# Interesting/weird/amusing tombstones you have seen.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [July 2, 2016, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919 "2016-07-02T12:29:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/1 "2016-07-02T12:29:07Z")
This thread has two inspirations. One is a thread on another board about “terrible tombstones” The other is several threads here asking for examples of rare or interesting items, such as cars and birds.
Grave markers definitely go through styles or fashions. And how much money, or what kind of heirs, the deceased had, will influence the art of a stone. For example, a hundred years ago it was common to find a little lamb carved or engraved on the tombstone of a child. I see that in the old cemetery where I will be buried, and it still goes on there. Five years ago a mother and two kids, who died together in a car accident, were interred there, and the children have lambs on their stones.
Gravestones can be funny, touching, and sometimes weird. I have here three examples, add your own as you are moved to do so.
[Reddit - Dive into anything](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/3qz9d0/on_the_backside_of_moms_headstone/?st=iq549pzl&sh=a8d50a13) This one makes me sniffle. I wonder how many people, on seeing it, have tried the recipe.
[http://www.stickems.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Screen-shot-2014-10-13-at-14.35.16.png](http://www.stickems.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Screen-shot-2014-10-13-at-14.35.16.png) Hello Gravestone. This on is a bit tacky.
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/washingtons-civil-war-madam-could-keep-a-secret/2013/04/26/515aa746-7143-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2\_story.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/washingtons-civil-war-madam-could-keep-a-secret/2013/04/26/515aa746-7143-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2_story.html) This is an article about a woman, Mary Ann Hall, who, during a period of almost forty years, was a high end madam in Washington DC. Scroll down about two third’s of the way to find a description of her tomb, and the wording on it.
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### Author:  [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/2 "2016-07-02T13:40:09Z")
Not a tombstone, but still an interesting cemeery inscription. In Paradise, Arizona, the sign at the entrance with wording to the effect of “unauthorized burials are prohibited”.
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### Author:  [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/3 "2016-07-02T13:43:55Z")
In Cleveland, there’s a cemetery called Lake View. There are a number of prominent people buried there, the most famous of which would probably be President Garfield and John D. Rockefeller. They give people some pretty wide latitude on grave markers and memorials, which means the place has a lot of personality. [Here’s a statue](https://goo.gl/photos/TrUTeUPdS283CazQ7) placed right behind the grave marker of a Russian musician, Sergey Gaidaenko. I think it’s quite sweet.
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### Author:  [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/4 "2016-07-02T14:41:58Z")
I’ve seen some new tombstones with pictures on them. Like this…
[http://www.headstonedesigners.com/](http://www.headstonedesigners.com/)
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### Author:  [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/5 "2016-07-02T15:02:49Z")
Chinese graves are very pleasing aesthetically. I like a good Chinese cemetery. You can see a representative sampling of some and their tombstones [here](https://www.google.co.th/search?q=%22chinese+cemeteries%22&biw=1024&bih=639&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi-iOjhhNXNAhUJv48KHQ1eA44Q_AUIBygC&dpr=1).
The [Trinity Church Cemetery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_Church_Cemetery) in Manhattan is small but interesting for all the tombstones of famous people you can see there. Robert Fulton and Alexander Hamilton are just two who are buried there.
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### Author:  [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/6 "2016-07-02T15:37:08Z")
That reminds me. The cemeteries in New Orleans have “above ground” tombs because the water level is so high…
> **[New Orleans Attractions Guide](https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/attractions/)**
>
> New Orleans attractions are endless. Take a haunted tour through the cemeteries, spend the day in a park, ride in a street car and much more.
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### Author:  [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/7 "2016-07-02T15:39:44Z")
Also don’t forget to visit the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Gift Shop!
I am NOT kidding…
[http://www.lacoroner.com/](http://www.lacoroner.com/)
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### Author:  [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/8 "2016-07-02T19:35:22Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#):
>
> I’ve seen some new tombstones with pictures on them. Like this…
> [http://www.headstonedesigners.com/](http://www.headstonedesigners.com/)
I’ve seen those in Korea, decades ago… You can be walking along a quiet path in the middle of nowhere, and see a tombstone like that. I cannot explain the cultural significance, only report that I’ve seen them.
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### Author:  [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/9 "2016-07-02T19:49:14Z")
There are more deceased major league baseball players buried in St. Louis than any other city. St. Louis is the final resting place for 161 ex-ballplayers, 82 of them in one cemetery, Calvary. New York’s 5 boroughs have 136, Chicago 90, Los Angeles 62.
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### Author:  [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/10 "2016-07-02T22:22:50Z")
While I haven’t seen Hello Kitty, I have seen childrens’ gravestones with pictures of toys on them. And gravestones with photographs are not uncommon around here.
