Vladas Putvinskis-Pūtvis (1873–1929), the founder of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, is buried in Kelmė Town cemetery. In 2008, the granddaughter of V. Putvinskis, Julija Daniliauskienė told the history of creation of the tombstone monument: “My grandfather Vladas Putvinskis said that after his death, no monument would be erected on his grave, only the tombstone should be in the shape of Riflemen’s symbol”. His wife Emilija followed that order. The grave was fenced and planted with linden trees.
Vladas Putvinskis’s sister Marija Žmuidzinavičienė (wife of the artist Antanas Žmuidzinavičius) did not want the grave to disappear without a trace in Soviet Lithuania. The family decided to build a monument “from the sister”. The monument was ordered in Kaunas from a craftsman creating monuments. A modest inscription was engraved on the stone: “Vladas Pūtvis-Putvinskis 1873–1929“. The work on the monument took a long time, it was placed on the grave already after Marija’s death, in the spring of 1959.
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