Memorial Bench for D.S.

November 13, 2010 2:23 PM

How does one go about ordering a memorial bench? (*child loss mentioned*)

My cousins' sweet baby boy was stillborn on Monday. He is there second child. Family are coming and going with food (was over there myself today with a few week's worth of freezable homecooked meals) and providing all the support we can. My cousin's wife has informed one of our cousins that she'd like a memorial bench with her son's name on it for her yard.

So, how do we make this happen? What is the price range of a good quality bench? Where do we look for one? Also, what type of bush or plant would be a good one to place near the bench?

My cousins live in southern Maine. (And there are no intentions of ordering this without their input. I just want to gather the info. and maybe work on gathering the money so they can get whatever it is they want.)

posted by zizzle to Shopping (7 answers total)

I'd contact a local headstone company. Many of them do other sorts of memorials. You're likely to be able to get something less expensive online (Google gives many, many, many results for "memorial bench," complete with custom engraving, at a variety of prices), but you may want to go look in person first (or let your cousin look for herself) before you commit to a style or material. I'm very sorry for your family's loss.
posted by decathecting at 2:37 PM on November 13, 2010

Maybe you could price a plaque that could be attached to the bench of their choice.
posted by lobstah at 2:49 PM on November 13, 2010

Yeah, to me this sounds like two steps -- a bench from a patio furniture or hardware store, and a plaque from an engraving shop or memorial company.

Park benches at Home Depot look to be $50-$100. Online, park bench plaques look to be $40-$70 depending on size.
posted by mendel at 3:03 PM on November 13, 2010

There are places on the internet to get engraved plaques for benches. A teak or stone bench might whether the Main elements.

Could you put the bench on a porch? If not a porch, is their a yard? Either will do. If you choose the porch there are beautiful ideas for plantings on the internet. Google "teak bench on porch" and "teak bench in garden". As far as plantings an evergreen in a decorative fiberglass planter would be pretty.
posted by Fairchild at 3:47 PM on November 13, 2010

weather
posted by Fairchild at 3:47 PM on November 13, 2010

While you can order these from monument companies, I think the better choice would be as several above me as suggested and attach a custom plaque to a store bought park bench. Those monument benches aren't really meant to be moved and they'd probably want to take the memorial it with them if they ever move house. This'll be a lot easier if its a park bench instead of three slabs of granite.

If they actually want to SIT on the bench, and not have it be simply a decorative memorial piece, a park bench is much more comfortable than a piece of granite.
posted by Mimzy at 5:39 PM on November 13, 2010

Best answer: I'm so sorry for your family's loss.

A really nice teak bench will run you anywhere from $400 to $800. A plaque might be another $40 to $70.

Finest Hearth and Home, which has both Portland and Yarmouth stores, sells Gloster teak outdoor furniture; they're very helpful with delivery and installation.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:50 PM on November 13, 2010