Remembering a Colonel and his Wife

The first step for every commission is listening. Truly listening to each families story, is what I enjoy the most about this work of creating monuments. Here are two monuments for a husband and wife now installed in the Trinity Episcopal Church cemetery in Upperville, VA.

The hand carved slate monuments tell a story. Robert was a Colonel in the United States Military Academy. His monument has the crest of the USMA expertly hand carved. The epitaph, “Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong” is the cadet prayer in the USMA.

Linda, his wife, has a delicately hand carved rhododendron at the top reflecting her passion for gardening . Her love for art nouveau is reflected in the poppy design and also the cross on the second side. Her epitaph reads “Let love and faithfulness never leave you.” is from Proverbs 3:3 .

The work we do at the shop, as a team, continues to sustain and challenge us. Our goal is to give each family a one of a kind monument. There is no catalog to look through, each monument is a work of art created with great care and love for our craft's tradition and we are grateful for the trust each family gives us. 

With Gratitude,
Karin Sprague, Owner & Designer
Tracy Mahaffey, Principal Sculptor
Javier Alfonzo, Principal Letter Carver
Kathy Bruneau, Project & Office Manager