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Dowdy Installation

Both Mr. and Mrs. Ray Dowdy are standing behind the memorial, and we see their broad smiles. As they both admire Mr. Dowdy’s freshly installed and just-washed memorial, they seem happy knowing their wishes were fulfilled by a pre-need memorial. Ray Dowdy is a retired Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. At ValdostaMemorials.com, our duty is to listen and to take into account the client’s vision for a memorial that expresses a life journey. Mr. Dowdy wanted a photo of him and his wife installed on the monument. We used one of the finest manufacturers to provide a 5x7 horizontal color oval with metal backing, ultraviolet protection, and a lifetime guarantee. Mrs. Dowdy was insistent that a heart be included as a manifestation of the love she has for Mr. Dowdy. The area within the heart was “frosted,” a technique in which we used sandblasting to remove the polish to form the heart.
In Mr. and Mrs. Dowdy’s situation, they wanted to match a pre-existing family memorial in shape, color, and style. Had we not been seeking to match a pre-existing memorial, we would have had access to a broader range of options. This monument is polished on both the front and back, known as “P2” in the granite industry. The top and sides are rustic, also called balanced rock pitched. The base has a polished top that matches the companion monument purchased by Mrs. Dowdy during her previous marriage. Both the new monument and the pre-existing monument have serpentine tops constructed from the highest-quality, blue-gray granite.
On the reverse of his memorial, we highlighted the branch of service with a U.S. Air Force seal and dates of military service. Mr. Dowdy also wanted to include the names of his children. To honor his request, we framed the names of his four children on the bottom of the reverse side of his headstone. Due to the large amount of data and limited space, it was necessary for us to use small letters on the reverse side. Black lithochrome was used to accentuate the military seal and the smaller letters for visibility. The Dowdy installation was unusually difficult due to the original installation of a companion memorial in the same family plot. Mr. Dowdy, as the second husband of Mrs. Dowdy, desires to be buried next to his wife. Heavy equipment and hard work were required as part of this setup. Numerous tools and pieces of equipment were required including an expensive crane and a heavy-duty granite saw. Other low-tech tools consisted of a rake, sledgehammer, level, shovel, trowel, and straight edge. Also note that we use our own water as part of the proper preparation of the foundation. We are always cautious to not use water from cemeteries, as rust is common in cemetery lines and will stain granite. Unfortunately, the original memorial was installed on top of the coping, instead of inside, as we would recommend. Consequently, we were required to saw the coping for an installation in line with the original companion memorial. We broke through the concrete in front of Mr. Dowdy’s memorial to reinforce the pre-existing foundation for long-term peace of mind. Upon completion, new concrete was poured to reseal the granite. Rock was raked over the patchwork to return the site to its original beauty. Both the new monument and the pre-existing monument were scrubbed to remove sediment from the installation process. We left the site even more attractive with a new memorial, which we hope will not be needed for many years to come.


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