Richardson Monuments, located at 206 Lee Ave. in Lisbon, recently was selected for the People’s Choice Design Award at the Monument Builders of North America’s (MBNA) convention held in Cleveland. MBNA is an association of monument retailers, wholesalers, craftsmen and suppliers in the United States, Canada and Mexico. 

For Carly Brock, owner of Richardson Monuments, winning the People’s Choice carries weight as heavy as the granite she carved the award-winning headstone from — an elaborate yin-and-yang design that mixes Indian Black and Bahama Blue and blends everything the customer asked for into quite-literally a work of art. 

“Anytime your work is recognized, it’s a good feeling, but when it comes from your peers in the business from all over North America that makes it extra special,” Brock said. “It was unexpected but we also knew it was a beautiful stone. To be selected as People’s Choice by our colleagues who know this business, know the art of it, know what goes into it, that’s an honor.”

For Brock, creating the award-winning headstone which was placed at Columbiana County Memorial Park in Calcutta, is one of the reasons she loves what she does. She also said the individual who commissioned the stone to memorize her late husband also deserves credit.

The Rosary Garden at St. Paul Monastery in Ellsworth Township displays the craftsmanship of Lisbon-based Richardson Monuments. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

“When she came to me, she had all of these ideas and elements that she wanted to incorporate and she allowed me the artistic freedom to bring her vision to life,” Brock explained. “She wrote a letter to her husband, which she signed with a smiley face as she always did when writing letters to him and we etched the letter and her signature smiley face on to the stone. He also held several patents and she wanted them on there as well. There were a lot of elements that went into it.”

Working together, Brock and the customer came up with the design that also incorporated a bench and a heart-shaped opening where the contrasting granite came together. 

With the customer’s permission, Brock submitted it for consideration at the convention and trade show, and the MBNA confirmed what Brock already knew — the stone, which was featured on the cover of the May edition of the MBNA national magazine, was exquisite. 

“It truly is beautiful,” Brock said. “The award proved that and I am honored, not just for winning the award, but for the customer trusting us to design something so unique that truly captured the life her husband lived. It was a big undertaking as far as a headstone goes, but it’s not just what I do, it’s what I love to do. This isn’t a profession. It’s a passion and that matters.”

On June 8, Richardson Monuments’ biggest undertaking to date took center stage in Mahoning County when St. Paul Monastery unveiled its Rosary Garden in Canfield. Brock and her husband Wayne designed the garden which features a 7-foot crucifix and 59 granite beads each weighing 200 to 300 pounds installed along a winding walkway. The beads start at the crucifix, which was donated by Brock’s business, to resemble a hand-held rosary. Over 44,000 pounds of granite was used to create the garden.

The Brocks are pictured at the garden’s unveiling. (Submitted photo)

The project was years in the making and began when Patty Durkin, of the Friends of the St. Paul Monastery, called Richardson Monuments. Brock and Durkin along with Durkin’s husband Rick worked on the concept of the garden which Brock called “a long labor of love.”  

Sadly, Rick passed before the project was complete. He is now memorialized on one of the 59 beads and on the bench near the crucifix.  

“It’s been a long journey creating the Rosary Garden and a cultivation of a lot of hard work, sweat and tears, but it’s also bittersweet because Rick didn’t get to see it reach its completion,” Brock said. “Again, the finished design is beautiful and it’s the biggest granite Rosary Garden in the world. There are natural rock rosary gardens as big as this, but this is the only granite one. It will be around a lot longer than any of us.” 

St. Paul Monastery unveiled the garden on Sunday with a mass. Brock said photos of the garden have been sent to the Vatican and the garden itself is expected to draw visitors from all over the country. Located at 9531 Akron-Canfield Road in Ellsworth, the garden  is open to the public. 

“I’m just proud to have worked on it and beyond proud of the finished design,” she said. “I always expect my work to speak for itself and this certainly does.”

Carly and Wayne Brock, owners of Richardson Monuments, donated the crucifix at the start of the garden. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd) 

The Rosary Garden at St. Paul Monastery in Ellsworth Township displays the craftsmanship of Lisbon-based Richardson Monuments. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

A bead is etched in memory of Rick Durkin who helped come up with the concept of The Rosary Garden at St. Paul Monastery in Ellsworth Township. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)