What could I put on my grandpa's gravestone?
My grandpa passed away about five years ago. And, about once a year I go up and visit that side of the family & my grandma always takes me up there to visit the grave. Well this year I wanted to put something on his grave to just make a memory. For him to look down on. But, I don't really know what else I could put on there except flowers. I was thinking an angel statue would be sweet, but one I wouldn't know where to get one. And, two there is already one there. Please comment with ideas. It would mean the world to me, thank you all and have a blessed holiday (:
What language is this phrase found on a family gravestone from 1890?
It's Ancient Greek, a slightly garbled transliteration of a line from Lament for Bion (an elegy for another poet) attributed to the ancient Greek poet Moschus (see Google Books http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QV9IAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA743&dq=%22Alas!+alas!+the+mallows,+though+they+wither+where+they+lie,%22:&hl=en&ei=YDODTtLsJcfbsgbWodmSDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Alas!%20alas!%20the%20mallows%2C%20though%20they%20wither%20where%20they%20lie%2C%22%3A&f=false ). εϋδομες ευ μάλα μακρόν ατέρμονα νηγρετον υπνον eudomes eu mala makron atermona negreton upnon I can't find a literal translation, but a couple of idiomatic translations render it as: "Long silence keep of endless sleep, within the hollow grave" "Sleep long and drear, the endless sleep of death" As she was of Scottish stock, it might well have come from Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, No. 362, December 1845 (here http://www.gutenberg.org/files/33938/33938.txt ) which quotes it as: Ai Ai tai malachai men epan kata katon olontai E tachlora selina, to t' euthales oulon anedon, Ysteron hauzoonti, kai eis etos allo phyonti. Ammes d' hoi megaloi kai karteroi he sophoi andres, Oppote prota thanomes, anakosi en chthoni koila Eudames eu mala makron atermona negreton hypnon. Alas! alas! the mallows, though they wither where they lie, And all the fresh and pleasant herbs within the garden die, Another year they shall appear, and still fresh bloom supply. But we, Great men, the strong, the wise, the noble, and the brave, When once we fall into the earth, our nourriture that gave, Long silence keep of endless sleep, within the hollow grave.]
My grandmother was in the DAR and has a star on her grave stone. How do I find out how she qualified to be a?
http://www.dar.org/library/record_copy.c... says you can order a copy for $10 electronically or $15 by mail. If you know someone with a subscription to Ancestry.com, you may be able to find her. Ancestry has 152 volumes of DAR lineage books digitized. Possibilities on that: - Your public library may subscribe - A friendly volunteer at an LDS FHC may subscribe - Sign up for a 14-day trial and cancel - Post her name, death date and parents' names here - Write to one of the top 10 to see if they subscribe
What is it like to look at the dead body of someone you once knew?
My mother died in front of me less than 2 months ago. She was battling cancer of the gallbladder and it only took 3 months from diagnosis to death.She was put on ventilator the day I rushed back home. She would look at me but could not speak because of all the tubes going into her mouth. Her condition was declining. Finally the doctors talked to us and decided to pull the plug. All her bodily functions had stopped. The minute they did it though the scene was unbelievable. She could not breathe because the lungs would not swell up anymore. She was desperately trying to inhale, struggling and moving her head around. All I could do is look at her and hold her hand. I was reminding her of my childhood. Never felt so helpless before.My dad was on the other side of the bed praying. After about 20 mins she lost grip of my hand.I knew it was happening but there was nothing I could do. Her heart rate was arrhythmic with too little oxygen in her blood. I saw her struggle for a couple more breaths and then she stopped moving. It was dramatic. All the equipment around her started beeping and I saw the line fall flat. Absolutely flat ! And when I looked back at her she was staring at me, only it was a blank one. My father was crying hysterically. All I did was closed her eyes and walked out of the ward. I did not cry. It did not hit me at all. I was in great disbelief. I was talking to myself saying here's the woman I loved most in my life and now she is dead. It just did not make any sense to me. And immediately after I had to perform the last rites and I lost all sense of time. I was not in panic. Everything seemed too unreal. I wanted to wake up and call it a bad dream. But no, before I know I was performing the last rites. Every now and then I would look at her body and get chills. I did not know how to react. And finally by the end of the day the body was taken to a funeral pyre. I felt disconnected from everything. Even to this day it doesn't seem to me that my mother is no more. It's a thought that gives me chills and feels like its a terrible thought. However another part of me does acknowledge that I can't see her anymore. Worst of all it was her birthday the next day.
In some cultures food is left on graves?
It is done to share with them in the afterlife. It's not for any particular person or reason other than that. In Chinese culture, we also burn money that's made just for offering our deceased so they can use it in the afterlife. There are all sorts of things we burn, too, they even make paper clothing! My grandma just passed away and I was pretty new to this too, being born in the US. We cremated AND buried her along with her favorite silk clothing, shoes, hat, jewelry, etc. There are metal barred containers with lots of holes so air can pass through so we can light a large fire in it and burn lots of things together. We burned photos, artwork, paper money, and even wine for her. We have a holiday, the Day of the Dead that just passed where you're supposed to visit the graves of your deceased loved ones. The place where my grandmother is buried is meant for Chinese people and I saw families bring feasts to sit on top of the graves, like whole roasted ducks or turkeys even. I believe they pray as the food rests on the graves, burn incense, and after it's all done they actually eat it themselves. I think it's more like their spirit is able to enjoy it, but maybe not physically the way we do. Either way, they share it as a family once more.
How to clean headstones?
I have looked this up on different sites and it depends on what kind of stone it is: marble, cement, granite, etc. Most don't recommend using any type of detergent on the stone. Some of the detergents can cause pits in the stone in the long run and water can get into the stone. But they recommend using a soft brissel brush and lots of water to clean with. Soaking the stone well first and continue to soak it as it is cleaned and be sure it is well rinsed. But what you use on it, depends on the stone that it is made of. It would be best to contact someone who sell monuments. There are special cleaners that will take off the green...some of them mentioned a cleaner using in photography,...you can look at this site to read about it: http://www.gravestonepreservation.info/a... And, of course, a site on what not to do: http://www.gravestonepreservation.info/a... Best wishes
Can anyone help reading a Polish Grave Stone?
My great grandmother erected a large granite monument on her father's grave in Poland in the mid-1970s. On it there is some writing. here is what it says: Spoczvijr is Bogu JAN PAWLIKOWSKI ZUL LAT 69 Zm 12 XL 1647E Pokôj Jego Duszy I read this off of an old black and white photo. I am sorry if I spelled anything wrong. The L in ZUL has a hash mark thorugh it. ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!
How to replace a 1870's tombstone?
Matching it may be hard, but if you have a photo of it then a good stone mason may be able to come up with something pretty close for you. I can't guarantee it will be inexpensive. The reason so many old headstones are gone is that they were made from inexpensive types of stone that don't weather well...or from concrete, which just disintegrates over time. There are also a couple of companies out there making "vintage-style" headstones and if you go to a good funeral director in your area, they should be able to do the research for you and order it on your behalf. Again, I don't know about cost. But it is possible to find them with a little persistence.