CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. -- Flowers and flags typically adorn grave sites at cemeteries, but some headstones in Indiana are now featuring bar codes.
An Indiana monument company has started adding Quick Response codes, or QR codes, to grave markers, urns and boulders so families can share and preserve the lives of loved ones.
When scanned with a smartphone, the codes unlock a person's life story.
Matilde Fairbanks said she knew she wanted her late husband to be part of this modern-day technology.
"They could go up to the code and see the pictures, read his story, instead of just standing there and trying to picture what he looked like and his stories of the past," Fairbanks told RTV6's Stacia Matthews.
Randy Allen designs the codes at his Crawfordsville business, Allen Monument Company.
"We can pretty much do anything that the family can think of," Allen said.
When the QR code is scanned using an app available for most smartphones, users are directed to a website with keepsakes that the deceased person's family has assembled -- biography, obituary, guest book, images, even audio messages.
"You can leave audio messages for your loved ones. It's just a way of being able to communicate that way," Allen said.
You can even post the links on social media sites.
"I don't think it's creepy," Allen said. "I think a lot of people really like this product, and they like the idea that they can share the memories."
Fairbanks paid $400 for her husband's QR code and the website that she designed for him, but she said it's a priceless treasure.
Codes can also be added to existing monuments.
"I'm thinking about putting one on for my father to be able to read his history for my children and grandchildren," she said.
Packages range from $99 to $399. Once a package is purchased, family members can update and change their loved one's website as much as they'd like.
Bar Codes On Gravestones? - Indiana News Story - WRTV Indianapolis
An Indiana monument company has started adding Quick Response codes, or QR codes, to grave markers, urns and boulders so families can share and preserve the lives of loved ones.
When scanned with a smartphone, the codes unlock a person's life story.
Matilde Fairbanks said she knew she wanted her late husband to be part of this modern-day technology.
"They could go up to the code and see the pictures, read his story, instead of just standing there and trying to picture what he looked like and his stories of the past," Fairbanks told RTV6's Stacia Matthews.
Randy Allen designs the codes at his Crawfordsville business, Allen Monument Company.
"We can pretty much do anything that the family can think of," Allen said.
When the QR code is scanned using an app available for most smartphones, users are directed to a website with keepsakes that the deceased person's family has assembled -- biography, obituary, guest book, images, even audio messages.
"You can leave audio messages for your loved ones. It's just a way of being able to communicate that way," Allen said.
You can even post the links on social media sites.
"I don't think it's creepy," Allen said. "I think a lot of people really like this product, and they like the idea that they can share the memories."
Fairbanks paid $400 for her husband's QR code and the website that she designed for him, but she said it's a priceless treasure.
Codes can also be added to existing monuments.
"I'm thinking about putting one on for my father to be able to read his history for my children and grandchildren," she said.
Packages range from $99 to $399. Once a package is purchased, family members can update and change their loved one's website as much as they'd like.
Bar Codes On Gravestones? - Indiana News Story - WRTV Indianapolis
