During the last two years, we have been working steady to raise funds to gain training in a very specialized area....Stone conservation. We carefully searched for a company or individual that could provide us with this training, as working on these stones the wrong way causes damage beyond repair. The training had to be geared toward "old" stone.
I know this sounds funny as all stone is "old", but we are speaking of old quarried stones. Stones no longer cut for grave markers as they were found to be too soft. Present day grave stones are made of very hard stone materials. Marble, limestone, sandstone, green stone (also known as Turkey Creek stone) are no longer used for this purpose.
We found individuals that offered training in repairing these stones, but these individuals had no formal training. They learned from other non trained volunteers and used portland cements to suture stone pieces and machines to "clean" stones which stripped the betina off the surface. In the end we found two companies that offered  certified courses in stone conservation, learning advancements, and support. One was in Maryland (Cathedral Stone) and the other in Chicago (U.S. Heritage Group). Both have worked on major projects from three decades old cathedrals to the White House. Both have become aware of the need for care for cemeteries and have stepped up to provide advice and skills.
We chose to work with U.S. Heritage. Dianne Hartshorn (of Colorado Springs) and Ingrid Mcdonald (of Falcon) travelled to Chicago for an intense 2 day course. In those days we learned enough to start providing the careful work we so need to do. Below are pictures of what we did. We can't thank this company enough for their training and continuing support. They even color matched samples for us for repair mortars and gave us enough to start at no extra charge. What we ended up with is not only a clear understanding as to why stone fails but how to avoid it and how to repair stone using the same stone materials so it doesn't happen again. With advanced classes, we can even reface stones (again using the same stone repair) that have been stripped or has shed it's exterior.