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 Here’s another vertical monument design from page 104 of McNeel’s classic, The Greatest Name in Stonecraft. I prefer vertical monuments over horizontal monuments for their distinctive appearance, their ease of location in the cemetery, and the blackboard-like space on the rear that allows great versatility for memorializing and presenting the “living legacy” SM of the deceased.
McNeel’s identifies the dimensions of the West memorial as follows:
West
Page 104
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Length x Width x Height
Option A
2-0 x 0-10 x 6-0 Die or Tablet
3-4 x 1 - 8 x 0-6 Base
Option B
2-4 x 1-0 x 7-0 Die or Tablet
4-0 x 2-0 x 0-8 Base
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Option A above has a height of 6 feet, 6 inches, while Option B has a height of 7 feet 8 inches. You may note that the dimensions of the base height increased in Option B as the height of the monument increased. This is a common practice to modify the proportions of the base to maintain harmony with the die or tablet.
I strongly recommend the use of dowels for any vertical monument. Dowels serve the same purpose as a wooden dowel does in carpentry. The pins are used to hold together two joints of stone.
You may see the similarity between this vertical monument and a monolith. If the base were removed from the vertical monument, you would have a monolith, a one-piece monument without a base.
Symbolism: the West Vertical Monument has a flat top with simple straight lines for the sides with accents. Checks are used as accents on the tops, while chamfers are on the sides. A chamfer is a beveled, or tapered, edge, made by cutting away of the square edge on a monument. Checks are cuts, or recesses, in the stone normally on the top or ends.
McNeel describes the symbolism of the West memorial by stating, “The raised panel which begins faintly at the bottom of the die and becomes heavier as it nears the top trends to emphasize the Lamp, symbolic of Truth, Word of God, Enlightenment.”
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