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The Cemetery Lettering Process

At some point, you may realize you need to add some engraving to an existing stone whether it is at the funeral home, at your home, or at the cemetery.  It is something that a funeral home may bring up to you as the funeral process is not fully complete until a name and dates have been engraved on an existing memorial or a memorial has been purchased.  The funeral home may take care of it for you, but if not, it is something that can be ordered completely over the phone by calling Quincy Memorials at 1-800-696-4402.  We will ask you these simple questions: Name of Cemetery & Town, Lot # & Section at Cemetery, Family Name on the stone, Present Names currently on the stone, New Lettering to add, Date of Birth & Death, and your contact Info.

Before you call, have your cemetery lot deed available to answer any questions about where the memorial is located.  If you live in the area and can find out how the names and dates are lined up and laid out (full dates, abbreviated dates or just the years), that will speed up the process as you can get an estimate almost immediately that way.  Pictures of the stone are very helpful as well.  Otherwise, you will have to wait until we have inspected the memorial.  Once you have received and double checked the free, no obligation estimate that we send and have made sure all the dates and spelling are correct, you will need to sign the contract and permit (if applicable) and send full payment upfront.

Once we receive your order, we must make our first visit to the stone and acquire a rubbing/impression of the font, size and layout of the lettering on the stone.  We do this by using the location information provided to find the stone and using a carbon paper to get the impression. Some stones can be difficult to find so any landmarks and directions can be helpful.  We will also take a picture of the stone to make sure all desired lettering can fit.  We then bring the rubbing back to our office and have a stencil made up based on the information gathered.  We line up the name and dates as they should appear on the stone based on the rubbing with proper font and size.  We have the stencil printed, finishing the preparation step.

The final step is the actual engraving of the lettering and is the second time we visit the stone.  This can be done directly in the cemetery and does not require any removal of the monument.  The back of our stencil has a light adhesive to apply to the specified area of the stone we are doing the lettering.  The stencil is measured out accordingly to make sure it is level and centered to the other names and dates already on the memorial.  We then set up all of our sandblasting equipment and take out the areas of the stencil that we intend to sandblast.  We then sandblast the letters to the appropriate depth and peel the stencil off the stone.  This completes the engraving/lettering of an existing memorial.  A stone cleaning may also be done at this time if desired.  You will be notified by mail that the engraving has been completed