The gravestone of three-year old Willie displays a weeping willow shading a resting lamb.  The willow is a traditional symbol of sorrow and morning. The lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ, first found in the Biblical passage John 1:29 when the Apostle John sees Christ coming toward him and declares,  “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” 

Only the innocence and purity of the Lord Christ enables Him to wash away the collective sins of mankind.  The symbolism of the lamb being innoncent and representing purity transfer to children, who, by their very nature, embody those virtues.  Thus, the lamb is commonly found on the graves of children, as it is here.

The epitaph for the child is a parent’s lament that speaks to the fleeting nature of life itself, here one moment and suddenly gone the next.

Thy days our Little one were few.

An Angel’s morning visit

That came and vanished with the dew.

Twas here, ’tis gone, where is it.

River View Cemetery, Seattle, Washington