Looking for a font similar to one on an old gravestone to design a new one for the same family

[T. Thompson]

This is a photo provided by the family. A secondary photo of the stone can be found here.

Photo is of a small grey granite headstone with a unique font. 

Estimated creation is from the late 60s - early 70s

Looking for a font that is as close as possible if not exactly so I can make the family a new matching headstone with different information. Commercial fonts are fine but free alternatives are preferred. 

[Kevin Thompson]

Type on gravestones doesn’t always correspond to type used for printing (many monument companies developed their own proprietary faces).

That appears to be the case here (not finding a match). You would be better off posting your request at Monument Lettering Center’s font ID forum.

[T. Thompson]

On 8/7/2020 at 8:42 PM, Kevin Thompson said:

Type on gravestones doesn’t always correspond to type used for printing (many monument companies developed their own proprietary faces).

That appears to be the case here (not finding a match). You would be better off posting your request at Monument Lettering Center’s font ID forum.

I literally work for a monument company. I have to draw the fonts into the program we use if someone wants custom work, though we try to avoid using a non standard font most of the time. Seeing as designing font isn't my strong suit, I'm looking for visually similar to figure out what the missing letters could look like. I do greatly appreciate the link as I didn't know that site existed.  

[Kevin Thompson]

The point I was trying to make is that, given the age of the inscription, it is unlikely that it was a commercial typeface—or at least not one that has survived into the digital age (given that I couldn’t find a match).

In the 1960s and 70s, the lettering was likely specific to that monument maker or to one of a handful of companies that produced lettering plates/stencils for sandblasting.