Tombstone Tuesday: An Infinite Variety

It always amazes me that cemetery stones come in so many different varieties.  Flush to the surface, tall, stout, thin and massive.  This massive stone from Newaygo county is definitely massive.  The Brooks were a prominent family in early Newaygo county history, and this is a very fitting monument.
I am sure that cost is a factor in some of the variety.  But even so, it is fun to see the many different shapes these stones come in.

Of course one of the most obvious shapes of the older stones is the obelisk shape. The one above, from Jewell cemetery is a smaller but typical example of those.  And in the background are two of the very common and more recent wedge shaped stones.   They seem to have replaced the obelisk in modern usage.

Another style of cemetery stones not seen any more is the cement logs or trees.  This one above from the Newaygo cemetery is a fine example of the tree stump variety.  Another style is this one below found in Clark cemetery.

This type of stone I call the stack of logs.  Usually there is some kind of scroll cascading down, or a plaque to display the family name.  My Samis line has one, in Chase cemetery, with nothing written on the stone.  So frustrating.

Not so common is the style above.  A more shaped stone.  It is ornate and often like a medallion. This one is also in Clark cemetery.

Then there are the handmade stones. This one from Curtice cemetery in northern Newaygo county

county is one of my favorites.  It is my great-grandfather’s stone and the picture was taken by a friend who only thought it was an interesting stone.  It is constructed of cement and then painted silver.  This particular cemetery has several of these painted stones.  Other handmade stones are of cement, treated lumber, or even iron work. 

The ways that the deceased are remembered in are definitely of infinite variety.