GOD & TEXAS: Cemetery Wisdom

As a credentialed minister for almost 60 years, I have visited many Texas cemeteries to conduct funerals and graveside memorials. Some services were in the hot summer sun, while others were in a frigid blue norther. 

The cemetery is an intriguing place of cherished memories and pensive introspection. And some of the most inspiring homilies can be found on grave markers. Reading engraved tributes can be enlightening and uplifting. Those epitaphs are often the final thoughts that the deceased leaves behind, and the living would do well to take notice.

Some of the most common epitaphs are Gone but not Forgotten, Rest in Peace, Together Forever, Asleep in Jesus, Gone Home, In Loving Memory, In God’s Care, and At Rest. These sentiments are quite suitable and bring comfort to the grieving survivors.

But other memorial markers have deeper insights like those in Bridges Chapel Cemetery, Titus County, Texas. The headstone of Hellen Hughlan states, “Wife of Barrett Hughlan. Remember friends as you pass by, as you are now so once was I, as I am now you too shall be, prepare to go and follow me.” This epitaph reminds us that life is brief, and that we should prepare now for what happens after death.

Soldier John “Buster” Laden died in World War I at the young age of 27. His gravestone reads, “A soldier boy was he and his life he gave that the world be free and that right and liberty prevail.” Buster was a true hero and deserves our respect for his military service. 

The marker of Lucy Johnson states, “Rest mother, rest in quiet sleep while friends in sorrow o’er you weep. No pain, no grief, no anxious fear can reach the peaceful sleeper here.” Survivors find comfort in knowing that their loved one no longer suffers with the pains and sorrows of life.

The epitaph of 8-year-old Patria LaPrade says, “Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G.T. LaPrade. God gave – He took – He will restore - He doeth all things well.” Their trust in God is bold and provides encouragement to all who have lost a child.

Sometimes theology emerges through a tombstone. The marker of three-month-old Alfie Brown reads, “Daughter of R.G. and S.M Brown. From mother’s arms to the arms of Jesus.” This confirms the Biblical teaching that children go to Heaven at death. King David said that he would be reunited with his dead son in 2 Samuel 12:23. The same holds true for those with severe mental disabilities.

And finally, the hope of all who know Christ as Savior is declared on the tombstone of Loyd Graff, Jr. It reads: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” What a glorious testimony of one who remained faithful to God and now rests in Heaven (2 Timothy 4:7).

As Christians, our hope is beyond the cemetery. The sting of death is gone and Heaven is our goal! (1 Corinthians 15:55)

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