Utah Monument® Company Has Reached 55 Years of Local Service
The original story appeared in "Southern Utah Memories" as one in a series of articles by Loren R. Webb. It has been updated and edited for length. Deon Connell, mentioned in the story, passed away March 10, 2018. Pictured (left to right): Deon, Mike, and Clint Connell.
As family-owned Utah Monument® Company approaches its 55th year of service, co-owner Deon Connell and his son, Mike Connell say it has been the personal contact with customers and helping them select a memorial for a deceased loved one that has made their job a worthwhile endeavor.
The business got its start when Deon, working as a truck driver and driving south on Interstate 15, was wondering how he was going to put the next meal on the table when he saw a road sign by Spanish Fork which advertised that "Utah Monument® Company is for sale."
When Deon reached his Washington City home, he discussed with his wife, Raeola, about buying the company. She told him as long as he was available to work weekends, she would get the business up and rolling, along with raising their two children.
In the spring of 1964, the Connells purchased Utah Monument® Company. The previous owners set out to train the Connells how to operate the business which they set up in Washington City near 200 West Telegraph Street.
"So Dad drove truck and did the monument business after hours and on weekends while my Mom did the engravings on the granite markers, and did the sales and bookkeeping," Mike Connell said, adding that "I have a copy of the original St. George area telephone directory for 1964, which lists Utah Monument® Company in the White Pages. The directory is my ice breaker for people coming in here," Mike said. "They can’t believe the directory is so small."
Deon said they paid $35 a month to rent the property. At the time, Deon said he was planning to go back to work in Las Vegas, but his wife told him that she didn’t want him to work so far out of town, and promised that she would keep the work going.
The business moved to St. George in 1968 and operates behind the Connell home at 510 East Tabernacle in St. George. Today, it is run by Mike Connell and son Clint Connell. Deon Connell passed away March 10, 2018.
One of the unique aspects of the business is that most of its advertisement comes from word of mouth. "We are now working with five generations of customers," Mike said.
In addition, the Connells do a lot of "pay it forward work." For example, the family had been trying to repay Brian Prisbrey, a cousin who never charged them for the heating and cooling work he did over the years. Although some work had been traded, the Connells felt they hadn't repaid Prisbrey for his kindness.
One of Prisbrey’s employees, Lane Burgess, was killed in an auto accident. The day after the accident, Brian Prisbrey asked the Connells to make a headstone for Lane, who was a best friend of Prisbrey's son. Brian said he would pay for it, and told the Connells not to send a bill to the Burgess family.
Mike told Prisbrey, "We’ve been trying to get even with you and your family for 40 years. Don’t worry about it. No charge." This is how the Connells advertise, using these pay-it-forward experiences. According to Mike, "My family has always done that."
Throughout the company's history, the Connells have never sent bills to their customers: "Our customers know how much the bill is. For those who have to make payments, we set up a plan and they remember to pay us."
"We also never charge interest," Mike adds. "Sometimes, we have to make calls to remind people, but in nearly 55 years we’ve only had a handful of people who couldn’t afford to pay the full amount."
He related how one customer had fallen on hard times and couldn’t make her payment on a purchased monument. Twenty years later she brought $200 to Deon. She couldn't remember how much she owed, and Deon couldn’t remember either. At the same time, she ordered monuments for her and her husband, "but her conscience was clear," Mike said.
Utah Monument® Company designed a memorable monument for the seven-man Air Force crew killed in April 1983 when their B-52 bomber crashed into Square Top Mountain. The Air Force, in connection with surviving family members, commissioned the Connells to list the names of the crew on a monument to commemorate their memory. "We delivered the stone to the St. George Airport," Mike explained. "The Air Force flew it to Square Top Mountain." Deon added, "The dad of a deceased crew member picked out the design."
The William and Malissa Turnbeaugh stone is the largest monument designed by Utah Monument® Company. It stands six feet tall by 2½ feet wide. It was placed in the Washington Cemetery on Memorial Day 2013.
The most unusual monument the Connells designed was for the first African American pioneer in Parowan, Utah. He was called, "The faithful John Burton" (1797-1865), a slave of Susan McCord Burton Robinson. The Utah Monument® Company designed her gravestone as well.
Over the years, Mike's brother Gary and sister Karen also helped with the business. "But," Mike said, "My Mom was the heart and soul of this operation." Mike added, "If she was the heart and soul, Deon was the grit and sand. He did the heavy work." Not only did Deon come home from his "day" job to work at the monument company at night, but he worked weekends as well.
As one of the last of the Mom and Pop monument operations in the state of Utah, Mike said they enjoy their work, and while Deon says it kept food on the table, he and Mike, and now Clint, agree that it’s been nice to help their neighbors and friends when they experience the loss of a loved one.
Directions to Utah Monument® Company
510 East Tabernacle • St. George, Utah 84770 • 435-673-2716
Fax: 435-673-2716 • UtahMonument@gmail.com
Directions:
1. From I-15 take exit 8 for St. George Blvd toward State Hwy 18/Santa Clara.
2. Continue West on 100 N/St. George Blvd.
3. Pass by Taco Bell (on the left in 0.4 miles).
4. Turn left onto 500 East.
5. Turn left at the 1st cross street onto Tabernacle St.
6. Utah Monument® Company is on your right.
As you look at the basic monument types presented below, be aware that we can customize any type of monument to fit a particular need. If you can think it, describe it, or design it yourself, we can create it. If you aren't sure, we're happy to present a few options to get you started. We also have a book you can look through with hundreds of designs. Click here for granites and colors.
