Tom Deitrich with fragments from Elizabeth's original stone and the new stone. The new stone is of Texas limestone. Overlaying it is a thin rubber mat with the new markings drawn in. The next step will be to cut the drawn patterns into the rubber mat and lightly sandblast the surface, marking the pattern onto the stone. Then Tom will finish all the stone marking by hand with hammer and chisel. Photos here.

Dedication ceremony and final placement of stone

The new stone is designed to duplicate the old stone as accurately as possible. The limestone color matches well, and all the lettering and the image will be hand crafted to duplicate the original. Final changes are visible on the rubber mat (simplifying the small bud image and removing the periods from the "Dec" and "Mar". The only intentional change from the original is to increase the thickness from two inches to three inches, which will hopefully prevent the breakage seen in all the old limestone monuments at Oakwood Cemetery.

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