Pre-planning

Plan it your way, while it is your way to plan.

Choosing your own memorial is not morbid. It is one of the kindest things you can leave your family: a decision already made, calmly, in your own words, so nobody has to guess.

The honest comparison

Planning ahead, or deciding at need

Families come to us both ways, and both are work we do gently. This page simply makes the case for ahead.

What is decidedPlanning aheadDeciding at need
The designYours, chosen at your own pace, proofed until it is rightA best guess, made quickly by people who are grieving
The wordsYour words, in your voice, archived with your signatureFamily wondering what you would have wanted said
The priceToday's price, locked in writingWhatever granite costs the year it is needed
The timingNo deadline at all; change your mind whenever you likeDecisions stacked into the hardest week of their lives
Your familySpared every decision, handed a finished planUnder time pressure, hoping they got it right
A word about waiting

Or leave it to your son-in-law

He's a good man. He fixed the garage door, mostly. But he thinks granite is a countertop, he calls every typeface "the normal one," and his idea of a fitting verse rhymes "beloved" with "boat."

Plan it with us instead, while the choosing is yours: your stone, your words, your way.

(He can come too. We have coffee.)

GONEFISHIN'
How it works

Elderly parents love a plan

Some families come in together, three generations around the coffee table. Some parents settle it quietly on their own and mention it at Sunday dinner. Either way, it works like this:

One unhurried visit

Half our showroom is monument samples. The other half is rocking chairs and a coffee pot. We sit, we talk, and nobody watches the clock.

Your design, proofed and archived

We draw your memorial exactly as you want it, correct it until you are satisfied, and keep the signed proof safely on file.

Price guaranteed in writing

The price you plan at is the price your family pays, put in writing and confirmed in your written quote. No surprises later, for anyone.

Change it any time

A plan is not a vault. Revisit it, reword it, or redesign it as often as you like while you are living. It stays yours.

A finished memorial, not just a stone

What your plan actually covers

National online headstone retailers will sell you a stone: carved, crated, and freight-shipped to a curb, with the foundation, the installation, and the cemetery paperwork left to whoever is standing there. A Reserve plan is the whole finished memorial:

  • Your design proof, corrected until it is right
  • Cemetery approval paperwork, handled by us
  • A poured concrete foundation, done properly
  • Professional installation and final on-site finishing
  • A person who answers the phone afterward

And when the cemetery approves, installation typically completes within days, not weeks: the fastest installation timeline we know of in Northeast Ohio.

Try it from your couch

Start with the online designer

Some planners like to arrive with an idea already in hand. Our online designer lets you try shapes, granite colors, and emblems at home, then bring your favorite along to the showroom. It is a gentle first step, and rather fun.

No agenda, ever

Sometimes people just call to talk

Not everyone who calls this number is ready to plan anything. Some of our callers are recently alone in a quiet house, and what they want most is a voice on the other end of the line.

Call anyway. We answer, and we listen. If the conversation never once touches granite, that is a perfectly good use of our afternoon. There is no pitch at the end. There is no pitch at all.

Paying for it

Funding options, in plain terms

There is no single right way to fund a plan. The details belong in writing, not on a webpage, so every option below is confirmed in your written quote.

Pay in full

Settle it once and be done. Your design, your price, and your receipt go in the archive together, and your family never sees a bill.

Installment arrangements

Spread the cost over time in a way that fits your budget. We put the schedule in writing before you commit to anything.

Alongside your estate plan

Many families fold the memorial into a trust or estate plan. We work alongside your attorney and provide the fixed written pricing the paperwork needs. Here is what we give attorneys and advisors.

Common questions

About pre-planning

Is it strange to pick out my own headstone?
It feels that way for about ten minutes, and then it feels like writing a will or planting a tree: sensible, settled, and a little satisfying. Most planners leave the showroom lighter than they arrived. The coffee helps.
Can I change my plan later?
Yes, as often as you like while you are living. Your design proof stays archived with us, and updating a verse, an emblem, or the whole design is a phone call, not a project.
Does pre-planning really lock in the price?
Yes. The price is guaranteed in writing when you plan, and the exact terms are confirmed in your written quote, so you and your family can read precisely what is covered before you decide anything.
What if my family disagrees with my choices someday?
This is quietly one of the best reasons to plan. Your signed, archived design settles the question gently: it is what you chose, in your own words, and nobody has to argue about it in a hard week.
Here when you are ready

Start your plan over coffee

One visit, no hurry, no obligation. Bring your questions, or just bring yourself. We will put the coffee on and keep the rocking chairs ready.