You're sometimes stuck with family, whether you want
them or not. Here is a monument to friends--in life and
in death, friends forever.
Another depiction of friends with hands clasped in an
eternal handshake. My student, Oscar Avelar, is admiring
this monument.
This very old marker shows how tombstones are
"supposed" to look, at least according to
movies, comic books, and "Tales from the
Crypt."
This marker has a cylindrical shape which most
students find intriguing, often wondering if some hidden
meaning is attached to it.
This octagon-shaped marker always draws attention.
Hard to read, this marker is evidently for people with
family ties to each other, who were previously in
unmarked graves. Whether or not they have been re-buried
together is not clear, but I would think it doubtful.
Probably a later generation family member simply wanted
to remember everyone with a family marker.
The combination of rough-hewn stone and the slanted
book or Bible is another favorite with students.
This pyramid looked very modern to some students, but
it has been there for many decades.
This very old and rusty marker is the same type used
for temporary markers until the headstone is carved or
engraved and set into place. My students are usually
uneasy at a sight like this, and wonder why a more
permanent stone was never erected. We always wonder if
this was the last person left in a family, with nobody
else around to make final arrangements.
Students always have mixed reactions to this type of
grave. First, they feel bad because it is so bare--no
headstone, no name or marker of any kind. But then they
feel better knowing that somebody at least comes to
visit, in this case leaving a cross made out of blue
plastic flowers.
In older cemeteries like this, most of my students
spend at least some time tidying up, straightening
knocked- or blown-over decorations, clearing away leaves,
etc. It not only makes them feel better, they seem
convinced (as am I, of course) that the dead person feels
better too.
Everyone likes this headstone, with its waterfall,
mountains, and trees. This type of marker gives my
students some good ideas for their own headstones, which
they can include as part of their Funeral
Project if they wish.
This indoor mausoleum vault has a built-in flower
holder, and if you look carefully, you can see the
photograph of the deceased on it.
Here is a sight common in many places in the world
that have cemeteries, but not in the style of memorial
parks. The grave is carefully outlined with garden bricks
with a rounded top; sometimes you will see colored
stones, square bricks, tiles, or even up-ended empty
bottles or jars.
Here is a home-made cement cross.
This photo is from a cemetery in France. The small
markers are permanently affixed to the vaults, and either
indicate that others are buried in the same place, or
their cremated remains are.
This was a cross, but much of it has sunk into the
ground. My students always wonder what numbers like the
number 4 on this marker mean. I sure don't know.