Some of the most compelling epitaphs I read are the ones that seem to ignore the cemetery visitor entirely and speak directly to the dead.
The Scholls’ grief manifested itself into a message directly to their lost son in Lakeside Cemetery.
“We miss thee, Willie,” the stone reads.
It’s a little hard to read because of the angle, but the inscription above Jonathan Bates’ name is “How desolate our home, bereft of thee…” This stone is one of the six behind the Lakewood Historical Society in their herb garden, and I could not get closer without stepping on the plants.
A Grave Concern 