Two are known from Wikipedia and Wikiquote; ten come from the field collection. For each: what can be read on the cross and what cannot be guessed from it. The verses are the collectors’, in their spelling, followed by a working English translation; only crosses up to 1982 appear with full names.
The founder's self-portrait: Stan Ioan Pătraș (1908–1977)
Source: Wikipedia (the transcription on the Merry Cemetery page)
De cu tînăr copilașIo am fost Stan Ion PătrașSă mă ascultaț oameni buniCe voi spune nu-s minciuniCîte zile am trăitRău la nime n-am doritDar bine cît-am pututOrișicine mia cerutVai săraca lumea meaCă greu am trăit în ea
Since I was a small childI have been Stan Ion PătrașGood people, listen to meWhat I say is no lieAll the days I livedI wished no one harmBut good, as much as I couldTo whoever asked of meOh, my poor worldFor hard I lived in it
Readable: the self-naming; the address to listeners; a life of no harm and help on request; the closing lament. Three [sic] spellings (ascultaț, cît-am, mia), kept as-is.
Not guessable: whether he carved this cross himself (the verse names its subject, not its carver); the life years (1908–1977) come from Wikipedia and the town hall, not from the verse.
The mother-in-law cross: the most famous verse
Source: Wikipedia and Wikiquote
Sub această cruce greaZace biata soacră-meaTrei zile de mai trăiaZăceam eu și cetea ea.Voi care treceți pă aiciÎncercați să n-o trezițiCă acasă dacă vineIarăi cu gura pă mineDa așa eu m-oi purtaCă-napoi n-a înturnaStai aicea dragă soacră-mea
Under this heavy crossLies my poor mother-in-lawHad she lived three days moreI would lie here, and she would readYou who pass by hereTry not to wake herFor if she comes homeShe'll nag me againBut I will behave in such a waythat she won't come backStay here, my dear mother-in-law
Readable: the me-vs-mother-in-law family trope; the 'three days and I'd lie here' reversal; the 'don't wake her' imperative; the joking register throughout. Line eight reads “Iarăi” on Wikipedia; a variant, “Iară-i”, was read on calebatuta.ro on 18 Sep 2026 (the page is gone).
Not guessable: the speaker's gender ('mother-in-law' fixes nothing about who speaks); whether 'three days' is literal; how the family really got along — the cross tells the joke, not the file.
The butcher: George Băsului, 49 years (1939)
Source: the 2001–02 field collection (cross no. 005)
Am trăit 49 de aniAiasta vreau să vă spunCam fost George BăsuluiCît pe lume am trăitMulte oi am belitCarne bunam pregătitCarne bune nui povesteȘi să o mîncaț domneșteVă dau carne grasă tareSaveț poftă la mîncareLa 1939 adormit(un om cu pipă care măcelărește carne)
I lived 49 yearsThis I want to tell youI was George BăsuluiWhile I lived in this worldI skinned many sheepI prepared good meatGood meat is no taleAnd eat it lordlyI give you very fat meatEnjoy your mealIn 1939 fell asleep
Readable: the name, 49 years, the work described (sheep skinned, meat prepared), the dinner invitation, 1939; the illustration matches the text (butchering + pipe).
Not guessable: butcher by trade or household slaughterer (the verse says only 'many'); the verse gives no date for making the cross; 1939 reads as the year of death (“adormit”, fell asleep).
Hay and sheep: Stan Dumitru, 52 years (1938)
Source: the 2001–02 field collection (cross no. 004)
Aici eu mă odihnescStan Dumitru mă numescDam fost Tîhu cel BătrînVara tot am făcut fînȘi iarna am hodinitȘi oile leam hrănitCoasa mie și cîineleAcestea miau plăcut mieDin a mea copilărieToate aceste le lăsaiLa 52 de ai.Mr. 1938
Here I restMy name is Stan DumitruI was old TîhuIn summer I always made hayAnd in winter I restedAnd fed the sheepThe scythe, me and the dogThese I lovedSince my childhoodAll these I left behindAt 52 years
Readable: the name, the year split (hay in summer, rest in winter, sheep fed), scythe and dog as beloved things, 52 years. Hodinit = rested, dialectal.
