The 21st century has brought yet more changes. With the advent of laser-cutting and computer-aided design, monuments are becoming more personalized, depicting favorite scenes from someone’s life; individualized epitaphs and quotations are more easily engraved by a mechanized process. Local cemeteries often encourage personal mementos at the gravesites to help cushion a family’s grief. Alternative ways of honoring someone are available, such as planting trees and providing benches in public parks.
