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Personalizing headstones

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By JACK PALMER

palmer@crescent-news.com

Brenda and Terry Ross wanted something special to remember their deceased sons, killed in a 2004 motor vehicle accident near Defiance.

Their oldest son, also named Terry, was 21. Anthony was 19.

"We wanted something to reflect their lives," said Brenda. "A big part was playing football at Fairview High School. They loved the coaches. Once they graduated, they really missed playing."

So how can you represent two young, vibrant lives on a piece of granite?

The couple brought the boys' football scrapbooks to Mark Homier at Homier's Monumental. A etching of the proposed headstone was produced, modified and eventually settled upon.

"They worked with me in my state of mind," said Brenda. "They let it be our choice."

The monument located in Sherwood Cemetery features pictures of both Terry and Anthony, along with images of the two boys playing football. The headstone even shows their jersey numbers, 73 for Terry and 55 for Anthony.

Also engraved on the dark granite monument are the words, "Brothers forever."

"They captured my boys so well," said Brenda. "We're definitely glad we did it."

While unique and personal to the Ross family, the boys' headstone represents a growing trend in the monument industry. "More personalized memorials are getting to be a big thing," said Dawn Kuhlman of Defiance Rock of Ages Memorials. "I think it's neat. They cost a little more, but not so unreasonable that middle class families cannot afford them. People are willing to pay the extra cost to make it special."

"We can lift up people with their monuments," echoed Homier. "It really pleases me. We do hand etchings with a diamond engraver and can pretty much duplicate any photograph."

Farm scenes, nature scenes and portraits are all gaining in popularity, according to Dan Roerig of Fackler Monument Company, Montpelier.

"Most people have an idea of what they want," added Andrea Roerig, who co-owns the business with her husband. "They present ideas to us and we work with them until we come up with a drawing or sketch which represents their concept."

The demand for new, more personalized headstones has evolved over time, according to Homier.

"Monuments in the 1950s, '60s and '70s were all pretty standard," he said. "Most were 26 by 6 by 20 inches. The only thing that varied was the color.

"The baby boomers are coming in now and want something different, first for their parents and even more so for themselves," stated Homier. "I think it's awesome. We enjoy doing more custom work. We don't want to be known as cookie cutter."

"Some people want their memorial to show their favorite sports team," said Kuhlman. "We do a lot of angels and deer, too. One family wanted to honor a member who was into scrapbooking. We were able to put together a collage-like image with detailed-etched photos taken from one of the scrapbooks."

"We're doing more single monuments now because of the divorce rate," said Dan Roerig. "They tend to be more personalized. We are also doing taller monuments on single lots. One was even in the shape of a guitar."

Added Roerig: "The people we have that do laser work for us are tremendous. We can do laser photos of an entire family, including grandchildren and everything. I think that's something that may catch on. It's good for genealogy purposes."

"The other trend in the industry is that more people are coming in for pre-planning," said Kuhlman. "It takes the burden off their family when they die. If they want something more personalized, that's what they do."