Not guessable: what 'Tîhu' is (nickname? title? we don't decode it); whether the flock was his (he only fed them); whether 52 is exact.
The clarinet and the țuică (plum brandy): Pop Toader (1949)
Source: the 2001–02 field collection (cross no. 015)
Eu aici mă odihnescȘi Pop Toader mă numescDrag mia fost clănitaruȘi țuica din paharuCîtm trăit păpămîntTot la asta mam gînditSă am ce bea și a mîncaDin clanitar acîntaDar am avut și năcazCă văduv am rămasȘi vă cînt de veselieNu vă cînt așa ca mie.1949
Here I restAnd my name is Pop ToaderDear to me was the clarinetAnd the țuică in the glassWhile I lived on earthOf this alone I thoughtTo have drink and foodTo play the clarinetBut I had trouble tooFor I was left a widowerAnd I play you merrilyI don’t play for you as it is for me
Readable: the name, the two loves (clarinet + țuică), the 'drink, food, playing' life summary, widowerhood in the masculine (male speaker), a closing contrast between playing for others and his own sorrow. 'Clarinet' comes in two spellings on the cross, kept as-is.
Not guessable: musician by trade or for pleasure (the verse says only 'dear'); when his wife died; which tune 'merriment' is.
“Mama lu Pătraș” (“Pătraș’s mother”): Stan Mărie (1958)
Source: the 2001–02 field collection (cross no. 029)
Aci ieu mă odihnescStan Mărie mă numescȘam fost mama lu PătrașMult am tors din căerașSăraca viața meaCam trăit cam greu îm iaCă văduvă am rămasCu trei copii mititelașSoțu în război a plecatȘi în năpoi nu a înturnat1958
Here I restMy name is Stan MărieI was Pătraș's motherI spun much from a little bundle of fibrePoor my lifeFor I lived quite hard in itFor I was left a widowWith three tiny childrenMy husband left for warAnd never came back
Readable: the name, the stated kinship ('Pătraș's mother'), much spinning, widowhood with three small children, the husband gone to war and unreturned. Căeraș: a small bundle of fibre for spinning.
Not guessable: which Pătraș (the collection sorts at 1958, the verse gives no full name); which war; killed or missing — the verse says only 'did not return'.
The wagon loader: Ștețca Ion Frîncu, 70 years (1958)
Source: the 2001–02 field collection (cross no. 030)
Aici eu mă odihnescȘtețca Ion Frîncu mă numescCîtam trăit în vecieLucru greu mia fost dat mieLa IFET am tot lucratȘi vagoane am încărcatBani ce am cîștigatTot pămînt am cumpăratȘi la colectiv le am datCă viața o lăsai la 70 de ai.Mr. La 1958(bătrîn cu pipă lîngă un vagon încărcat cu lemne)
Here I restMy name is Ștețca Ion FrîncuAll my life longHeavy labor was given to meAt IFET I always workedAnd loaded wagonsThe money I earnedI spent all on landAnd gave it to the collectiveFor I left life at 70 years.
Readable: the name, the 'life of heavy labor' summary, wagon-loading at IFET, land bought then given to the collective, 70 years; the timber wagon in the illustration matches the 'loading'.
Not guessable: what IFET stands for (the verse gives initials only, we don't expand); whether the land went willingly (the verse says only 'I gave'); whether he loaded timber only.
Struck by lightning at 13: Tite Grigore (1943)
Source: the 2001–02 field collection (cross no. 009)
Cît în lume am trăitTite Grigore mam numitSă vă spun ce santîmplatStînd în pat mo fulgeratMama rău so supăratUnu fecior o avutTinerel so dus în lutMoarte perioai și tuSă nu e alt fecioruRămas bun iubită mamăNeom vedea la judecatăCă viața o lăsai la 13 ai.M. 1943
While I lived in this worldI was called Tite GrigoreLet me tell you what happenedLying in bed, lightning struck meMother was sorely grievedShe had one sonYoung he went into the clayDeath, perish you too*Take no other son*Farewell, beloved motherWe'll meet at the judgmentFor I left life at 13 years
Readable: the name, the cause of death (struck in bed), the only-son status, the mother's grief, 13 years, the 'judgment day' farewell. A textbook case of cause-of-death on the cross.
