We will not rush you, and we will not keep you waiting.
Doric South Monuments and Vaults. Granite memorials, bronze markers and vaults for families across southern Mississippi and southwestern Alabama, for over twenty years.
Come and talk to us. Nothing has to be decided today.
We take great pride in the quality of our products, workmanship and service. Every memorial we make is customised to celebrate the life of the person you have lost.
We do not just order from stock pictures. We would rather sit and talk with you and find out what you would like on the stone, so that it belongs to your family and to nobody else.
If you have seen a monument you like, in a cemetery, in a book, or anywhere else, bring us a photograph. We will be glad to make one just like it, or change it a little and make it more personal.
And if there was a place the person you lost loved to go, let us take a picture of it. We can put it on the stone with our laser etching.
Jason Davis, owner
Two to four weeks, not two to three months.
We keep a large inventory here on site, so the wait is cut by weeks.
In a lot of places you may wait six to ten weeks before there is anything standing at the grave. On any basic size and shape of monument, we can have yours finished in two to four weeks, weather permitting.
One thing worth knowing, because it is often used to sell you something: a coloured monument does not take any longer than a grey one. Black, pink or grey, the time is the same. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
Imported granite is the genuine exception. Anything coming from overseas takes about eight to twelve weeks, because it has to cross the water, clear customs and then be shipped here. If you want an import, we will tell you that up front.
Nobody knows the words for any of this the first time.
Slant, bevel, ledger, companion. They are just shapes, and here is what each one means in plain words. There is no right answer and no wrong one.
Family or estate
Displays a family name, with multiple ledgers, bevels, slants or flat markers to represent the individual members of the family.
Companion
Has inscription panels on the face of the monument for two individuals. The usual choice for a husband and wife.
Individual
Smaller, and ideal for one person. It is possible to inscribe one of these for two people, though the space may be limited.
Half serpentine
The curved top. It works as a family, individual or companion monument depending on how the inscriptions are arranged, and it is a nice way to feature a vase for flowers.
Wing style
A popular companion shape, with the lower wings to either side. It presents a good opportunity for a flower vase.
Slant markers
Named for the slanted face, which makes the stone easier to read as you walk toward the grave from a distance. Available single and double.
Bevel markers
Named for the bevelled face. Easy to read when you are standing at the foot of the grave.
Flat markers
Also called grass markers or flush markers, because they sit flush against the grass. Many cemeteries allow nothing else, and we will check that for you.
Ledgers
Also called covers. Ideal alongside a family or estate monument where the individual graves still need marking, and they leave ample room for inscriptions and dates.
Etchings
Usually on black stone. Made by hand with a diamond tipped tool, or with a laser. High contrast black and white, or in colour.
Benches
A way to remember someone somewhere less traditional, a courtyard or another public place. Some cemetery lots are large enough to allow one.
Mausoleums and crypts
Some are large enough to walk into. Depending on the size, they hold anywhere from one to twelve spaces.
Columbariums and cremation
Almost any monument can be cored to hold cremains. Some, like a small cremation bench or a columbarium, are designed for it from the start.
Bronze on granite
Bronze grave markers mounted on a granite base, with a vase or without one. We supply matching VA markers, and the granite base that goes under a government marker.
Public memorials
Civic and veterans memorials with service emblems and long inscriptions. We have worked for the public sector as well as private families for over twenty years.
These are shape and style plates from the selection guides we work from, not photographs of finished Doric South memorials. They are here because they are the clearest way to show you the difference between a bevel and a slant. What we actually make is made for you. Come to the yard on Kelly Street and you can stand in front of the real stone instead.
Much of our granite is quarried in Elberton, Georgia.
Granite is a natural material. It varies from one section of a quarry or vein to another.
On top of that, every screen shows colour differently, so no website can give you a true representation of any granite. Ours included. Please call or come and see us, and we will show you the samples so you can see how they actually look.
These are the colours we typically keep in stock.
More of it than people expect, and some of it costs very little.
Custom sandblasting, lettering and etching
Traditional sand carving that cuts flowers and letters deep into the stone, and laser etching for photographs and places. We offer many styles of lettering and several ways of cutting it: sunk and V-sunk, frosted outline with the letters left in polish, and raised letters with square or round edges. Modified Roman, Old English, Uncial Gothic, Optima, or a font drawn by hand for you.
