Bill	Tom	Keith
Duke	Gloria	Mama

 In 1995, after large corporations started purchasing monument companies in Northeast Ohio, Ken Noon and his brother-in-law Tom Wise decided to open their own family-owned memorial business.

          With more than 14 years of experience in working with stone, they began manufacturing hand hewn yard stones in Noon’s garage.  Three years later they were in the monument business, operating from a new location at 140 W. Wilbeth Road in Akron.

          Summit Memorials is the only local monument company in the City of Akron that produces granite memorials with the carving done on site.  “We believe that memorials should be personalized to reflect the life of the deceased – to tell a story,” says Noon.  “99% of our memorials are customized designs.”  After determining the wishes of the client, Noon produces several renderings and the final selection is carved onto the stone by Tom Wise, “the best sandblaster in the industry,” according to Noon.  Clients can watch their monuments being manufactured and have total control from initial selection of the stone to the installation at the cemetery.  Custom design is included in the cost of the monument.

          Summit monuments are manufactured from granite shipped from quarries from all over the world. 

          Summit Memorials is one of the few remaining family-owned monument makers in the country.  Bill Wise, Noon’s father-in-law joined the firm immediately after his retirement from another job and keeps the operation running smoothly.  Mother-in-law Betty Wise is a perpetual optimist and constant inspiration and Barbara Freeman, Memorial Consultant, is a super salesperson with a keen understanding of client’s needs.

          “It’s a great team,” Noon says with pride.  Included in that team are several floppy-eared friends, stray dogs that have found a home at the shop, demonstrating the compassion of the people at Summit Memorials.

          Although Noon and his crew utilize some aspects of the current trend to computerization, they shy away from “assembly line” products, “Hand carving is our specialty,”  he says, “and we live by our motto ‘We specialize in special work for special people.’”