Choosing a symbol for the stone

Most headstones include some kind of symbol — a cross, a flower, a horse, a guitar, a fishing rod. The choice says something about the person whose memory the stone carries, and choosing well is worth a few minutes of thought.

Religious symbols are the most common. A Latin cross, the Star of David, a crescent and star, a dharma wheel — these locate the person within a tradition. If the deceased was not religious, do not feel obligated to add one. We have engraved many stones with no religious symbol at all.

Personal symbols often outlast religious ones in how families remember the stone. A loved one's pickup truck, a beloved horse, a favorite tree from the backyard — these are the symbols families come back to point at, year after year. Bring us a photograph or a sketch and we will engrave it.

What to avoid: anything you are not certain you want to look at forty years from now. We cannot remove an engraving once it is cut. When in doubt, choose the simpler symbol.