Headstones

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Headstones are an important part of any family's grieving process, and headstones are among the most popular and effective headstones in use today. Headstones serve to help families cope with their losses. By establishing permanent memorials, such as headstones, when loved-ones die; families can practice the sound advice that psychologists typically give to those going through the grieving process. But, besides their emotional value, headstones are also important for historians. Headstones such as headstones assure that lives can be documented decades, or even centuries, after death.

Memorial headstones are important, experts say, even for people whose bodies have been cremated (a tradition whose popularity is increasing dramatically). No matter how the ashes are disbursed, cremated loved ones are often given memorials, complete with headstones installed, in today's cemeteries.

Headstones, of course, need to be designed to last the ages, and the sturdy construction of headstones assures just that. The long lasting granite or bronze headstones that are most common today assure that memorials will remain intact long after the elements have destroyed paper records or technology has made electronic records obsolete.

The design of permanent memorials has changed substantially over the years. For many years, permanent headstones were usually marked by headstones that were large, up-right pieces of sculpted stone and contained written information about the people whose graves they marked. While these types of memorials are still are used today, they now usually mark groups of graves (such as an entire family). Meanwhile, headstones for individuals typically consist of smaller, plague-like headstones.  In most memorials today, these individual headstones are made of bronze, granite, or a combination of the two and they are displayed directly on the ground at the head of a grave. These headstones typically preserve the memory of one individual or a couple, and they work in tandem with the larger, up-right headstones to create beautiful memorials for entire families. .

Headstones for today's permanent memorials most commonly come in two varieties: bronze and granite. Bronze headstones are good for permanent memorials because they typically include bronze plates with special headstones designs and lettering that name the deceased as well as the dates of birth and death. These plates are then attached to granite bases and then installed in cemeteries as beautiful memorial headstones. Granite headstones, meanwhile, are used for memorials because their sturdy construction is sure to last for generations to come.

Many people arrange for memorials "pre-need," that is before a person has died. Headstones for pre-need memorials have the name (or, in the case of companion memorial headstones, names) inscribed at the time of purchase, and then the death dates are added later. Many people choose this option for headstones because they want the peace of mind that comes from choosing the design and style of their own headstone.