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Company resurrects the past with technology in cemeteries
biz_lgp_cemeterymarker
Courtesy photo
biz_lgp_cemeterymarker
Courtesy photo

HUTCHINSON — LegacyMarker is a new business on the market with a new idea to share: QR codes in cemeteries. Small steel plaques marked with personalized codes direct graveside visitors to memorial web pages that feature the life of the deceased loved one.

The plaques, which share the company’s name, are known as LegacyMarkers.  

March 7 marked the 27th anniversary of company owners Brian Musgrave and Camille Barnett’s father’s death. This date was also a new beginning for this family as they mounted the very first LegacyMarker ever made on his gravestone in Springdale Cemetery, near Chase.

“It was bittersweet that six of Dad’s nine grandchildren were there to witness it. They never got to meet him. These stories are as close as they will get on this side of heaven,” said Barnett.  

LegacyMarker features weatherproof stainless steel plaques that adhere to any sealed surface using a permanent, peel and stick tape. When the code is scanned with a smartphone, the visitor is directed to a personalized web page for the passed loved one. The web page is set up by the family and can include text, photos, videos, web links and a timeline. Visitors to the page can sign the e-guestbook, share a memory or even contact the page creator. “We are very excited about the opportunities this idea creates, not just for healing for grieving families, but also for the genealogy world. It’s a great way to organize and preserve family history,” says Barnett.  

LegacyMarker is an online service based in both Kansas and Arizona. The owners grew up in LaCrosse and their father, Tom Musgrave was a native of Chase. Barnett currently resides in Hutchinson while her business partner and brother lives in Pheonix, Ariz. The sibling duo has officially opened their website for business and looks forward to providing other families with this same opportunity of keeping stories alive. You can find them at LegacyMarker.com or on Facebook/LegacyMarker/.