Kurt Weidner This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. PoughkeepsieJournal.com - Memorialist helps honor deceased

   www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/ap - [Cached]

   Published on: 10/31/2006   Last Visited: 11/1/2006

   HIGHLAND - Kurt Weidner isn't an artist, a bereavement counselor, a granite miner or a cemetery caretaker - but his job requires him to know a lot about these occupations.
   
   It's a good thing that since he was 12 he has worked with his grandfather and father, who installed monuments in Westchester, acquiring the knowledge and skills to be a memorialist.
   
   A memorialist is someone who designs memorials - including grave markers, plaques, crosses and statues - in remembrance of the deceased. There are a few trade organizations, including the Monument Builders of North America, that offer certification programs and set a standard of ethics. However, there isn't state or federal government labor data on this occupation.
   
   Kurt Weidner, his father, Herb Weidner, and his brother-in-law, Gary Palmateer, are partners in Weidner Memorials, a retail business on Route 9W in Highland.
   ...
   To understand what a memorialist does, Kurt Weidner explained from a customer's point of view:
   
   The customer sets up an appointment to meet with the memorialist. Kurt Weidner will try to get a general idea of what color of stone, shape and design the person has in mind for the memorial.
   
   He will sketch a prototype of the memorial based on costs, design intricacy and customer preference. The recent trend, he said, is for people to want very customized memorials.
   ...
   And, customers can get a lot more than a plain gray granite headstone for minimal additional costs, Kurt Weidner said.
   
   After a prototype is decided on and the granite block is ordered, the next step is complicated. Depending again on the type of design, Kurt Weidner will decide what work can be done on-site and what will be contracted out. In-house work is generally done on projects requiring the customer to check in periodically and make changes.
   
   Once the memorial is de-signed and the customer approves, it is installed using a truck with a sling attached to a crane. The memorial - weighing an average of 2,000 pounds - is lifted by the truck, operated by Kurt Weidner, and set onto a freshly poured concrete slab.
   
   Variety of skills involved
   
   Kurt Weidner, who graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor's degree in accounting, doesn't believe you can study to be a memorialist. He learned from on-the-job training. But it doesn't hurt if you have good mathematic skills, an artistic eye and good interpersonal communication, he said.
   ...
   Kurt Weidner suggested aspiring young memorialists or career-changers seek a mentor in the field first to ask for advice and further their knowledge. The next step, he said, would be to relocate to a granite hub such as Barre, Vt., and find employment.
   
   The perks, he said, are helping people implement their vision, an escape from mundane office work and a steady work week. The downfall, he said, is a hectic summer/spring season followed by a slow winter (when the ground is frozen), and a changing industry, including a cremation trend that could create job loss.
   ...
   Kurt Weidner, a co-owner of Weidner Memorials in Highland, stands with some of the memorials.
   
   Profile
   
   Kurt Weidner
   ...
   Kurt Weidner suggests seeking out advice/guidance from a memorialist, then going to Barre, Vt., the granite center of the United States, to find employment.