[John C. Metzler Jr.] said he did not know yet how much the project will cost. John Haines, a retired automobile dealer from Glenwood Springs, Colo., has donated the $31,000 price of the marble. Rex E. Loesby, the president of Sierra Minerals Corp., which operates the quarry excavating the marble, estimated the cost of finishing and carving the stone at an additional $500,000 to $1 million.

Loesby said he thinks that the crack started when mine workers from the Colorado Yule Marble Co. in central Colorado accidentally "shocked" the white slab of marble when they removed it from the quarry in 1931. The quarry was later shut down for decades. It was reopened, then failed and was reopened again by Loesby in 1999.

Metzler won't put such a timeframe on the project, saying the clock won't begin ticking until the right piece of marble is found. After that, Metzler said, it could take about a year before the new tomb is installed. The tomb will be closed to the public for about two weeks while the renovations are going on, he said.