Not guessable: the two starred lines are a working rendering (dense dialect: perioai / să nu e admit other readings); which place he was in (the verse says only that he was in bed); what 'the judgment' is (the verse doesn't explain).
The cross with no epitaph: Bodnar Marie (1940)
Source: the 2001–02 field collection (cross no. 006)
Bodnar MarieFără epitaf(în centrul crucii Maica Domnului cu fiul în brațe; în partea de jos tînăra nevastă)
Bodnar Marie
Readable: the name only. The collector notes exactly 'Fără epitaf': that's all. We invent no trade, cause, or story for her — a cross with no text is not decoded.
Not guessable: anything. Weathered away or never written? The collection doesn't say, neither do we. This card is the fence.
The soldier in Galicia: a cross made 44 years later (1915)
Source: the 2001–02 field collection (cross no. 031)
Aici figurez și euPe cruce nepotu meuFoaie verde de durzăuFiscuși Grigore am fost euÎn anul patrusprezeceSanceput on război receTrupul meu este-ngropatÎn Galiție subt on bradCînd în război am plecatÎn napoi nam înturnatCă dujmani mo pușcatȘi pe loc am repsat.1915(cruce cu Sf. Ilie realizata la 1959, completată pe spate)
Here I appear too,on the cross, my nephew,green leaf of durzău,I was Fiscuș Grigore.In the year fourteena cold war beganmy body is buriedin Galicia under a fir,when I went to warI did not come back,for enemies shot meand I died on the spot.
Readable: the name, the year the war began, the burial place (“in Galicia under a fir”), the enemy bullet, “I died on the spot”. The page gives 1915 (the death) and files the cross among those of 1959, the year it says the cross was made; the back was completed later.
Not guessable: who commissioned the cross (“nepotu meu” can mean nephew or grandson), why only in 1959, what “durzău” means (we could not find the word), or “cold war” in a poem about 1914.
The tractor: 25 years old, three small children (1982)
Source: the 2001–02 field collection (cross no. 067)
Sus pe dealul BaițeiSună-mi glasul trîmbițeiCe cu jale mi-a cîntatSă mor tînăr cu bănatDe tractor să fiu călcatLualar naiba tractorulCă mi-o tăiat corpulȘam lăsat trei copilașiÎn lume cu greu necazȘi pe mie mor jăliPă lume cît vor trăi.În veci vei fi în gîndul nostru.25 ai. 1982
Up on Baița hillthe trumpet’s voice rings out,which sang to me in sorrowthat I would die young, in grief,run over by a tractor.May the devil take the tractor,for it cut my body.I left three small childrenin the world, in hard trouble,and they will mourn meas long as they live.You will be in our thoughts for ever.
Readable: the age (25), the cause stated plainly (“run over by a tractor”), the curse, the three children, a closing remembrance addressed to the dead.
Not guessable: where the accident was, whose tractor it was, who wrote the verse. “Baița hill” is a name we could not locate.
The 19-year-old who loved tractors (1992)
Source: the 2001–02 field collection (cross no. 078)
Mia plăcut tractoruMult dar și școală am făcutDar să umblu la aratEu puțin am apucatCît am trăit am lucratCăci și cai mi-am cumpăratDragă soră și părințiPe la mine să venițiSă vemiți la sărbătoriLa mormînt să-mi puneți floriCăci eu viața o lăsai la 19 ani.1973-1992
I loved the tractor.I did a lot, school too,but ploughingI got to do only a little.While I lived I worked,for I even bought horses.Dear sister and parents,come and see me,come on feast days,put flowers on my grave,for I left life at 19.
Readable: the age (19), the love of tractors, school, the horses he bought, an invitation to visit the grave on feast days.
Not guessable: the cause of death. The verse does not say, and the collectors’ page offers no other clue.