HIGHLY PERSONALIZED MEMORIALS ARE BECOMING MORE POPULAR

NEW TECHNOLOGY, CAPABILITIES INCREASE CHOICES

May 1999

As people across the country stop to pay tribute at cemeteries and memorial gardens this Memorial Day, they may come across some interesting and unusual monuments. Pianos, wildlife scenes, tractors and even snowmobile replicas are turning up on memorial lawns as part of a growing trend toward custom monuments and memorialization.

Instead of seeing a memorial simply as a grave marker, many people are choosing a unique tribute to their life’s interests and achievements with a highly personalized monument. New technology and a greater demand for custom memorials are expanding the custom memorial market. Consequently, people are able to select memorials that are more intricately designed and cost efficient than ever before.

"Maybe a person’s been a truck driver for 30 years, or a music teacher, or maybe their family really loves the outdoors. Almost any symbol of a person’s life can be designed into a memorial," said Mel Lommel, of Cold Spring Granite in Cold Spring, Minn., the world’s largest quarrier of granite for memorial and commercial applications.

Custom memorials also benefit family and loved ones by focusing attention on significant and memorable aspects of a person’s life. "It’s important for grieving loved ones to have a special memory preserved, and these memorials offer that chance," Lommel said.

The increase in highly detailed personalization of memorials is a rather recent trend. Prior to the availability of high-tech stone carving equipment, this kind of work was a much more costly and time intensive process that few people could afford.

Expanding the use of laser technology, computer-aided design tools and new diamond wire saws during the last five years has provided consumers with the ability to select a memorial that closely fits their personal style. Combining old-world craftsmanship with the latest stone-cutting technology, granite artists now are able to cut shapes and designs in solid granite blocks with amazing detail.

A frequently used technique is the combining of contour cutouts in the granite with etched or sandblasted carvings to produce one complete design. Using this technique, Cold Spring Granite was able to cut out part of a memorial to resemble the back half of a snowmobile, while the remainder of the design was completed by etching it into the face of the memorial.

"Some of the designs people choose really showcase how they lived. It may be a particular mountain scene, sport or work activity, or religious symbolism. The difference between now and just a few years ago is how true-to-life we can make the memorial," Lommel said.

Other examples of custom granite designs include a grand piano, a semi tractor-trailer cut into the top of a monument, and a deer, illustrated with a combination of etching and sandblast carving.

More traditional memorials are also customized with these new methods. For instance, instead of an etched design of a cross or a heart, buyers can have those shapes cut out of the center or top of the granite if they wish, adding more distinction to the memorial.

"They say you can’t take it with you, but you can be remembered for who you are, what you love and things that make your life special," Lommel said. "This is what memorials are all about – tributes to life’s achievements."

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