Editorial: An invitation via obituary

Star Tribune

C. Blaine Harstad’s headstone at Lakewood Cemetery pays tribute to the family ancestors.

C. Blaine Harstad was proud of his family -- and his tombstone.

Last update: April 24, 2008 - 7:22 PM

It's not often an obituary includes a cheerful invitation to come check out the new tombstone. But C. Blaine Harstad, a well-known Minneapolis attorney who died Saturday at age 79, spent months before his death getting the details of the massive brown granite headstone just right.

And so, as he penned his own obituary, his enthusiasm led him to impart one last legal opinion: "Blaine is proud of his headstone, stating that it is 'interesting and unusual.' He would advise you to visit it at at Lakewood Cemetery, Section 40, Lot 518.''

Who knew invitations from the grave could be so charming? Or irresistible?

On a sunwashed late April afternoon, few places are prettier than Minneapolis' sprawling Lakewood Cemetery, burial ground to generations of the region's most prominent families. Once you're armed with a map from the cemetery office, Section 40 isn't hard to find.

Head past the massive Fridley arch. Keep angling right. Take a right at the Goffe marker, and there is the Harstad monument at the far edge by the fence with Lake Calhoun as a backdrop. It's big, especially by modern standards. A little footnote in the lower right-hand corner explains why: "Family history on opposite side.''

Proud of his Norwegian immigrant roots, and of his wife's German heritage, Harstad's final act was to pay homage to his immigrant forebears. Norwegian and German flags are chiseled into the stone, as well as the names of several generations of ancestors and the Old World cities they departed from.

Harstad's wife at first didn't care for the monument's size. But as she watched her husband's careful planning with the stonemasons as his time waned, she consented. Her husband, a history buff, had long kept a map of Norway on his office wall. The headstone carried on the tradition.

"Whatever he did, he did in spades. It was just the nature of the man,'' Karyne Quast Harstad said Thursday.

There are much larger, more elaborate monuments at Lakewood. Still, the Harstad marker stands out. A lawyer accomplished in his own right, Harstad spent his final months paying tribute to ancestors who sacrificed to give future generations a better life. It's the foundation on which most American families are built, but often forgotten as older relatives pass on and cultural traditions die out. Harstad's invitation is an unusual but heartfelt reminder to remember those who came before, and honor them with a life well-lived.

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