Upright Monuments
These can be wide or narrow, short or tall, rectangular or square, with or without a curve at the top.
Custom Monuments
These can be virtually any shape with any design. Your imagination is the only limit.
Slant Monuments
These are generally rectangular but always slanted at a 45 degree angle on the front.
Flat Monuments
Also called "grassers," these are installed parallel with the ground, and can be raised above the ground or placed even with the ground.
Child Monuments
These memorialize the passing of a child. They can be any size or shape, and contain any number of images.
Pet Monuments
These honor pets and service animals who became part of the family, including law enforcement and military families.
Bench Monuments
These can be used to memorialize a loved one, an event (consider military service), or even a special place.
Laser Etching
A laser machine makes it possible to engrave wonderful detail in granite. Using this process there is no limit to what you can put on a monument to honor your loved one.
Monument Creation
Five Steps
1After selecting a monument style, Mike or Clint present lettering/picture options. You choose one. It is drafted and sent back with options. Select the one you like or request a modification to one (usually via email). It's all part of the process. Nothing happens until you get exactly what you want.
The lettering/picture example in this photo came from Mr. Noorlander. Read his story here and see which one he went with.
2After making your selection, the design goes to the drafter. It's returned in a roll that Clint lays on your headstone. From there he starts cutting out the lettering and graphics.
3Sandblasting to cut out the lettering and graphics on the headstone.
4After sandblasting the letters and graphics, painting is the final in-shop step.
The finished product still in the shop. The is a "slant" monument on a Light Grey stone.
5The last step is to put the monument in a cement block before placing it in the cemetery. Below are some examples. Picture (right column): The outside headstones are called "grasser" or flat monuments; the middle one is the base for an upright monument, which we attach after.
Satisfied Customers
I need to give a shout out to Clint at Utah Monument! He did an amazing job helping us with our daughter's headstone. He was so patient and kind and let us take our time and change our minds more times than I can count, in order to give us something so beautiful and perfect, exactly what we needed to help lay our baby girl to rest.
Losing a loved one is a very difficult thing to have to do. There are a lot of decisions that have to be made while you are grieving. I went to several different monument places and because I was treated with honesty and integrity and kindness by Utah Monuments, I chose to have them make my wife's headstone. They were so great to work with and they kept me in the loop all through the process. My wife's headstone is absolutely perfect in every way.
Utah Monuments was the best to work with for our son's headstone. They made what was a very painful life moment more bearable with the time and effort they put into our design and caring nature for our situation. I cannot recommend them enough.
What follows is an unsolicited comment. If you're reading this, then the Connells took a look and said it could stay as written. I'm the person designing their website. I've known the Connells for about six months now. I've been awe struck by consistent comments referring to the Connell family's integrity, generosity of time, and caring attitude toward everyone who walks through their doors. This family offers a great service perfectly suited to their natures. The comment by Mrs. Peterson above is not an exception.
My mother passed away January 3, 2018, at 95 years of age. My grandparents and much of my family, many of whom lived in Hurricane and nearby communities, are buried in the Hurricane City Cemetery. At the time of my mother's passing we lived in Fairview, Utah, about 250 miles north of St. George. My father, who passed away in 1990, purchased two plots in the Hurricane City Cemetery, one for him and one for my mother. We buried my mother next to my father a few days after her passing.
After the service we went to the city center to ask about monument companies in the area. We were given two names. We chose Utah Monument® Company and are very pleased that we did. Within 30 minutes after talking to Mike and Clint we made our selection. They presented the options, made a few recommendations, but left the decision to us. There was no hype, no pressure, just friendly home-town service.
My parents had received a special award from Brigham Young University for their humanitarian service to people around the world. We wanted to include the text of the award on the back of the headstone. I showed Mike the text and asked if it was possible. He said, "Sure. We can do that. This is how much it will cost." He didn't add up the words. And he didn't make it sound like a big deal because of the number of words, which brings me to my final point about Utah Monument® Company.
The passing of a loved one is a hard time for families, and the last thing you want is to get involved in negotiations over price when it's something you have to have. Some companies use your grief to their advantage by trying to "upsell" your purchase. How do you put a price tag on the passing of a loved one? Not so with Mike and Clint. It was simply, "How can we help?" And, "You want that one. Great. This is the price." If you want a good experience during a difficult time, go visit Utah Monument® Company. The folks there will take care of you.
POSTSCRIPT. I was so pleased with Utah Monument® Company and the service Mike and Clint provided that I went back a few months later and had them make a War Memorial for my father. He served in WW II (1942-1943) and Korea (1951-1952), and was decorated three times. In World War II he received the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart. In Korea he received the Bronze Star.
It was a lot of information to put on a 24 in. x 18 in. military style monument, but Clint worked with me, presenting different drafts until we got it right. My intention is to put flags to the right of the memorial next time I visit the cemetery.
Thanks Utah Monument. My mother and the rest of our family are so happy with the quality of your work. We are glad that we chose your business to handle our father’s headstone. We could not be any more pleased with the way that it turned out.
The Connells are the best at what they do. They recently made a headstone for our family dog. The work was absolutely top notch and we were completely amazed at the quality of the engraving, the actual stone itself, and the level of detail they put into the picture of our loved family pet.
The Connell family is not only skilled, but so friendly, and really seemed to care about getting what we wanted in a way that was just perfect, at a price that couldn't be beat.
These people know the importance of getting a final tribute just right for you. I won't be going anywhere else in the future.
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