The following are actual tombstone etchings.
I am including them here as a kind of offering to you of the celebration of life and death and humankind. In the last sixteen months, there were many, many times (especially in the long, dark hours of night), when I could think of nothing but death.    In a kind of reverse-therapy-or-psychological-approach....  I began to read all manner of relative materials - from macabre to humorous. I guess that it was some instinctive way of looking at death itself, and at life, .... and accepting both. In this reading time - I came to cherish the spirit of the myriad of people and circumstance which produced these quotations. I simply offer them to you as a part of the way I have dealt with it all. I hope that it offends no one, hurts no one, and above all, I desire from the depths of my soul, that it may actually help and strengthen others as it has me.

Stranger pause, 
my tale attend,
And learn the cause 
of Hannahs' end
Across the world the wind did blow,
She ketched a cold that laid her low.
We shed a lot of tears 'tis true,
But life is short - 
aged 82.

Bayfield, Mississipppi

Sacred
to the memory of Anthony Drake,
Who died for peace and quietness sake
His wife was constantly 
scolding& scoffin'
So he sought for repose in a 
twelve dollar coffin.

Burlington, Massachusetts

Here lies Ann Mann;
She lived an old maid and She died an
Old Mann.

In this grave
that lies before ye
Lies berried up a
desmal story.
A young maiden
crossed in love
And tooketh to
the realms above.
But he that crossed her, 
I should say
Deserves to go
the other way.
Pentewan,
Cornwall, England

Here lies
Lester Moore
Four slugs
from a 44
no Les
no more
Tombstone, Arizona

Underneath 
this pile of stones
Lies all that's left of 
Sally Jones
Her name wasBriggs,
It was not Jones,
But Jones was used 
to rhyme with stones.
Skaneateles, New York

Here lie I 
bereft of breath
Because a cough carried me off;
Then a coffin they carried me off in.

Boston (Mass) Granary Burying-Ground

Here lies the bones of my boy Fritz,
The Lord killed him with ague fits.
He was too good
to live with me,
So He took him home to live with He.
Germantown, Pennsylvania

Brigham Young

Born on this spot
1801
A man of great courage
and superb equipment.

Whittingham, Vermont

Here under this sod and under these trees
Is buried the body of Solomon Pease.

But here in his hole lies only his pod
His soul is shelled out and gone up to God.

Falkirk Scotland

He called Bill Smith 
a liar.
Cripplecreek, Colorado

Here lies
John James Cook
of Newby
Who was a faithful
servant to his master
and an upright, downright
honest man

1760 Ripon,
Yorkshire, England

Sheffield, 
Yorkshire, England

This tombstone
is a milestone,
ha, how so,
Because beneath lies Miles,
who's miles below.
Selby, 
Yorkshire, England

Here Betsy Brown her body lies
Her soul is flying to the skies,
While here on earth she ofttimes spun
Six hundred skeins from sun to sun
And wove one day, her daughter brags,
Two hundren pounds of carpet rags
Winslow, Maine

Sacred
to the memory
of Elisha Philbrook and his wife Sarah
Beneath these stones do lie,
Back to back,
my wife and I!
When 
the last trumpet
the air shall fill,
If she gets up,
I'll just lie still.
Sargentville, Maine

Beneath this stone, this lump of clay
Lies uncle Peter Daniels,
Who too early in the month of May
Took off his winter flannels
Medway, Massachusetts

Here lies in a horizontal position the outside case of
Thomas Hinde
clock and watch maker.
Who departed this life wound up in hope of being taken in hand
by his Maker and being thoroughly cleaned, repaired and
set a-going in the world to come.
On the 15th of August 1836
in the nineteenth year of his life.

Bolsover, Derbyshire, England

Samuel Jinking;

He was an honest Christian man,
His fault was that he took, and ran
Suddenly to drinking.
Whoever reads this tablet o'er,
Take warning now, and drink no more.

