Imagine wandering through the tranquil grounds of a cemetery. As you step along the pristine pathways, you’ll find yourself surrounded by monuments that mark the burial grounds of loved ones. But these monuments do more than mark a location. They tell the story of the person buried there, painting a picture of history, memory, and love.
There is no one way to make a monument or memorial marker, and that’s because they reflect the uniqueness of the lives they’re honoring. Every etch in the stone of these monuments was carefully chosen to tell a story that’s truly personalized.
Cemeteries create a beautiful dichotomy of individuality and community. As you walk along the grounds, you’ll find inscriptions that tell you about the unique life that was lived, but one of the most beautiful aspects of the stories told in cemeteries is how they make us feel less alone and more connected. The symbols we see may remind us of our own loves, our own beliefs, our own upbringing, and our own family, despite them being placed upon a monument of a stranger. In truth, there are no strangers in a cemetery. Even if we never met them in life, we learn who people are from the stories told on their monuments and markers.
For those who we did know in life, monuments preserve the stories we may already know. There’s healing in holding tight to memories with those we loved because we know that, while our loved ones may not be able to walk alongside us anymore, the memories we had with them ensure that they live on through us.
Cemeteries are tranquil, quiet places, but when you visit, if you listen long enough and take in what’s around you, you’ll hear stories that will touch your heart. The monuments in these cemeteries work together to weave the tapestry of a person’s tale. Their memorial marker might tell you when they lived and died, who loved them and is missing them, and what drove them through life.
But as you walk further along, you may discover there’s even more to the story. A memorial bench is inscribed with a quote from their favorite book, marked as a beautiful reading spot for the family in honor of their avid reader loved one. A lovely stone angel marks the grounds around them, the angel carefully chosen to reflect the religious beliefs of the loved one, who, in life, spent ample time supporting their church. A white oak tree has been planted over the memorial bench, reflecting the same one that sat in the yard of the loved one’s home for generations. It’s been carved with the name of the loved one and her husband, the same carving that’s been in the tree at their home since they were first wed.
These stories build upon each other to create something truly beautiful: a legacy. That legacy belongs to the loved one buried there just as much as it belongs to their family, to their community, and to future generations who will come to study these histories for years to come. Monuments form the building blocks for stories that turn into lasting legacies. Though they may not speak aloud, they have a lot to say, when you stop and listen.