The Story Behind the Pictures

     I knew I wanted to do something unique and special, but I did not have any thoughts of what the final product might look like or how to go about making it a reality.

     In April, 2008, I met with one of the monument companies in Celina and they showed me a book with examples of their work.  Nothing jumped out at me, but I did learn that each cemetery has rules governing the type and size of monuments.  I also learned that in Ohio and other northern areas, the foundation and installation work is seasonal and can only be done between the late spring to early fall and is contingent upon by the weather and ground conditions.

     Celina’s North Grove cemetery is an older cemetery and in the front section there are many obelisk style markers and I thought it might be nice to do something that had an old world look….something that would appear to be timeless.

     I then searched the internet and found many examples of statues, crosses and other creative designs and began to focus on the angel designs.  Those images triggered the memory of a photography class that I had taken while at UD and recalled that for one assignment, I had gone to the Woodland Cemetery (which is across the street from UD) and had seen and photographed many beautiful statues.  Thanks to the internet, I’ve refreshed myself about the Woodland Cemetery and learned that it was founded in 1841, is one of the five oldest cemeteries in the nation, encompasses 200 acres of rolling hills and many of the trees are more than 100 years old.  I hope to spend some time at the Woodland Cemetery and absorb some of its natural beauty on my next visit to Dayton.

     I also thought about the cemeteries in New Orleans and other low lying places where everything is above ground and decided that I wanted to do a monument that looked like an above ground burial chamber with a life-sized angel sitting on it.

     Through some more internet searching, I located and talked with a few design companies.  These companies would design the monument and oversee the carving & lettering.  The problem was that they did not handle the installation and did not provide any referrals for the installation.  So, I began having visions of a monument being delivered to the cemetery and no one to install it.  This ended that option.  On my next trip to Ohio in August, 2008, I met with another local monument company and brought along a few drawings of different ideas.

     Unfortunately, this company closed their Celina office a couple of months later and the discussions and notes from those initial meetings were not passed on to their other office.  So, I had to start from the beginning with the main office.  Soon after, Hurricane Ike crashed into Houston causing another delay and distraction.  With the window for pouring foundations quickly closing until the next spring, I was encouraged to pour the foundation even though the size or design for the monument hadn’t been finalized.  By the time I realized that I should not have agreed to the pouring, I was unable to stop it from happening.  My discussions deteriorated further with this company and after months of back and forth, I concluded that I needed to find another company to assist me.

The main challenges were to find a company that would travel to Celina and also had the experience to handle a large, custom monument.  After another internet search and many phone calls, I found Larry Morrison and Dodds Monuments located in Xenia, Ohio (just outside of Dayton).  I met with Larry in June 2009 to discuss my ideas and show him the “sketches” that I had been working on.  Within a couple of weeks, I received some drawings and signed the contract.  Larry was a joy to work with and his experience and professionalism was evident in all of my dealings.  (You might want to Google Dodds Monuments.  Their history is almost as long as the Woodland Cemetery.  You may also remember Xenia, Ohio from the 1974 news when tornados ravaged a number of cities in the Midwest.  Xenia was hit the hardest.  I was a senior at UD at the time.)

     The inspiration for the basic design was from a picture I had found while searching on the internet.  The angel was sitting on a bench and holding a bouquet of roses.  It reminded me of my favorite wedding photograph…..when Chris and I exited the Church and were walking down the steps.  Chris was carrying a bouquet of miniature roses…….

     Since the foundation had already been poured, the design needed to fit within that footprint.  In an effort to visualize the size of the base and angel, I spent some time measuring and sitting on various cabinets and furniture in our home.  The design also had to be mower friendly to avoid being damaged when the grounds were mowed.   (For example, in the original design, the angel’s dress was flowing and reached all the way to the ground.)

     I wanted to include the symbols of our heritages.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any clip art for the Cedar tree of Lebanon, so I went with Celtic crosses for both sides.  I found the cross I chose in a catalog of religious items.  I do remember that it is a “famous” cross, but can’t recall its specific name and if the catalog is around here, I can’t find it………..

     In keeping with the old world concept, I thought it would be nice to include a quote or prayer that might be an inspiration to anyone who might visit the cemetery.   My hope and goal was that the size and location of the monument would draw people to it and if they stopped, the inscriptions would remind them of why we are here, as well as comfort them as they think about their loved ones whether or not they were buried at North Grove.

     The prayer on the back is from an All Souls’ Day card that I have and is one of the prayers that I say everyday.

     The Bible quote that is on the front is from a reading that was in a Lenten prayer book.  I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to put a Bible quote on a cemetery monument so I asked my pastor for his guidance.  His answer was that the quote was a statement of Faith and very appropriate.

     One of my very astute friends asked why I didn’t include any dates?  In keeping with the timeless, old world goal, I didn’t think dates were needed.  Plus, since Chris and I hadn’t spent our adult lives in Celina, no one from the area will know who we were except for a few family members.  There also was a space issue and I didn’t want to leave off the Bible quote as it was far more important than our “dates”.

     The doves were an afterthought.  Chris’ mom would tell me that just about every time she would visit the cemetery, a dove would be sitting on top of Chris’ grave.  She also said that a dove would sit on the outside windowsill of one of her living room windows.

     After looking at some bronze doves and not seeing anything that jumped out at me, I remembered that Chris & I had a dove sculpture.  So, I called Larry and asked if we could make some doves out of granite.  He said yes.  So, I took photographs of our doves from a number of angles and emailed them to Larry.

     When Larry saw pictures of the doves carved in granite, he ordered another one to use as a desk ornament. They really are beautiful and the detail in the carving (as well in all of the carving) is only partially captured in the photographs.

     I traveled to Ohio to visit Chris’ mom for mother’s day.  I also spent a couple of days in Dayton visiting friends and also met with Larry to finalize the placement of the doves.

     I knew that when you looked at the top of the doves, they were in a heart shape.  However, I had never looked at the original piece that closely, and did not notice that from the front, their heads and necks form a heart shaped opening.

     The granite and all of the carving was done in China.  It was then shipped to Dodds in Xenia for the lettering.  During the carving process, the artisans in China would send pictures of the progress for Larry’s and my review.

     The installation was completed on May 25, 2010 and although there were a number of starts and stops and I had to compromise on my original design, I am very pleased with the finished product and am honored to share the pictures and story with you.