**CERTIFICATIONOF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER**

| I, Donald M. Labonte, certifythat:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
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| - I have     reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of Rock of Ages Corporation;
- Based on     my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a     material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the     statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements     were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this     report;
- Based on     my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information     included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the     financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the     registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
- The     registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for     establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as     defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal     control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules     13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
 - Designed      such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure      controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure      that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated      subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities,      particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
- Designed      such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal      control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to      provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial      reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external      purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
- Evaluated      the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures      and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of      the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period      covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
- Disclosed      in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over      financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent      fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an      annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to      materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial      reporting; and
The registrant's other     certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent     evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the     registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of     directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): 

 -  All      significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or      operation of internal control over financial reporting which are      reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record,      process, summarize and report financial information; and Any      fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees      who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control over      financial reporting.
 

Date:  March 31, 2009

/s/Donald M. Labonte

DonaldM. Labonte, Chief Executive Officer |