Whitney Monument Works

Keith and Bernice Watts founded Watts Vault & Monument Company in 1957 in Montezuma, Iowa. Their son and daughter-in-law, Craig and Lyndal Watts took over ownership of the business in 1986. In June 1991, we expanded the operation with the purchase of Dude's Central Hawkeye Vault Company in West Des Moines, Iowa. In 1995, we also purchased E & D Vault of Chariton, Iowa. A new 35, 500 square foot central manufacturing facility was built at 4920 Hubbell Avenue in Des Moines in 1999. We maintain distribution and sales facilities in Montezuma, Chariton and Cedar Rapids. The third generation is also very involved in the family business. Son, Scott Watts manages the Des Moines operation. Daughter Angie Schiebel, daughter-in-law Julie Watts and Lyndal Watts handle the daily business and monument sales at our Des Moines office. Lori Bryan handles the same duties at the Montezuma office. Longtime employee Ed Jordan manages the Chariton facility and Keven Gibson manages the Montezuma facility. In March 1998, James Russell, a licensed funeral director, joined the company as Marketing and Education Director. With his help we implemented the first, if not the only, education center for funeral directors and pre-need staff in the burial vault industry. Watts' offers a complete line of burial and cremation products. Trigard, Doric, Eagle, and Clark Steel burial vaults are maintained in inventory to serve the needs of funeral directors throughout Iowa. As a retail monument company, our granite now comes from all over the world. We offer a wide selection of both granite and bronze memorials to families in all price ranges. We are also an Iowa distributor of Cherokee infant and child caskets. We maintain an inventory of our most popular styles, sizes and colors. In January 2004, Lowell Coburn, a licensed funeral director, joined the company as a sales consultant. With his help we are able to offer many different cremation products, urns and jewelry. In February 2004, we expanded to the east with the acquisition of a building in Iowa City. There we have a facility, a large indoor and outdoor display of memorials and employees to help families when purchasing a memorial. In 2008, we expanded the vault operation with the purchase of Century Concrete Products in Cedar Rapids. We are very excited about the new additions to our company. With a very knowledgeable staff of employees, the company today handles over 4000 interments per year throughout Iowa. Our customers and the families they serve, remain key to our company. Service, quality products and a fair price are the backbone of this company!

Fuller Monument offers craftsmanship that speaks eloquently and treasured memories set in stone. As a second-generation family-owned business, we understand the death of a loved one is never easy. In times of grief, it can be difficult to take the right steps when planning a funeral and handling other matters related to their passing. We are committed to creating custom granite monuments that evoke the spirit of the persons they celebrate. We serve Ottumwa and the surrounding regions of Oskaloosa, Pella, Albia, Bloomfield, Fairfield; and the surrounding areas, including Des Moines, Iowa City, Southeast Iowa, North Missouri, and beyond.

We invite you to browse through our site and learn about our firm and what services we can offer to you and your family. We are very proud of our tradition, our facilities, and the services that we provide. We have been family owned since 1974 and continue to progress into the future. You will find top notch facilities and staff available to cater to your every need. We now offer an onsite crematory as a service to our families. We recognize that being able to supervise and coordinate the cremation from start to finish without taking your loved one to another town for cremation gives our families an assurance that their loved one is being taken care of in the manner in which they deserve. Please feel free to visit our website often, and if a question arises, do not hesitate to call our office 319-372-1952.