits a bench that was dedicated to the memory of Teddi Maneth and there will be another dedication to Kay Hallenbach, she will be remembered with the planting of a rose bush at the rose garden.
Another attraction to the garden are the memorial signs that have many names on them that pay homage to many friends and loved ones that the Memorial Rose Garden represents.