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Most grave markers, tombstones, or headstones in America today follow a simple pattern-- including the full name of the individual buried there as well as birth and death dates. While there certainly is a diversity among size, shape, and even variety of things written upon markers across America, one thing is usually set in stone: the grave marker serves as a positive reminder of a person who left a legacy on this earth. Classic literature tales such as A Christmas Carol remind humanity that each person's story continues to tell its tale long after burial, and that a human's legacy lasts much longer than the simple span of a life. Is a gravestone a simple rock with a name inscribed upon it, or can it whisper a legacy to you?

Gather Ye Rosebuds

In the classic film Dead Poets Society, the character of Mister Keating (played by Robin Williams) speaks to the English students within his class for one of the first times. Prodding the class to study the faces of past students from sixty to seventy years past in a picture frame, he claims that those in the photo are whispering something to the current class-- if only they listen closely enough to hear it. The old classmates in the picture (who are long dead by now) are whispering carpe diem, a Latin phrase which means "seize the day."

When it comes to those who have passed away before you, it's important to consider what kind of legacy has been left for you to follow. When you see a name upon a gravestone, it is not just a name that has been placed there-- there is a story and a challenge for your life that has been left by the deceased, if only you will follow it. As the famous poem To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time states: "Gather ye rosebuds, while ye may, old time is still a-flying." 

Placing a Legacy Gravestone

At times, certain headstones may feature a poem, picture, or scripture that holds special significance to the deceased. By including additional details on the gravestone, both loved ones and random passersby alike can be inspired by the words etched there. When considering the life of your loved one, what details stand out? What legacy did they leave for those left behind, and what kinds of things were they respected for?

By answering these kinds of questions, you can place an inspiring gravestone that is worthy of your loved one's legacy-- ensuring that not only visiting family members but strangers in decades to come will hear carpe diem and heed the call of a life well lived. For more information and ideas about remembering the legacy of a deceased loved on, contact a company like Beeman-Patchak Funeral Home.