Category Archives: Uncategorized

Recently on a drive to attend a company retreat in sunny Captiva, Florida, while listening to the radio, I heard Bobby Helms sing one of his 50’s hits, “My Special Angel”.  It reminded me of one of the gravestones I … Continue reading →

The Mori monument in the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx was a collaboration between sculptor Charles Keck (September 9, 1875 – April 23, 1951) and architect Raymond Mathewson Hood (March 29, 1881 – August 14, 1934). PLACIDO SEPT 11 1868 … Continue reading →

John Walz (1844—1922) was a popular sculptor in Savanah who was commissioned to create many monuments that can be found in the famed Bonaventure Cemetery.  Walz, a talented German immigrant, began his career as a stonecutter but only as a … Continue reading →

On a slope south of Nashville, Indiana, lies the rural New Bellsville Cemetery founded in 1853.  The cemetery has a mix of old and new gravestones.  Among them, a limestone gravestone carved for Solomon Moore who it looks like died … Continue reading →

The sun is a potent symbol throughout the world—ancient and modern.  In funerary symbolism it is depicted in many ways: as a yellow sphere; as spreading rays of light; as a geometric pattern shaped like a many-pointed star; as lines … Continue reading →

Our history is full of stories about smart and ambitious immigrants who “struck it rich” after they came to America.  One such story about Irish immigrant, James Graham Fair, who was born December 3, 1831, in Clogher, Ireland, to a … Continue reading →

The Amadeo Pietro Giannini (May 6, 1870-June 3, 1949) and Clorinda Agnes Cuneo Giannini (March 4, 1869-December 21, 1941) gravesite in the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma, California, marks the grave of A.P. Giannini and his wife, Clorinda, and … Continue reading →

LUTHER SON OF S. P. & M. E. WINKLEPLECK BORN JULY 5, 1877 DIED NOV. 6, 1898 A MEMBER OF BATERY G. U.S. HEAVY ARTILLERY A precious one from has gone A voice we loved is still A place is … Continue reading →

Stories abound of the supernatural—apparitions that appear in gossamer gowns that fade into the murky night air, screams emanating from the “haunted” cemetery, sculptures that have eyes that glow red after dark.  How do these stories get started?  Are the … Continue reading →

This gray granite Steele in the Homewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, depicts an intricately carved Tree of Life with two opposing figures facing each other. The Tree of Life is found in many cultures and is an archetype found in … Continue reading →