Jacob's Stone

At a time of loss, we all turn somewhere.  Some turn to the Bible and that is where we were inspired by the story of Jacob’s journey to the Holy Land. When Jacob stopped for the night, he took “one of the stones at the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground, with its top reaching to the heavens; and God’s angels were going up and down on it. The next morning, he took the stone and set it as a memorial.  (Genesis 28:10-22)

A stone that had a stairway to Heaven. How appropriate that we honor the children who have passed with a stone, a marker that leads to Heaven. 

Not all families can afford that stone and that is where Jacob’s Stone can help.  By raising awareness and funding for those who are disadvantaged in our community, we, as a community, can honor that child with a stone.

By working with local Funeral Homes, Cemeteries, and Monument Companies we can help fund those who cannot afford the cost of a marker.

Jacob’s Stone is here to help relieve the financial burden of honoring your beautiful child. It is our hope that the community in which we live will help us to accomplish this mission.

Melissa's Story

Many years ago, when I was very young, I lost my baby Dalton Sawyer. He was 4 months old. When he died, I was beyond devastated.  It was the most heart wrenching thing a parent can go through. We are not designed to bury our children.

In the early days of his death, I would go to the cemetery quite often. While I was there, I started to notice how many babies were buried there without a headstone, including my Dalton. I vowed at that moment that somehow, some way, he and all the other children would not go without a headstone. It was as if they had somehow been forgotten. I did not understand God’s plan for taking such young, beautiful babies, let alone to be placed there to just disappear from history.

Eventually, Dalton got a beautiful headstone. I remember thinking now he could never be forgotten.

Then a year later my mother died at a very young age and very unexpected. Again, I did not understand God’s plan. I was crushed and I vowed there was no way she was going to go without a headstone. It took me a year, but I made it happen. At the time I was a single mom with 2 children, I had no mother to help me. I felt so alone in the world.

Today, both my son and my mother have a headstone to mark their final resting place. I am so very grateful for that.

No parent should have to go through the loss of a child and not know how they will afford to mark their child’s final resting place. Headstones are very expensive to those who are disadvantaged, and the loss of a child is an excoriating heartbreak. The expense of a headstone shouldn’t add to that grief.

30 years later I still see that some of the beautiful babies buried near my Dalton are still without headstones. In our society this is unacceptable, and it has and still does, break my heart. Several years ago, I told this whole story to a friend, and it has always been on his mind and his heart.

I recently lost my amazing husband and best friend, Bill. He is the love of my life, and his death was very unexpected. Again, I did not understand God’s plan. He was an amazing person and died way to young. I find myself trusting in God and that He has a plan for me and the reminder of my life on earth.

I am trying to find something good in all this heartbreaking tragedy. And sometimes something from the past comes to fruition. As my husband and I often talked about raising money for headstones and with his passing, it seems as if this is the time. So, if our story had to end I will somehow make this our new story in honor of my amazing husband. Our love for each other can continue with helping grieving parents ease their heartache by not having to worry about the cost of a headstone.

If I can only help one family, we have made a difference. If we could help many families in their darkest hour that would be truly amazing.

• Melissa Nelson