This Monument was discussed with our Mother, the day that Mable, my sister and I took Mother out. (October 11, 2001). We described it to her, and explained that it would have their 50th Wedding Anniversary picture in the center. She liked that their picture would be on the Stone. The Monument was placed Dec. 14, 2001.
August 6, 2003, I received a call from a friend, stating that my parents Monument had been removed from the Cemetery. Another Stone had replaced it, which was of lesser value. After Mother passed away and we received the Accounting, we saw the cancelled check in which this replacement Stone had cost more than the original Stone.
The original Stone was a Blue Pearl, which had big crystals that sparkled when the sun is shining. This Stone is mined in Larvik, Norway. It is quarried in only one place in the world, in a very limited area near Larvik, a small town on the outer Oslo Fiord. A very beautiful Stone!
On the replacement Stone, the name "Rock of Ages, Atlantic Memorial" and other locations at Des Moines and Winterset, was on the back corner. We went to Atlantic, and talked with Robert Bass. We explained that our Mother had approved of the original Monument Stone. Atlantic Memorial did NOT have the proper legal authority to remove this Monument. We wanted to know who had contacted Atlantic Memorial, to replace the original Stone that had been on my Dad's grave for almost 2 yrs. Robert Bass stated that he had talked with Attorney RJohn Swanson. We asked to see the paper work with our Mother's signature but he declined to show us any. At that point, he began to get very rude. We told him that it did NOT make sense to replace a very nice Monument Stone with another Stone. He said that they had this happen alot. I knew he lied, when he said that and was just trying to get rid of us.
Since I was not able to get any answers, as to where the original Stone had gone, I sent a letter to Richard Urbach, Rock of Ages in Owatonna, MN stating that they had no right to remove that Stone from the Strand Cemetery. I sent a copy of the letter to Michael Tule, Rock of Ages, in Graniteville, Vermont. It was over a year before the Stone was returned to the Midwest Monument.
This original Monument Stone was not returned until October 2004, my Mother passed away June 8, 2004. Rock of Ages has been known to be unethical, so I could NOT recommend this company, to anyone!
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