Add visual history to your family gravestones
It is said that a picture paints a thousand words. This is true even on gravestones.
Kevin Wester, of Luxembourg Legacy, recently added three photographic images to his parents Bert and Verena (Burmesch) Wester’s gravestone. He added a 60th wedding anniversary photo on the front of the stone. On the back next to his father’s military service recognition plaque, he added a photo of his father in his WWII Army Air Corps uniform and one of his parents as a young couple dating during the war.
“I’m nuts about historic photos, so I decided that I wanted my parents’ grave to show them as they appeared in life,” Wester said.
His parents’ entire courtship was centered around WWII. Their first date was the night before Bert left for the service and during those four years, Verena wrote to Bert almost every day. The couple got married three months after Bert’s honorable discharge.
“I thought it would be nice to commemorate the time period that had such an impact on their lives,” Wester said. “I’ve received so many compliments on the photos, and my siblings, nieces and nephews love how it keeps my parents’ faces and stories fresh in their memories.”
The photographs, embedded in fired ceramic, are easily affixed to gravestones and are guaranteed not to fade. In cold climates, it is a good idea to apply a clear caulk seal around the ceramic to prevent cracking from freezing and thawing. The ceramic photograph memorials can be purchased online at photosforheadstones.com or on Amazon.
Will have to go back out to Lake Church cemetery and check it out. I have a picture of Carlo and I on our headstone. It was recommended and achieved by headstone firm in Grafton-can’t remember their name. It was done in late 2014 or early 2015 (Carlo passed in November 2014). At that time, there were very few if any headstones with photos on them at new St. Mary’s cemetery in Port.