Augusta, Maine

Hatfield, Massachusetts

Here lies the bones of Richard Lawton,
whose death, alas! was strangely brought on.
Trying his corns one day to mow off,
His razor slipped
and cut his toe off,
His toe, or rather, what it grew to,
An inflammation quickly flew to,
Which took, alas! To mortifying,
And was the cause of Richards' dying.

Plymouth, Massachusetts

Burlington, Vermont

On a Thursday she was born
On a Thursday she made a bride,
On a Thursday put to bed,
On a Thursday broke her leg and
On a Thursday died

Church Stretton, Shropshire, England

Cynthis Stevens
1742-1776
Here lies Cynthis Stevens. Wife.
She lived six years
in calm and strife.
Death came at last and set her free.
I was glad and so was she.

Hollis, New Hampshire

Amos Shute
1789-1842
He heard the angels calling him
From the Celestial Shore
He flapped his wings and away he went
To make one angel
more.

Canaan, New Hampshire

Thomas Woodcock
Here lie the remains of Thomas Woodhen
The most amiable of husbands and excellent of men.
His real name was Woodcock, but it wouldn't come in rhyme

Dunoon, Scotland

Sacred to the memory of
~ Jared Bates ~
who died August the 6th 1800.
His widow, aged 24, lives at 7 Elm Street, has every qualification for a
good wife, and yearns to be comforted.

Lincoln, Maine

In memory of
Mrs Alpha White
Weight 390 lbs
Open wide ye heavenly gates.
That lead to to the heavenly shore;
Our father sufferred in passing through'
and mother weighs much more.

Lee, Massachusetts

Of seven sons the Lord his father gave,
He was the fourth who found a watery grave.
Fifteen days had passed since the circumstance occurred,
When his body was found and decently interred.

South Dennis, Massachusetts

My wife from me departed, and robbed me like a knave
Which caused me broken hearted
To sink into the grave
My children took an active part,
To doom me did contrive;
Which stuck a dagger in my heart
That I could not survive

Stowe, Vermont

Here lyes
Sydney Snyder
1803-1823
The wedding day decided was,
The wedding wine provided,
But ere the day did come along
He'd drunk it all and died, did.
Ah, Sidney! Sidney!

Providence, Rhode Island

Here lies
John Taggart
of honest frame,
of stature low &
a leg lame.
Content was he
with portion small
kept a shop in Wigtown
& that's all

Wigtown, Galloway, Scotland

Here lies the body of Mollly Dickie,
the wife of Hall Dickie tailor
Two great physicians first, My loving husband tried,
To cure my pain, in vain.
At last he got a third, and then I died.

Cheltinsham, Gloucestershire, England

To the four husbands of Miss Ivy Saunders 1790, 1794, 1808, 18??  
Here lie my husbands, One, Two, Three. 
Dumb as men 
could ever be.
As for my Fourth, 
well, praise be to God, He bides for a little above the sod. 
Alex, Ben, Sandy 
were the first threes' names, And to make things tidy,
I'll add his - James.

Shutesburg, Massachusetts

Here lieth Mary - the wife of John Ford
We hope her soul is gone to the Lord
But if for Hell she has changed this life
She had better be there than be John Fords' wife

1790 Potterne, Wiltshire, Englandu

Here lies my wife in earthly mold
Who when she lived did naught but scold
Peace! wake her not, for now she's still,
She had...
but now...I...
have my will.

Bayfield, Mississippi

M. S. Donald Robertson
Born 1st of January 1785
Died 4th of June 1848
Aged 63 years

He was a peaceable man, and to all appearance ,
a sincere Christian.
His death was very much regretted-
which was caused by the stupidity of Lawrence Tulloch
of Clotherton who sold him nitre instead of Epsom salts by which he was killed in the space of three hours after taking a dose of it.

