What is written at the bottom of this grave stone?

Question

Can someone tell me what it says, and what it means?

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16656197/frederick-w-reinhard

I see "ruha in h__den.."

I assume it means something akin to 'rest in peace,' though I'd like to verify that.

Answer 1

I read "Ruha in freaden" although the correct spelling would be "Ruhe in Frieden" (= rest in peace). It looks to me like it is written in English spelling to the sound of the german words. Given that the grave is in the US this makes sense to me.

Answer 2

Looks like freuden - 'joy.'

Comments

Yes.

Ruha in Freuden = Rest in joy.

But note that "Ruha" is not conventional German spelling. This form of the verb "ruhen"  (to rest) would normally end in E.

EDITED: I changed my mind. The Findagrave page reports the inscription as "Ruha in freaden". That's "rest in peace." From the image, it's hard to tell whether the letter is a U or an A, but the person who created the page probably saw the stone....

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That's what caught my attention about it. Ordinarily I would be satisfied to vaguely interpret it and go. That spelling made me wonder if it hinted a regional focus I should pay attention to, or a poor speller. etc.

Thank you!

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Thank you!

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To me, it looks like Ruha in freuden.  I don't understand 'ruha' instead of 'ruhe,' but my German isn't up to the grammatical subtleties.  Or maybe it does say Ruha in freaden, and maybe that means Rest in Peace in a Germanic language other than German?  Or possibly they wanted to write Ruhe in frieden, and tried to spell it phonetically (with American phonics, that is)?

Answer 3

Ruhe in Frieden = Rest in Peace

I know that's not how it's spelt on the stone, but it's the closest I could come up with...