@Ken N Louis You are a great, Great-Grandson, Ken! I see that your Great Grandfather died at the age of 52. The years carved on his stone (1842 - 1894).......the "dash" between the years, represent Wallace's dash through life! We all get a dash through life, and a full life is not always measured in years. Thanks for the thread.
That is one of the things that you can notice when you go a cemetary. When you think about the dash, I think we all dash through life to a certain extent when you see a headstone, I think it can remind you of how briefly you might be alive.