Death date inscription, on site
When the second date is needed on a stone that is already standing, we come to the cemetery and cut it there. You do not need to move anything.
Monument setting and cemetery lettering
We set what we make. Ask us also about grave digging, which will usually save you money against the funeral home price.
Restoration, cleaning and straightening
Our cemetery technicians handle all aspects of monument repair and cleaning. If a granite or marble marker has settled or is leaning, call us for a quote. Granite, bronze and marble all weather and go unsightly, and trees will stain them. In most cases we can bring them back to their original beauty, and you will be surprised how inexpensive it is.
Tree damage and vandalism are a particular speciality. We have successfully restored and repaired markers dating back hundreds of years.
Bronze marker refinishing
We can make that old marker look like new again.
Gravesite reconstruction and lot maintenance
Gravel or sod for cemetery lots, gravesite reconstruction, and ongoing cemetery lot maintenance.
Cremation gardens, designed, built and maintained
We design cremation gardens, construct them and look after them afterwards. Urns and cremation products too.
Vaults, pet memorials and granite signs
Burial vaults, which is half of what the sign at the gate says. Pet markers, urns and monuments, and services for pets. Granite business signs, cut the same way as everything else.
Four steps, and the first one is only a conversation.
Come and talk
Come to the yard on Kelly Street, or we will come out to your home. Bring the cemetery name if you know it. If you do not, we will find out what that cemetery allows.
We work it out with you
Shape, stone, wording, and anything you want carved or etched on it. Bring a photograph of a monument you liked, or of a place that mattered to them.
We make it
Two to four weeks for a basic size and shape, weather permitting, because the stone is already here. Eight to twelve weeks only if you have chosen an import.
We set it
We deliver and set it at the grave ourselves. If a date needs adding later, we come back out and cut it on site.
The stone is here, not in a catalogue.
We keep a large inventory on site. That is the reason we can work in weeks rather than months, and it is also the reason it is worth the drive: you can put your hand on the actual granite and see the colour in daylight rather than on a screen.
If coming out is difficult, say so when you call. We will be glad to come and sit with you at home instead. We have families all over southern Mississippi and southwestern Alabama and we are used to the drive.
Ask us the awkward ones too.
How long will it take?
On any basic size and shape of monument, two to four weeks, weather permitting. We hold a large inventory on site, which is what makes that possible when many places quote six to ten weeks.
The exception is imported granite. Anything coming from overseas takes about eight to twelve weeks, because of the shipping and clearing customs. We will tell you which one you are choosing.
Does a coloured stone take longer than a grey one?
No. A black or a pink monument takes no longer than a grey one, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling you something. Choose the stone you actually want.
What does it cost?
It depends on the size and type the cemetery permits, the stone you choose, and how much lettering, carving or etching goes on it. Tell us roughly what you have in mind and we will give you a real figure.
Restoration and cleaning work is usually far cheaper than people expect, so it is always worth asking before you assume a damaged stone has to be replaced.
My father was a veteran.
We supply bronze grave markers mounted on granite bases and matching VA markers, and we can provide the granite base that goes underneath a government issued marker. Ask us and we will explain what you are entitled to and what you would be paying for.
The stone is already there and just needs the date adding.
We do death date inscription on site. We come out to the cemetery and cut it where the stone stands. It does not have to be moved or brought in.
The marker is leaning, or a tree has damaged it.
Call us for a quote. Our cemetery technicians repair, straighten and clean granite, marble and bronze, and tree damage and vandalism are a speciality of ours. We have restored markers dating back hundreds of years. In most cases the stone comes back to its original condition.
Can I arrange this before anyone has died?
Yes, and plenty of people do. It is called pre-need, it is a normal thing to ask about, and it takes the decision off your family later. We will make it as straightforward as we can.
Can you copy a monument I have seen?
Yes. If you have seen one in a cemetery, in a book, or anywhere else, bring us a photograph. We will make one just like it, or change it a little so that it is more personal to your family.
Call, and you will get a person.
Not a call centre and not a queue. If we are out setting a stone, leave a message and we will call you back the same day where we can.
Moss Point
3800 Kelly Street
Moss Point, MS 39563
Near the corner of Shortcut Road
228-474-6923
doricsouthms@gmail.com
Fax 228-474-6375
Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 5:00
Saturday, 8:00 to 12:00
Sunday closed