Bowling Green, Kentucky

Portraits Etched into Granite:  On those eagle's wings he "slipped the surly bonds of earth and danced the skies" on his way to heaven, all the while with a smile on his face. Recognize the poem by John Gillespie Magee? Bowling Green Gardens. [2019]

Mercersburg, Pennsylvania

Portraits Etched into Granite:  A family of four became a family of three with the loss of a son and brother. Not a day passes that they do not reflect on what might have been. Fairview Cemetery. [2010]

Maxville, Indiana

Portraits Etched into Granite:  Young and in love: Isn't that when we are all at the top of our game? This couple has done well to choose a portrait that flatters them with fleeting surrealism in black and white. Woodlawn Cemetery. [2018]

Schellsburg, Pennsylvania

Portraits Etched into Granite:  She was proud to be a Christian and is now gone: whisked off by an angel and delivered into the arms of God. What did the angel say on that fateful day? "Fear Not!" It is all angels' signature phrase. Old Log Church Cemetery. [2018]

Odebolt, Iowa

Portraits Etched into Granite:  What's the story they are trying to tell? Local company. Truck driving couple with their cab. Pulling what looks like a Pullman car. Name on the train is Portland. Connect the dots. Was this the job they were the proudest of? Odebolt Cemetery. [2019]

Grand Blanc, Michigan

Portraits Etched into Granite:  For your portrait, choose the one that shows the both of you on your wedding day, along with the car that you were so proud of at the time. He lived to be 85, but this is the way his great grand kids will remember him, just as he was getting started in life. Evergreen Cemetery. [2018]

Batesville, Indiana

Portraits Etched into Granite:  It is a full-body portrait, but he does not stand alone. He stands, for all eternity, with his John Deere. In fact, he has everything he needs to go on plowing those fields for as long as it takes. Huntersville Cemetery. [2013]

Hartland, Michigan

Portraits Etched into Granite:  A head-shot was not enough. Only a full body portrait could convey her love of life. In her own words: "There were so many more things I wanted to do, And so much more love I wanted to give." Hartland Cemetery. [2018]

Woodstown, New Jersey

Portraits Etched into Granite:  For a change, here's a father-daughter duo instead of a ring-linked couple. Given the photos, though, he doesn't look old enough to be her father. That's because someone chose portraits that captured each one on the prime of life. And, they are smiling! Lawnside Cemetery. [2017]

Seymour, Indiana

Portraits Etched into Granite:  Here's a couple that managed to fit a portrait onto a flat marker, a fairly rare arrangement. Their progeny should consider themselves luckey [sic] to be able to see what their ancestors looked like. Riverview Cemetery. [2017]

Madison, Wisconsin

Portraits Etched into Granite:  These two may not be side by side, but they are united by one surname and, apparently, by the Magen David, or Star of David, at the top. It looks like she may have been a convert to Judaism who still took pride in her Christian roots. She chose her Russian Orthodox Church to symbolize her life, and he chose his profession, journalism, to symbolize his. Forest Hill Cemetery. [2019]

Bowling Green, Kentucky

Portraits Etched into Granite:  There are lots of "apps" on their headstone, but the one that draws your attention is their portrait: both smiling as if they really enjoyed their 42 years together.  Bowling Green Gardens. [2019]

Biddeford, Maine

Portraits Etched into Granite:  We know who is buried here because his portrait appears on his memorial. Other than the portrait, name, and dates, however, there is little to tell future generations anything about him. Judging from the size of his memorial, though, he must have had some wealth. In fact, in that face you can see the hard worker he probably was. Woodlawn Cemetery. [2019]

Cookeville, Tennessee

Portraits Etched into Granite:  What was life like when she was coming of age in the 1950s? Her portrait tells the story. Could it be her high school yearbook picture? Every few decades "big hair" makes a come-back. Remember the 1980s? You have not been the same "you" your entire life, so which you will be portrayed on your headstone?  Cookeville Cemetery. [2019]