Custom headstones in Dayton, Ohio

How we work with Dayton families

We do not keep a storefront in Dayton. Our closest office is in Tipp City, and its number, (937) 703-4400, is a local call from anywhere in Montgomery County.

Most families here never need to make the trip. You share a few details and a photo or two if you have them. We turn that into a design and text it to you.

Distance has never stopped a family yet. One family member in California worked with us entirely by phone and email to place a memorial for her great-grandparents in Fairborn.

Once the design is right, we handle the engraving and the installation. Granite is stocked here in Ohio, which keeps the wait to about four weeks for many memorials.

Memorials we have installed around Dayton

In Centerville, at Washington Township Cemetery, we set a Black Ultimate slant marker with three color photos and laser-etched lettering. Black granite shows etched detail clearly, which is why families choose it for photos.

At Royal Oak Memorial Gardens in Brookville, we installed a cast bronze marker, 24 by 12 inches, on a Georgia Grey granite base. At Fairfield Cemetery in Fairborn, we set a 36 inch companion slant in Georgia Grey with deep-cut lettering.

Up in Vandalia, at Polk Grove Cemetery, we placed a two-niche cremation columbarium in Bahama Blue. It holds two urns behind engraved granite fronts, with a turned granite vase in Black Ultimate.

Rules at Dayton cemeteries we plan around

Dayton's cemeteries range from Victorian landmarks to modern memorial parks, and their rules differ just as widely. Here is what we already know about the ones families ask us about most.

Calvary Cemetery

Calvary sets aside some areas for upright monuments and others for flush markers. Which one your grave sits in decides the style, so it is the first thing we confirm.

Calvary allows shrubs beside an upright only in certain areas, and no planting at flush marker graves. Artificial flowers and potted plants are allowed only on Easter, Memorial Day and All Souls Day.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum

Woodland has been Dayton's resting place for inventors, artists and civic leaders for more than 180 years. Some of its areas do not allow upright monuments at all, to keep mowing and the landscape in order.

In the Historic District, new designs must fit the Victorian character of the monuments around them. Woodland also bans loose items such as statues, decorative rocks, shepherd's hooks and hanging baskets. So anything you want to keep at the grave is best carved into the stone.

Dayton National Cemetery and veterans

At Dayton National Cemetery, the VA provides the marker and its own staff set it, at no cost to the family. A private monument is not part of that process.

A veteran buried in a private cemetery such as Calvary or Woodland can still receive a free VA headstone, but the family pays for its setting. Another choice is a privately designed headstone with a VA medallion attached, where the cemetery allows it. We can leave room for that medallion in the design.

Woodland Cemetery in Xenia

East of Dayton, Woodland in Xenia publishes its foundation price: $1.00 per square inch, with a $100 minimum. A 36 by 12 inch base works out to $432.

Sections 1-A through 1-D add a 4 inch border on every side, which turns that same base into 44 by 20 inches and $880. Bronze markers there must be mounted on a granite backer, and the cemetery charges $175 to install a footstone.

Germantown and the township cemeteries

Germantown Cemetery prices each foundation on the length and width of the base, with a 3 inch border included. Urns and vases must be part of the monument itself. From April 1 to November 1 nothing may sit on the ground, except in the weeks around Memorial Day.

Willow View, West Memory Gardens, Hopewell and the smaller township grounds all keep rules of their own. We ask each office for the current version before any design work begins.

Picking a style for a Dayton cemetery

• Upright headstones suit Calvary's upright sections and Woodland's Historic District, where a traditional shape fits in.
• Slant headstones are lower and sturdier, like the photo slant we set in Centerville.
• Flat grave markers are the answer wherever a section takes flush markers only, as parts of Calvary and Woodland do.
• Bronze markers pair cast bronze with a granite backer, which Woodland in Xenia requires.
• Cremation memorials give ashes a permanent home above ground, like the columbarium at Polk Grove.

Every memorial is custom, from the shape to the lettering. We work in 42 granite colors, and photos can be etched into black granite or set in a colored frame.

Headstone prices for Dayton families

Dayton families typically invest between $900 and $6,000 with us. The price includes custom design, engraving and installation at your cemetery. Size, granite and artwork account for most of the difference.

Cemetery charges are separate and paid to the cemetery, like the Xenia foundation fee above. We list them for you before you approve a design. Our foundation fee guide explains the common ones.

Monthly payments are available through SweetPay, Klarna or Affirm. Checking your options takes a moment and leaves your credit alone.

Meeting us in person

To see granite samples, visit our Tipp City office at 5222 S County Road 25A, north of Dayton. Visits are by appointment, so we are ready for you when you arrive. Call (937) 703-4400 to choose a time.

We take appointments on weekdays until 7 PM and on Saturdays until 4 PM. We also serve families in Fairborn, Kettering and Tipp City.