Can a headstone include Slovak or Ukrainian?

Yes, including special characters; check the proof carefully.

What designs suit coal-mining families?

Miners' lamps, pickaxes and breaker scenes.

Do you deliver to Lackawanna and Luzerne counties?

Yes, door-to-door under DAP terms.

Headstones in Scranton & Wilkes-Barre, PA

Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and the Wyoming Valley grew on anthracite coal, drawing Irish, Welsh, Polish, Slovak, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Italian and Rusyn families. Their parish cemeteries — and historic grounds such as Wilkes-Barre's Hollenback Cemetery — fill the hillsides of Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.

Parish cemeteries and heritage

Catholic and Orthodox parish cemeteries often favour crosses, portraits and inscriptions in Polish, Slovak, Ukrainian or Church Slavonic. See Polish inscriptions, Ukrainian traditions and Orthodox crosses.

Coal-country families

Miners' lamps, pickaxes and breakers honour mining ancestors. See headstone ideas for a miner.

Winter and freeze-thaw

Cold winters and repeated freeze-thaw are hard on stone. Dense, polished granite with deep-cut lettering, on a foundation built to the cemetery's specification, lasts best, and most cemeteries install from spring to late autumn. See protecting a headstone in winter.

Cemetery rules

In the United States, cemeteries are regulated state by state, and every cemetery — municipal, religious, nonprofit or private — sets its own rules on memorial sizes, materials, foundations and installation. Before you order:

Ask the cemetery for its rules and fee schedule in writing (foundation, setting and any permit fees).
Confirm who installs — cemetery staff or an approved monument company.
Submit the design for approval before production.

Our cemetery headstone rules guide has a full checklist, and headstone setting fees explained covers the extra costs.

Veterans

Eligible veterans can receive a government headstone, marker or medallion, and families can also choose a private granite monument that includes service details. See veteran headstones and VA rules, the VA medallion and military inscriptions.

Factory-direct to Scranton and Wilkes-Barre

Marwaa Memorials manufactures in our own factory and delivers door-to-door across the USA under DAP terms, with freight, customs and duties included in the quote. Plan the design in our Design Studio, request a quote, or call our US team via the contact page. Read how DAP delivery works.

Local pages: Lackawanna County, Luzerne County, our Pennsylvania headstone guide.