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5 things to know before you choose a monument.

Having crafted monuments and memorials for generations, we hear story after story of individuals and families feeling overwhelmed when purchasing a monument for the first time. It shouldn’t feel that way. So, in conjunction with our tireless efforts of making every memorial experience as pleasant as possible, we’ve gone ahead and simplified the monument process into five easy steps.

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A life well-lived deserves a memorial well-crafted.

While the age-old adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” has been used many times over the years, when it comes to selecting a monument, its truth still holds some weight. You don’t have to take our word for it, though. See for yourself with our gallery of images and monument examples.

“Memories of a Lifetime” - Custom Gravestones & Headstones

Memories of those you love and cherish will never die. Yet a visible symbol, a marker or monument, has always been a source of great satisfaction to those left behind as a lasting tribute to the memory of that loved one. At Patten Monument, we understand the importance of a legacy. Because your satisfaction is our highest priority, the customized headstones and monuments we create are made with pride and an exceptional level of detail. Resilient and highly resistant to weathering, granite is the preferred choice and one of the most commonly used materials for handcrafting custom gravestones and headstones. We also offer custom gravestones and headstones in bronze and marble. Patten Memorial stands by their quality and every memorial headstone and grave marker we craft include our 100% lifetime guarantee!

"How Will You Be Remembered?" - Custom Monuments & Memorials

Quality workmanship from people who care has allowed the Patten Monument Company to serve families for generations and generations to come. Perhaps you have a clear vision for your monument but are struggling to put it into words or find relevant examples. Whether you’re pre arranging your afterlife plans or for those who’ve passed on and are soon to be interred, with our interactive, easy-to-use “Design Your Own Monument” tool, you can now explore countless possibilities and bring your vision and the memories of a deceased loved one to life.

Memorial Hand & Laser Etching

Introduced in the 70s, engraved etchings on memorials remain as a principal form of personalization and tribute. Whether created by hand from a collection of photos or derived from computer-generated, high-tech laser etching, the beauty and devotion shines through. At Patten Monument, we can transform almost any artwork and design into a lasting memorial. Available only on black granite surfaces, professional hand and laser etching extends, but is not limited to:

Black Granite Insets
Full-Scene Laser Designs
Inscriptions – Poems, Verse, and Story
Inset Shapes
Memorial Colors
Portrait Etching
Single Item Etching

Memorial Services

Nationally certified, family-owned and operated, Patten Monument offers our products and services direct to the public at reasonable, competitive prices. From determining and designing memorial suites and detailed and accurate fabrication to professional delivery and installation of the monument to the cemetery, we provide families with everlasting memorials for their loved ones and a uniquely personal and physical tribute to visit in remembrance. Along with each physical, custom monument, all Patten Monuments include complimentary “Monumark” service – virtual memorials that can be scanned to remember, preserve and share memories of a loved one. Other services and custom gravestone and headstone detailing we provide include:

Cremation Memorials
Full Sculpturing
Mausoleum Repair & Restoration

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How you’ll be remembered is now entirely up to you.

Perhaps you have a clear vision for your monument but are struggling to put it into words or find relevant examples. With our interactive, easy-to-use “Design Your Own Monument” tool, you can now explore countless possibilities and bring your vision to life.

Interactive Designer - Design your own monument

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“Words to Live By” – Care, Quality and Customer Service

Aspiring to make difficult times a little less, Patten Monuments are experts in all aspects of the memorial process. We pride ourselves in the care, comfort and assurance we provide our customers, as well as the all-inclusive, in-house service and exceptional quality and craftsmanship of our custom monuments, gravestones and headstones, utilizing the best technology available for the industry combined with our tried and true traditional processes honed from generations of experience.

“The Finest in Design, Workmanship and Material” – Pricing & Fees

The memorial you choose must stand out as an endearing symbol of your devotion and respect, as a token of fond memories and a tangible expression of your enduring love. As with the purchase of any item of significant value, there are certain costs you should take into account beforehand. There are many factors that influence the pricing of any particular memorial, and criteria varies from company to company. For Patten Monument, we divide costs into a few simple categories, the primary being size, style, and material. For example, flush markers are easier to fabricate than other styles like bevels, slants, and monuments. Generally speaking, the more labor required, the higher the cost. Stones like granite and marble come in various quantities and are quarried from mines all over the world, thus the location of the material and transportation are also contributing factors. At Patten Monument, we use granite and marble specifically graded for monument use. Some cemeteries require only bronze marker installations, and Patten Monument has several to choose from which meet and exceed all cemetery requirements.

Additionally, we itemize the exact charge of cemetery foundations and/or installations for every monument at Patten. As part of our full service to you as a customer, we typically include the cemetery/sexton charge for this fee as a separate line item in your total cost. We will also communicate the marker size to the cemetery and forward your payment on to them.

All services and items listed below are included with our estimates and pricing:

Delivery and installation to your cemetery lot by our highly trained employees
Standard design and memorial artwork
40 letters on single markers, 60 letter on double markers.
Shape carving and crafting on all upright monuments
Standard finished surfaces

Other optional services that impact the cost include:

Additional finishes (e.g., polished tops on uprights, polished margins on a base, etc.)
Attaching a veteran’s plaque to the monument
Custom artwork
Deep Bias Relief Carving
Engraving on the back surface of the memorial
Vases

Offered in both contemporary and traditional styles, each of our custom monuments, gravestones and headstones are handcrafted to your exacting standards and specifications. Price quotes are without cost or obligation on your part and will be honored at any of our distributors for 60 days from the date of quote.