The most surprising memorial I’ve seen is on a bench at St. James Park in Toronto. There’s a plaque on the bench that says “In memory of so-and-so, who hated this park”.
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### Author:  [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/11 "2016-07-02T22:43:50Z")
> [@hogarth](#):
>
> While I haven’t seen Hello Kitty, I have seen childrens’ gravestones with pictures of toys on them. And gravestones with photographs are not uncommon around here.
>
> The most surprising memorial I’ve seen is on a bench at St. James Park in Toronto. There’s a plaque on the bench that says “In memory of so-and-so, who hated this park”.
On that second one it sounds as if someone in the family was getting in a jab at a dead relation.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/12 "2016-07-02T22:51:17Z")
There are many variations of this, but one such version is in the Bunker Hill Cemetery in West Hartford, VT. It’s a short distance down a road from the AT, and one gravestone there has a message for thru-hikers passing by:
> [@](#):
>
> Stop traveler as you pass by
> As you are now, so once was I
> As I am now, so you shall be
> Prepare for death and follow me.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/13 "2016-07-02T23:00:30Z")
The tombstone, a simple wooden cross like one would see in a Western, wasn’t all that unusual but the location was. All by itself near the middle of a two block by two block wooded area in Kenner, Louisiana.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/14 "2016-07-02T23:07:17Z")
The area was developed at some point in the past 30 years but I’m pretty sure the grave is the mound of dirt [here](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kenner,+LA+70062/@29.9994951,-90.2371427,58m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8620b7717ccb85cb:0xd242dc1b5a6c93c8!8m2!3d29.9853746!4d-90.2526163).
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### Author:  [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2016, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/15 "2016-07-02T23:12:34Z")
In Graceland Cemetery here in Chicago there’s a small gravestone with the carved inscription, “Couldn’t wait for the Cubs to win it all”.
The rest of us are still waiting.
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### Author:  [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)
#### Post date: [July 3, 2016, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/16 "2016-07-03T17:33:54Z")
Lester Moore’s at Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone, Arizona, is a classic: [Lester Moore (unknown-1880) - Find a Grave Memorial](http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19899)
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [July 3, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/17 "2016-07-03T17:54:44Z")
A bit east of downtown Orlando there is a gravestone of a couple, one with the only somewhat weird last name of Farless. But the other definitely raises eyebrows these days. The full name on the tombstone is “Raper-Farless.”
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### Author:  [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)
#### Post date: [July 3, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/18 "2016-07-03T18:26:11Z")
This had got to be one of my favorite tombs:
Sir Richard Burton (Explorer)
[ ](https://silentthrill.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/sir_richard_burtons_tomb.jpg)
Some funny and tragic ones here:
[https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1777&bih=930&q=w+c+fields&oq=w+c&gs\_l=img.1.0.0l10.1113.1984.0.5527.3.3.0.0.0.0.104.227.2j1.3.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..0.3.219.XqyvanJZgmA#hl=en&tbm=isch&q=w+c+fields+tombstone&imgrc=\_](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1777&bih=930&q=w+c+fields&oq=w+c&gs_l=img.1.0.0l10.1113.1984.0.5527.3.3.0.0.0.0.104.227.2j1.3.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..0.3.219.XqyvanJZgmA#hl=en&tbm=isch&q=w+c+fields+tombstone&imgrc=_)
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### Author:  [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)
#### Post date: [July 3, 2016, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/19 "2016-07-03T23:07:20Z")
There is also this famous tombstone…
[ ](https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2053/2471034806_555e118af9_b.jpg)
Check the first letter of each line.
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### Author:  [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)
#### Post date: [July 4, 2016, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-weird-amusing-tombstones-you-have-seen/758919/20 "2016-07-04T00:09:57Z")
There was one I used to see often that was in the corner of a yard. I supposed they couldn’t find the family to get permission to move the graves when they development was built?
There were 3-4 head/foot stones but the only one still legible was that of a little girl that died the day before her first birthday.
I always felt sad for her parents.
Then there was another area I used to drive through in the dark. There were rows and rows of stones all laid out in a straight line and I’d think who would take the time to lay all those stones out in rows like that. It was only when I had to drive through once during the day that I saw the headstones at one end and realized it was a cemetery.
Here’s a picture of one of the stones, which of course I couldn’t see the detail from the road.
[http://www.historichancocksresolution.org/galleries/hancock-family-photos-and-hancock-grave-yards](http://www.historichancocksresolution.org/galleries/hancock-family-photos-and-hancock-grave-yards)
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