A Guide to Cemetery Memorials
Cemetery memorials have long been an important part of mankind’s history and traditions, and, as such, they can be thought of as society’s great equalizer. Cemetery memorials can help assure that every person in the world can be remembered for ages just like the great leaders memorialized for the ages with giant statues in places like Washington D.C., Without such memorials, of course, the amazing contributions of legendary historical figures might loose much of their deserved luster over the years. But large-scale memorial tributes assure that great deeds and great people will never be forgotten, and cemetery memorials give all other people the same opportunities. Cemetery memorials give even the modest and meek the hope of — like Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and the world’s other great leaders — being remembered for the ages.
Cemetery memorials, of course, need to be designed to last the ages, and the sturdy construction of headstones assures just that. The long lasting granite or bronze headstones that are most common today assure that cemetery memorials will remain intact long after the weather and other elements may have destroyed paper records or long after technology has made electronic records obsolete.
The design of permanent cemetery memorials has changed substantially over the years. For many years, cemetery memorials were usually marked by headstones that were large, up-right pieces of sculpted stone which carried chiseled information about the person whose graves they label. While these types of cemetery memorials are still are used today, they now typically appear over groups of graves (such as an entire family). Meanwhile, cemetery memorials for individuals typically consist of small, plaque-like headstones. In most memorials today, these individual headstones are made of bronze, granite, or a combination of the two, and displayed directly on the ground at the head of a grave. These cemetery memorials typically preserve the memory of one individual or a couple and they work in tandem with the larger, up-right headstones to create beautiful cemetery memorials for entire families. .
Aside from helping assure a place in history for just about every person alive, cemetery memorials can be great for helping families cope with the loss of a loved-one. By establishing permanent cemetery memorials, such as headstones, when loved-ones die, families can practice the sound advice that psychologists typically give to those going through the grieving process. Cemetery memorials are important, experts say, even for people whose bodies have been cremated (a tradition whose popularity has increased dramatically in recent years). No matter how the ashes are disbursed, cremated loved-ones are often given cemetery memorials, complete with headstones installed, in today’s cemeteries.
Many people arrange for cemetery memorials “pre-need,” that is before a person has died. Headstones for pre-need cemetery memorials have the name (or, in the case of companion memorial headstones, names) inscribed at the time of purchase, and then the death dates are added later. Many people choose this option for cemetery memorials because they want the comforting feeling that comes from choosing their own cemetery memorials such as headstones or grave markers.