Cross Kirk,
Shetland, England

Daniel Lambert

A native of Leicester
who was possessed of an excellant & convivial hind & in personal greatness
had no competitor.
He measured
3 ft 1 inch round the leg, nine ft 4 round the body & weigh'd 52 stones 11 lb
He departed this life on the
21st of June 1809 aged 39 yrs.
As a testimony of respect
this stone was erected
by his friends in

Leicester Stamford, Lincolnshire, England

O Cruel Death
how could you
be so unkind?
To take him before and leave me behind.
You should have taken the two of us if either.
Which would have been more pleasant to the survivor

Birmingham, England

Here lies the body
of our Anna
Done to death by a banana. It wasn't
the fruit that laid her low
But the skin of the thing that made her go.

Enosburg, Vermont

Sacred to the memory of
Henry Harris
Born June 27, 1821, of Henry Harris
and Jane, His Wife, Died on the 4th of May, 1837,
by the kick of a colt in his bowels
Peaceable and quiet, a friend to his father and mother,
and respected by all who knew him, and went to the world
where horses do not kick, where sorrow and weeping is no more

Williamsport, Pennsylvania

In memory of Robert Baxter of Farhouse
Who died
October 4th 1796. Aged 58 years.
All you that please these lines to read
It will cause a tender heart to bleed
I murdered was
upon the fell
And by a man I know full well
My bread and butter which he'd laid-
I being harmless was betray'd
I hope he will rewarded be
That laid the poison there for me.

Knaresdale, Northumberland, England

To the four husbands of
Miss Ivy Saunders
1790, 1794, 1808, 18??
Here lie my husbands,
One, Two, Three
Dumb as men could ever be.
As for my Fourth, well, praise be to God,
He bides for a little above the sod.
Alex, Ben, Sandy were the first threes' names,
And to make things tidy, I'll add his - James.

Shutesburg, Massachusetts

In memory of Robert Baxter of Farhouse
Who died
October 4th 1796. Aged 58 years.
All you that please these lines to read
It will cause a tender heart to bleed.
I murdered was upon the fell . And by a man I know full well.
My bread and butter which he'd laid- I being harmless was betray'd. I hope he will rewarded be,
That laid the poison there for me.

Knaresdale, Northumberland, England

Amos Shute
1789-1842
He heard the angels calling him
From the Celestial Shore
He flapped his wings and away he went
To make one angel more.

Canaan, New Hampshire

Canterbury, Kent, England

In memory of
Charles Ward
who died May 1770
aged 63 years
A dutiful son
A loving brother and
an affectionate husband
NB This stone was not erected by Susan his wife, She erected a stone to John Salter, her second husband forgetting the affection of Charles Ward, her first husband.

Lowestoft, Suffolk, England

O Cruel Death
how could you be so unkind?
To take him before and leave me behind.
You should have taken the two of us if either.
Which would have been more pleasant to the survivor

Birmingham, England

Thomas Woodcock
Here lie the remains of Thomas Woodhen
The most amiable of husbands and excellent of men.
His real name was Woodcock
but it wouldn't come in rhyme

Dunoon, Scotland

On a Thursday
she was born
On a Thursday
she made a bride,
On a Thursday
put to bed,
On a Thursday
broke her leg and
On a Thursday died

Church Stretton, Shropshire, England

Here lies the body of
Lady O'Looney
Great niece of Burke.
Commonly called sublime. She was bland, passionate
and deeply religious, also she painted
in water colors and sent several pictures
to the Exhibition.
She was first cousin
to Lady Jones, and
of such is the Kingdom of Heaven

Pewsey, Wiltshire,
Eglad

Here lyeth ye body of Sarah Bloomfield,
Aged 74,
Cut off in blooming yuthe we can but pity.

Yarmouth, Norfolk, England

In memory of Robert Baxter of Farhouse
Who died
October 4th 1796. Aged 58 years.
All you that please these lines to read
It will cause a tender heart to bleed.
I murdered was upon the fell . And by a man I know full well.
My bread and butter which he'd laid- I being harmless was betray'd. I hope he will rewarded be,
That laid the poison there for me.

