About Us

About Glacier Monuments

Since 1958 Glacier Signs & Monuments has created unique products in the sign and memorial monument headstone business.

Orville's Picture

Orville Bealer, the founder, was a natural-born artist. As a boy, he doodled constantly. The creative burn inside of him had to be released. This he did, as many artists do, by constantly fine tuning his creative skills with hand sketches and doodles.He started hand lettering signs in 1958 in North Central Montana

He continued to do this until 1980, when he and his wife, Carole, were approached and asked to buy a monument company by the name of Choteau Monuments. They decided to take the opportunity, and Orville began adopting and applying his artistic abilities as a sign maker to monuments.

Orville did all the artwork and engraving by hand, creating custom artwork that truly represented his customers.

Orville passed 15 years later, and Carole was left with the business. She took over for a time, until bringing her son Ron in as the General Manager. Ron later purchased the business in 2006. Ron passed away in September 2019; however, Carole continues to run the business.

Orville's original artwork is still available to customers today, showing the family tradition that serves as the backbone for Glacier Monuments.

Glacier Monuments goal is to help in every way we can. We don't just make custom memorials. We know that the death of a loved one is difficult, and as a family business, we are here to help with that grief, and to help you create a unique memorial that will honor your loved one for generations to come!

Our Team

 
 

From Our Customers...

  • When we first saw the memorial on our Mom’s grave we thought “she would approve!” It reflects her. We like many things about the memorial. The shape reflected the mountains she grew up with and loved. We liked the Dakota Mahogany stone with its colors and the wonderful detail of the hummingbird and flowers with their brilliant colors! The font itself was very consistent with her fine hand as well. We feel that our mother’s memorial marker serves as a testament to the things that were intrinsically her by those who loved her and the many, many lives she’d touched with such positive caring attention. We would recommend the team at Glacier Monuments. Ron & Carole are a fine team who translate caring attention to their clients. They gave helpful advice in design and the craftsmanship is superb!! They followed through to a very satisfactory conclusion with the replacement of our father’s foundation stone which tied nicely together with mom’s – it made the connection between our two loving parents.
    Norman Zachary
  • Before my dad passed away, we had discussed everything but a headstone. On a trip to Malta, I stopped to see my grandpa and great-grandpa’s stones when I realized we need to do something for Dad. When I first saw the headstone for Dad I got teary: both happiness and a sense of sadness. The stone depicted who Dad was, but also, it was the final moment, very bittersweet. The stone told a story about Dad – His love of Montana, the trees, his cattle, and his horses, all these features I enjoyed the most. Our family received such kindness, sincere caring, and absolute love. I will forever be grateful to Ron and Carole for everything they have done for my dad and our family. They went above and beyond for us. I truly do love them! If you want something that shows the love of Montana and who lived there, Ron and his mom, Carole, just get it.
    Patty Daum
  • We looked at a few places and felt I was simply a customer to be dealt with. At Glacier Monuments, we sensed a genuine understanding of what we were experiencing as well as a desire to make this a family decision. Both our headstone and fountain step plaque held so much symbolism for all of us. It was a deeply moving time seeing our suggestions come together in a lasting tribute. The workmanship and materials are elegantly executed for a beautiful display. We benefited from feeling family pride, peace of mind, and gaining pleasant memories during this process. We would absolutely recommend Glacier Monuments to our friends and family; we always felt like we were a priority. The care and concern received are priceless. There was no pressure of any kind. The patience displayed as the family shared various desires was amazing. We would like to express a feeling of sincere gratitude to the mother and son team who reached out to so many in a difficult part of our lives.  
    Jean Davis
  • From the moment my daughter and I visited the office, we were well taken care of. Choosing and designing a headstone is never an easy process and Ron and his mother/partner handled our situation with great sensitivity. They create beautiful and unique headstones as well as the more ordinary. They do their best to meet the desires and budget of their customers. We had numerous interactions on the phone, via e-mail and in person; all were handled professionally. I felt like we were their only customers when that was not the case at all. We had a great experience that I hope to not have to repeat any time soon! I worked with Ron Bealer to design a special headstone for my parents' graves. He has amazing design skills and was really easy to work with. He followed up with me multiple times to make sure that what his company would be creating met with my desires. I highly recommend this wonderful company.