Atlantic City, New Jersey

Choreographically Yours:  We know that she was a dancer. Was he? To put out those fires, he had to choreograph all the moves that got him through burning infernos. Maybe we, too, are all dancers, and maybe all the world's a stage, our stage, complete with an audience (whether we know it or not).  And, at the end, we all hope for applause. Greenwood Cemetery. [2016]

Roswell, New Mexico

Choreographically Yours:  Not until death did they part: when they were both octogenarians. But, take a gander at that silhouette! It's not the 80-year-olds that are portrayed. It's them when they were young and raising the roof. South Park Cemetery. [2016]

New Holland, Ohio

Choreographically Yours:  We know why the driver's seat is empty on the tractor. Not because he has gone to the great beyond, but because he is busy dancing with his bride. For more than 50 years, they kicked up a storm on the dance floor of life. Union Cemetery. [2016]

Bernalillo, New Mexico

Choreographically Yours:  They were children of the Great Depression and the War, but they chose to dance through life anyway. Then, suddenly, the dance was over, but the melody played on: henceforth, on the heartstrings. Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery. [2017]

Tucson, Arizona

Choreographically Yours:  Looks like she's hung up her ballet slippers for the last time. Judging from the cross, she is spending eternity with the master choreographer: Jesus, the ultimate Lord of the Dance. And, with Him, she now dances in the moon, and the stars, and the sun. Lawn Palms Cemetery. [2018]

Loom, West Virginia

Artistically Yours:  Artists tend to be peace lovers, and, on this headstone, you will find the "peace symbol" to prove it. True to his artistic side, though, someone has surrounded the symbol of peace (☮) with a bit of mystery. Is that a C, which could stand for his first name? Did someone know that the inverted V in the peace sign is a semaphore for N, which could stand for his last name? Does anyone else see the number 9? Central UMC Cemetery. [2013]

Charleston, Illinois

Artistically Yours:  Could she have been an art teacher? Is that the bell that called her pupils to class? (Or, the bell that called her own kids to dinner: in the days when kids still played outside!) What is most remarkable about this couple, though, is how coupled they must have been. They were born in the same year. They were married just as they reached their majority.  Many years later, they died in the same year. You can bet they also finished each others' sentences! Roselawn Cemetery. [2017]

Mancos, Colorado

Artistically Yours:  In the graveyards of the world, far more people let you know their avocations than their vocations. For a living, he probably didn't play that guitar, and she probably didn't paint. But strumming and painting is what made living worthwhile. Where are they now? "Gone beyond the sunset." And, what did they take with them? The arts. Cedar Grove Cemetery. [2013]

Claremont, California

Artistically Yours:  He was a man of many talents. He dabbled, and perhaps made a living, in the arts: music, painting, and theater. When he signed his last painting, his palette went with him. When he performed his last act, his masks went with him. When he played his last melody, his notes went with him. Oak Park Cemetery. [2015]

South Charleston, West Virginia

Theatrically Yours:  She gave up her mountain mama and the the country roads of West Virginia and took up residence in the Big Apple. When the time came, though, she let those same country roads take her home to the place she belongs: almost heaven, West Virginia. It looks like she had a career in costume design, probably on Broadway, in the days before the Twin Towers came down. Sunset Memorial Park. [2015]

Frederick, Maryland

Theatrically Yours:  If you want the world to know you loved the theater, add the Greek theater masks to your memorial stone. In this case, the icons hover above both of them (like spirits), insinuating that they shared a love for the stage. Note, also, the proportions of the headstone and how it is designed to resemble a stage: with a curtain that has just lifted. Or is it just ready to fall? Mt. Olivet Cemetery. [2014]

Roswell, New Mexico

Theatrically Yours:  In ancient Greece, theater masks (the mask of tragedy and the mask of comedy) were made of linen, wood, or leather. Today, they are made of granite: at least in cemeteries. It is becoming ever more fashionable to use an icon or two (or three or more) to narrate your own life as you plan for death. Judging from the pattern here, his life was consumed by baseball and hers by theater. Compare the position of the masks on this headstone with their position in the last post. South Park Cemetery. [2016]

South Charleston, West Virginia

Theatrically Yours:  They seem to be thespians. What story are they trying to tell the world from their graves? Let's unravel the clues. (1) The only thing standing between them in death are Greek theater masks. They must have both loved the stage, or maybe the screen. (2) He has chosen a bar of music as his signature logo. That points to musical theater. (3) He has chosen the title song from Fiddler on the Roof (sung by Tevye) to sign off from his earthly stage. That affirms his love for musical theater. (4) They would have been in the prime of life during the golden age of musicals, from 1955 to 1965. (5) She has chosen a heart as her signature logo. That means she loved him and everything he loved. Hence, even though the masks stand between the two, their real role seems to be uniting them in death as they were in life. Sunset Memorial Park. [2015]

Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Theatrically Yours:  She was a dedicated thespian. Here's what her obituary had to say: "played many roles within Stage Crafter Community Theater for 25 years." That's almost a third of her life and an identity that goes back to ancient Greece. The first stage actor in the world was named Thespis. He performed in the 6th century B.C. Beal Memorial Cemetery. [2017]