MEMORIAL EPITAPHS
The clearest and easiest way to personalize a monument is to carve an epitaph that tells something about a person's life.
There are many different kinds of epitaphs. It would be difficult to place them in categories but over the years the epitaphs that have been written could be included in one or more of the following types:
Religious, including quotes from the Scriptures, secular literature and prayers either from scripture of other sources.
Inspirational, Faith in immortality, Patriotic, Salutory, Consolation, Historical, Love, Sorrow
EPITAPHS AND THEIR IMPORTANCE
The term "epitaph" means the inscription upon a monument of a selected verse or quotation which expresses in language of graceful and meaningful phrase some thought or sentiment significantly applicable to the individual or family for whom the monument is erected.
The too prevalent practice of omitting epitaphs and using only names and dates robs that monument of much of its individuality and leaves it barren of the sentiment it is intended to express and to perpetuate.
Let us take a lesson from our forefathers. To this day, early churchyard "stones" hold a fascination for most people because they are imbued with human sentiment and emotion.
The Colonial headstone moves and inspires us because it tells a story or else it inspires us with some beautiful tribute to the commemorated or an appealing expression of faith, hope and love. It is a symbol of sentiment which has carried a message to posterity.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington would be just another impressive public monument were it not for the superb inscription which grips the hearts of millions who visit the monument: "Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known but to God." True, the Tomb is a national shrine; but so likewise the resting place of those we loved and lost should be a shrine inscribed with a line or two of tribute, inspiration or prayer.
North Barre Granite's Retail Representatives will advocate the epitaphical inscription. It may be a brief quotation from scripture; a line or two from a poet or philosopher; a quotation from some letter of conscience or from the funeral eulogy - but whatever the source, such an inscription is a permanent document of sentiment, and the expression of sentiment is the essence of commemoration.
LETTERING
Beautiful lettering, well-designed and executed, can add a dimension of great beauty and distinction to contemporary memorials. Custom-designed lettering is an art form that is in the midst of a renaissance. Computerized drafting and computerized stencil cutting have provided the memorialist with an almost limitless supply of lettering capabilities.
Lettering should be an integral part of the overall design of the memorial and should be relevant to the style and feeling of the design.
MONUMENT TYPES - Check the different TYPES that are available