Whenever you see a tombstone with a Masonic emblem on it, there is the possibility of more information: Masonic Information online: <A HREF="http://www.telebyte.com/masons/m-usa.html">Click here: Grand Lodges in the United States of America/TITLE</A> Yes, there are Masonic funerals. A man has to be a member in good standing at the time of his death to have one, and they are only conducted at the request of the family. It does not automatically happen. (Don't worry if you don't want to read all of this...but I figured I'll tell you what I know) As far as finding anything out about it, that is a bit more tough. The things I would look for are: Where was his Lodge membership, and what lodge? Where did he die? (the point being here that say a person was a Mason in New York, but died in Washington State, his Lodge in New York is not going to conduct the service.) You will probably get more information from a funeral program than from the Lodge. If you can find such a program and end up with the name of the Lodge that conducted the service (or possibly Masonic Service Bureau) then there is a better shot at finding something out. Whenever a funeral is conducted the Lodge has to be "opened". For you, all that means is that somewhere, there are minutes. And by minutes all it will say is that Lodge was opened with the following officers present for the purpose of conducting a funeral service for XXX. But you have to find out what Lodge did the service to even have a chance of finding those. Now, for the Grand Master part. To some people, this is a big deal. To others, it is not. Grand Master is the highest office any man can obtain in the Masons. It is the equivalent of President of the jurisdiction they cover, such as Washington State. (President of Rotary in Washington, or Governor of the State). In most jurisdictions they serve for 1 year, although some are longer. Rarely do they serve more than once, however earlier in the century you are more likely to find a "repeater". A Mason has great respect for the office. Knowing that a PGM (Past Grand Master) conducted the service tells you that your cousin may have been a good friend of this PGM. It is not generally significant of the measure of a person who conducts the service. The service, when done properly, requires some work to memorize and deliver properly. There are men who have done this and are called upon frequently to do the services. If someone has achieved significant recognition in the Fraternity, it would be considered an honor to conduct the service and a PGM might be called upon to do it. Or your cousin could have belonged to the same Lodge as the PGM and it just happened that way. Helen Hewitt Meigs County, TN