Robert J. “Red”
Monaghan
Dec. 2, 1941 – Apr. 11, 2012
His Wife
Ann Marie
(Crockenburg)
1943 –
It was probably inevitable that Robert Monaghan should end up being called “Red,” given his hair. His attractive monument in Glen Dyberry Cemetery in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, features not only this hypocorism but also a photograph (figure 2).
The black granite takes on a greenish cast when surrounded by the trimmed grass of the cemetery, and that, with its Celtic scrollwork within a cross form (and shamrocks for good measure) all point to Ireland.
It was probably inevitable that Monaghan should end up buried in Glen Dyberry Cemetery: he presided over the organization from 1995 to his death! Dyberry, by the way, is the name of the creek that forms one boundary of the Cemetery’s grounds.
The most astounding thing about the monument, however, is its light display. The four amber circles (with leaded-glass dividers) that bracket the photograph light up at night, or at least did when the monument was new. See the solar panels on the rear, one behind each light (figure 3).
It is common to find glow-in-the-dark or light-up paraphernalia left at or on graves. I’ve seen graves with niches for candles. But what I haven’t seen before is a self-contained light-up monument with built-in power source. We owe this, I’m sure, to Anne-Marie, to whom I can only say, “thank you!”
