Headstone information.

I was just thinking of old Jack Benny, someone once told me that he has his age on his headstone as 39, as he always jokingly said it was, I don't know if it's true or not. That prompted me to ask the question, is it illegal to put false information on a headstone?

Re: Headstone information.

can't be.. think about it how often do we see 'devoted father' or beloved wife' and how often do we see adulterer or miserable sod ?

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No as far as I can see you can pretty much say what you want as long as it isn't offensive to the church where it is put. Lesson we learned is less is more, the lovely text the family chose for MIL has already lost a lot of it's meaning as the grass grows around it and the weather wears it off.

Re: Headstone information.

Thanks for your replies folks.
There are so many laws about where you can be buried, exhumed, moved, etc. that I thought there might be another law about what you can write on a headstone. Here's something I found suggesting what to write. Jennings is one of the biggest undertakers over here.


Ask Jennings.ie: What to Write on a Headstone

The headstone that you place at your loved one’s grave reflects these memories and emotions that you shared with them. The inscription on the headstone is a symbol of the life that they lived and your memory of them.

If a headstone is already in place on a family grave, the name of the recently deceased loved one may be added, along with the birth and death dates.

If there is room on the stone for additional wording, or if the family wants to add anything, they can discuss it with the person responsible for engraving the stone.

If a new headstone is being prepared for a grave, the family put a lot of thought into the wording, as they know it will be there for a long time and seen by generations to come.

In addition to the loved one’s name and birth and death dates, any other wording needs to reflect who they were. Some families opt for a scripture verse that meant a lot to the person who died, or a quote. You can even use something that just shares who the person was and what they enjoyed.

In many parts of Europe adding a photograph of the deceased in a frame on the headstone is very common, and is becoming popular in Ireland too.

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Apart from my father name and dates there is only one word..

Mizpah

its all that was needed

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True, Cass.

I remember years ago, I had a ring with Mizpah written on it.

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I would have "No publicity" and the start and stop dates on mine.

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Very true Cass. I've thought that before.

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Our Quaker graveyard has strict rules - the headstones must all be the same very plain design and may only be inscribed with the name, date of birth and date of death.

The General graveyard is a bit more relaxed and has pretty headstones with some lovely inscriptions. Some of the older graves have huge, elaborate statues and there are even a couple of Victorian family vaults in there.

We have a new graveyard in the village and they have rules about the height of the gravestones and have asked people not to include photos as they believe it encourages vandalism.

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How sick is that?

I cant understand and frankly wouldnt want to understand the satisfaction anyone would get out of desecrating a graveyard.