Midwest Everlasting Memorials makes a meaningful impression
By Beth Newcomb
The Medina Rotary Club spent nine years planning the recently-dedicated 9/11 memorial that honors the people who died on United Flight 93—the plane that passed over Medina County en route to its tragic resting place in the Pennsylvania highlands.
The memorial, located on W. Reagan Parkway, is built around a 1.5 ton steel I-beam that was taken from the North Tower of the Twin Towers. It contains a “U”-shaped sidewalk made of engraved bricks to commemorate the plane turning around over Medina County, and a granite stone engraved with the names of the people who were killed in the crash.
Midwest Everlasting Memorials was the company entrusted with the engraving of both the granite stone and the pavers on the sidewalk.
“Our engraving division handled the work,” says Kim Joyce, who, along with her husband, Dave, owns the Wadsworth-based business.
“It was a huge honor to be asked to participate in the project, and the result is a moving tribute to those who lost their lives.”
Many people recognize the name Midwest Everlasting Memorials as a direct-access source for burial monuments of all shapes and sizes, but because the company has the talent on staff to produce exquisitely engraved objects representative of other categories, including gifts, address markers and even tributes like the 9/11 memorial in Medina, it’s become a go-to source for virtually any type of etched memento.
In Memory Of
Midwest Everlasting Memorials makes remembering a lost loved one easy—and affordable. Because they are a direct-access source for cemetery markers made of bronze or granite, cremation urns, granite benches, laser-etched monuments, memorial boulders and more, they’re able to cut out the middleman and save people money.
“People appreciate our one-price solution, which includes the monument, design work, engraving and placement, so there isn’t any guesswork,” Kim says.
“It’s difficult enough to have to choose a marker for a lost loved one. We don’t want trying to decipher cost to be a factor.”
“The best advice I can give anyone buying a grave marker is to visit us for direct pricing,” Kim adds.
“Other places in the area are using our services by outsourcing to us, so it just makes sense for people to buy from us directly. They’ll save money and we have a large showroom with all of the options on display.”
Midwest handles all of its work in house, from the design to the engraving. In fact, Dave and Kim’s daughter, Emily, takes care of designing your memorial while you wait. Laser etching and sandblasting are creative ways to add a huge amount of personalization to a granite monument. Any photo or series of photos can be transferred to the stone in a manner that’s exactly the way you want it.
Another popular service is final date engraving.
“Even if you purchased your marker from someone else, we can still do the final date engraving for you at the cemetery,” Kim says.
Mark the Occasion
In addition to the production of cemetery monuments in virtually any size or shape, Midwest also offers a line of customized gift items to suit most occasions.
“Our address markers made from stone boulders are hugely popular,” Kim says.
“We can add a family name or street name along with the numbers. We also offer address stones, which make great gifts for first-time homeowners, parents, grandparents or newly married couples.”
Other engravable gift items include stainless steel cups, cutting boards, wood coasters, corporate name tags and engraved bricks.
Midwest Everlasting Memorials is located at 1244 High Street (Rt. 94), in Wadsworth. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; and other times by appointment. Visit MidwestEverlastingMemorials.com to learn more, and get the most current information on the store’s Facebook page listed under the same name. The phone number is 330-334-1988.