Knaresdale, Northumberland, England

Here lieth
Martin Elphinstone
who with his sword
did cut in sunder
the daughter of
Sir Harry Crispe
who did his daughter marry.
She was fat and fulsome.
But men will sometimes eat bacon with their bean,
and love the fat as well as the lean

Alnswick, Northumberland, England

Here lies the body of J. Wesley Webb
A firm believer in the Lord Jesus Christ,
Jeffersonian Democracy
and the M.E.Church

Huntington, West Virginia

Cynthis Stevens
1742-1776
Here lies Cynthis Stevens. Wife.
She lived six years in calm and strife.
Death came at last and set her free.
I was glad and so was she.

Hollis, New Hampshire

Here lies
John Taggart
of honest frame, of stature low & a leg lame. Content was he
with portion small kept a shop in Wigtown & that's all

Wigtown, Galloway, Scotland

Old Thomas Mulvaney lies here
His mouth ran from ear to ear.
Reader, tread lightly on this wonder,
For if he yawns, you've gone to thunder

Middlefield, Massachusetts

Neuralgia worked on Mrs Smith
Till neath the sod it laid her.
She was a worthy Methodist
And served as a crusader

Skaneateles, New York

Here lies the body of John Eldred,
At least, he will be when he's dead.
But now at this time he is alive,
The 14th of August, Sixty-five

A churchyard in Oxfordshire, England

Sacred to the memory of
John Walker,
the only son of Benjamin & Ann Walker,engineer and palisade maker.
Died
September 23, 1832, aged 36 years
Farewell, my wife and father dear,
No engine powers now do I fear;
My glass is run, my work is done,
And now my head lies quiet here.
Tho' many an engine I've set up,
And got great praise from men;
I made them work on British ground,
And on the roaring main.
My engine's stopped, my valves are bad,
And lies so deep within;
No engineer could here be found
To put the new ones in.
But Jesus Christ converted me,
And took me up above;
I hope once more
to meet once more,
And sing redeeming love.

Bridgford-on-the-Hill, Nottinghamshire, England

My wife from me departed, and robbed me like a knave.
Which caused me broken hearted, to sink into the grave.
My children took an active part, To doom me did contrive;
Which stuck a dagger in my heart, that I could not survive

Stowe, Vermont

Sacred to the memory of
Jared Bates
who died August the 6th 1800.
His widow, aged 24, lives at 7 Elm Street, has every qualification for a good wife, and yearns to be comforted.

Lincoln, Maine

Here lieth Mary - the wife of John Ford
We hope her soul is gone to the Lord
But if for Hell she has changed this life
She had better be there than be John Fords' wife

1790 Potterne, Wiltshire, England

Here Betsy Brown her body lies
Her soul is flying to the skies,
While here on earth she ofttimes spun
Six hundred skeins from sun to sun
And wove one day, her daughter brags,
Two hundred pounds of carpet rags

Winslow, Maine

Here lyes
Sydney Snyder
1803-1823
The wedding day decided was,
The wedding wine provided,
But ere the day did come along
He'd drunk it all
and died, did
Ah, Sidney! Sidney!

Providence, Rhode Island

Lost Creek, Colorado

Of seven sons the Lord his father gave,
He was the fourth who found a watery grave.
Fifteen days had passed since the circumstance occurred,
When his body was found and decently interred.

South Dennis, Massachusetts

Neuralgia worked on Mrs Smith
Till neath the sod it laid her.
She was a worthy Methodist
And served as a crusader

Skaneateles, New York

Old Thomas Mulvaney lies here
His mouth ran from ear to ear. Reader, tread lightly on this wonder, For if he yawns, you've gone to thunder

Middlefield, Massachusetts

Here lies the body of J. Wesley Webb
A firm believer in the Lord Jesus Christ,
Jeffersonian Democracy
and the M.E.Church

Huntington, West Virginia

A churchyard in Oxfordshire, England

Shutesburg, Massachusetts

Sacred to the memory of
Henry Harris
Born June 27, 1821, and Jane, His Wife, Died on the 4th of May, 1837, by the kick of a colt in his bowels. Peaceable and quiet, a friend to his father and mother and respected by all who knew him, and went to the world where horses do not kick, where sorrow and weeping is no more

Williamsport, Pennsylvania

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