Needing a Custom Headstone or Memorial for a Loved One
Some time ago my sister-in-law passed after a long illness, and had chosen to be buried at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Los Angeles. We needed someplace reasonably close with a great reputation for quality work to provide her a custom headstone, and after some research we found American Headstones in Dana Point. They had a beautiful portfolio of work and my wife was impressed by the wide range of options that were offered. On arriving we looked at the different styles of headstones and had to decide on a standing, slant or flat granite headstone for her sister’s grave. There is even an option to have a headstone custom made; we were a little overwhelmed at the possibilities. The staff was very courteous and respectful as they showed examples of the various options we could choose to adorn whichever style of headstone we chose. We were particularly impressed that we could have a photo inlaid in the granite, we were concerned about something like that becoming damaged by exposure but we were assured that photo is extremely durable and would last a lifetime whether we chose to have the photo etched or a porcelain tile set in the headstone. My wife ultimately chose having a photo etched into the stone, which actually helped us to decide on which style of stone we would finally use.
The choice of having a photo etched into the stone is what helped convince us to choose the flat granite headstone style, we thought it would better show the picture that we decided to have etched into the stone, and the wonderful all round design of the memorial. We had a wide range of colors to choose from and our consultant was extremely helpful in helping us make our decision based on how we thought the headstone should impress visitors as a memorial and show the etched photo and calligraphy we had chosen. I had no idea that carnelian, tropical green or blue pearl were options we could choose from in a granite headstone. The blue pearl’s beautiful iridescence was our choice because of how it caught and reflected the light. The good people at American Headstones Company did their best to make a necessary part of a very difficult and emotional process as painless as possible. We are convinced that they created the most appropriate and respectful memorial for my sister-in-law, something that will give us peace and help us remember her whenever we visit her grave.