Testimonials

My family and I are so grateful to you for your wonderful gift of the beautiful granite memorial benches for President Ford’s grave site. We so appreciate the personal attention and assistance you provided in planning and placing the benches just in time for President Ford’s 94th birthday ceremonies in July. The meditation area blends in seamlessly with the burial site and will allow visitors a beautiful setting to sit and contemplate President Ford and his many accomplishments. Thank you for your generosity from the bottom of my heart.

Betty Ford
Mark’s stone is a remarkable tribute and has received numerous compliments — even from strangers and staff at the cemetery. We couldn’t be more pleased!

Jeanine Mille
On behalf of my family & friends, I would like to thank you for providing such a beautiful headstone for my husband. Realizing the additional pressure placed on all of you; with a deadline and the pictures, signatures, etc. makes your skilled technique even more impressive. Mark’s stone is a remarkable tribute and has received numerous compliments – even from strangers and staff at the cemetery. We couldn’t be more pleased! Thank You So Very much for everything.
I have been remiss in sending this card and thanks to you. Last New Year, you worked very patiently and kindly with me in getting my father’s headstone to Northern Michigan in time for our family gathering. I cannot tell you how much I, and my family, appreciated your efforts.

Thank you so very much!!!
I’m so glad I came into your business. Dave DeBoer gave me wonderful ideas that my kids could handwrite a special message to their dad on the headstone. You were so kind to me and my kids and made my experience wonderful. The headstone is perfect!! I drove to the cemetery last week to see if the headstone was there. What a beautiful surprise!!! Dave you were so kind, wonderful and helpful. I just want you to know the family got tears in their eyes when they saw this layout. Not only because of their loss but because it turned out so beautiful! Thank you to who ever put in the extra effort into this design. I didn’t tell them for sure but I was hoping you could make a couple of copies of this layout when completed for the family to keep. Is that possible? Maybe I will frame it for them as my gift to the family. I just thought you and your staff should know they are appreciated.

Regards,
Patten Monument Staff, Thank you for the beautiful stone for my husband Frank. The Grand Haven light house is very special. Nice Job. With my thanks. We would like to thank you for the wonderful head stone for our son. It looks good at his elementary school… Thanks for helping us through this difficult time.
Dear Dorothy (sic), Joe & Staff, On behalf of my family & friends, I would like to thank you for providing such a beautiful headstone for my husband. Realizing the additional pressure placed on all of you; with a deadline and the pictures, signatures, etc….requested by me makes your skilled technique even more impressive! Mark’s stone is a remarkable tribute and has received numerous compliments; even from strangers and staff at the cemetery. We couldn’t be more pleased! Thank You So Very much for everything.
Dear Staff of Patten Monument Co. – I am very pleased with the headstone you manufactured for my husband. It will be a great memorial for our family & friends for years to come. Dear Rob, I just wanted to say Thank You so very much to you & those that helped create our mom’s headstone. It is so beautiful. I was so surprised to see it there for Mother’s Day. I got right on the cell phone & called my brothers. They all said her headstone was awesome & were so grateful it was there on Mother’s Day.
Dear Andy – Thank you so much for all the hard work that you & your staff did to make my Dad’s marker so awesome! It is a really beautiful stone – we all love it! Your staff is so patient and kind when working with a family – and so talented, too. Thank you for the extra etching of the USMC emblem and of Mt. Suribacki – AWESOME!! My dad would be proud of it. Thank you & God bless you always.
To Whom It May Concern: …Buying a headstone for our son was very difficult… he loved to go up to the family cabin hunting with his dad….We drove through cemeteries looking for ideas and through a book with pictures. We found this one picture and we knew it was the right one. It had a stream, 3 deer and a turkey in the woods. It reminded us so much of up north. We asked if your company would be able to add a picture of our cabin, remove the stream, and add more ferns and branches. When he showed us the proof with the changes we had asked about and our son’s picture centered at the top of the headstone above the color picture, we cried. We were very satisfied with the proof and said to go ahead and order it. The headstone arrived the day after Father’s Day and we have had so many compliments on it. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for giving us a beautiful memorial and a wonderful tribute to our son.
Patten Monument Co. Just a note to tell you my family and I are very pleased with your workmanship in creating the appropriate memorial marker for the gravesite of our husband, father & grandfather. We are so pleased to have your expertise in the placement of the symbols we chose. We also appreciated the advice and patience Ed gave us as we were given time to decide on what we desired. Thank you so much.
Patten Monument Co. Thanks so much for your help. I’m very pleased with your thoughtful service. It has been a pleasure for me although at the same time dealing with a void in my life. God’s will for all our lives is the very best. May God Bless your Company as you serve Him.

Privately owned and operated for more than a century and headquartered in Comstock Park, Patten Monument is the leading cemetery headstone provider in Michigan and Northern Indiana, with nine conveniently located showrooms and distributors across the Midwest.

Our highly skilled and professional team of stonemasons and craftsmen are capable of sculpting and dressing your every monument, memorial, headstone and marker needs, from custom statuaries, gravestones and mausoleums. After a hundred years our commitment to our craft remains true, and, like our stonework, endures the test of time, as does our dedication to providing our customers with complete satisfaction, care and attention to detail.

The last best thing you can do for a loved one.