As 2025 comes to a close, it's time for this blogger to take inventory. Over the last twelve months, I have visited the final resting places of 72 famous individuals, predominantly throughout the eastern United States. This Rogues gallery includes four former presidents, five of their wives, historical outlaws, a famous psychic, a man buried in two separate graves, and oddly, two men who are still alive.
Some of these graves have already been profiled in this blog while others will come in time. For now, here is a quick look at some of the more memorable standouts.
November 4, 1916 - July 17, 2009
Cause of Death: Dementia
Mount Moriah Cemetery
Kansas City, Missouri
Finding the grave: I flew to Missouri in February, which arguably, is not the smartest time of the year to visit the Midwest. A snowstorm the day I arrived buried all of the graves, making it next to impossible for me to find Cronkite's final resting place. After two days of melting, my patience was finally rewarded.
Trivia: Mount Moriah is also the final resting place of candy mogul Russell Stover.
January 12, 1935 - December 10, 2024
Cause of Death: Dementia
Gate of Heaven Cemetery
East Hanover, New Jersey
Finding the grave: This one had been on my radar for a few months after watching Jordan the Lion's video. I met Kreskin ten years earlier at the Chiller Theatre Convention in nearby Parsiappny. Fun, goofy guy. His headstone even declares he can still read your mind.
Trivia: Gate of Heaven is also the final resting place of right-to-die figure Karen Ann Quinlan and her father Joseph.
May 8, 1884 - December 26, 1972
February 13, 1885 - October 18, 1982
Cause of Death: Heart failure (both)
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
Independence, Missouri
Finding the grave: As with most presidential libraries, this one is well worth the visit. This blogger highly recommends the guided tour for a complete history of Truman's life and his presidency. Don't forget to check out his car collection downstairs.
Trivia: Daughter Margaret and her husband Elbert are also buried on the grounds.
January 12, 1884 - November 5, 1993
Cause of death: Ulcerative colitis
Calvary Cemetery
Woodside, New York
Finding the grave: Guinan was a well-known speakeasy proprietor during Prohibition. Decades later, the producers of Star Trek would christen a new character in her honor. Like her namesake, Guinan, played by Whoopi Goldberg, tended bar on the Starship Enterprise.
Trivia: Calvary Cemetery was used for the funeral scene in the 1972 classic The Godfather.
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini
July 15, 1850 - December 22, 1917
Cause of death: Malaria
Saint Frances Cabrini Shrine Chapel
Manhattan, New York
Finding the grave: This one is unique in that I discovered it on Roadside America, a site that profiles tourist attractions throughout the United States. Perhaps it is profiled there as Cabrini's mummified body is on full display, except for the head and hands, which are artificial replacements.
Here's to more graves and adventures in 2026! A complete list of 2025 appears below.
Allen DuMont, the Amazing Kreskin, Anne Rice, Antonin Scalia, Augustine Washington, Barry Winchell, Benjamin Moore, Bess Truman, Bob Dole, Boxcar Willie, Christophe Duminy de Glapion, Clarence Bassett, Clint Hill, Conchata Ferrell, Corinne Lawton Melchers, Denise Borino-Quinn, Dolley Madison, Dom DeLuise, Donna Douglas, E. Clifton Daniel, Jr., Elizabeth Monroe, Elizabeth Monroe Hay, Ellen Glasgow, Florence Bernardin Rees, Freda Sorce, Gari Melchers, George Pickett, George Washington, Gerald Balliles, Harry Truman, Henry David Thoreau, Homer Plessy, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, James Branch Cabell, James Madison, Jesse James, Jim Garrison, John F. Kennedy, John Kluge, Joseph Quinlan, Karen Ann Quinlan, Louis Zorich, Louisa May Alcott, Margaret Truman Daniel, Marie Laveau, Marion Dupont Scott, Martha Washington, Mary Ball Washington, Mary Louise "Texas" Guinan, Michael Sorce (still alive), Mildred Loving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Nicolas Cage (still alive), Oliver Wendell Holmes, Olympia Dukakis, Paul Morphy, Percy Sledge, Powhatan, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Randy Renfrow, Richard Loving, Robert Bork, Robert Williams Daniel, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Shirley Booth, Stonewall Jackson (both graves), Tony Sirico, Walter Cronkite, Warren G. Harding, Wernher Von Braun, William Wortham Pool (the Richmond Vampire), and Zerelda James.
Rest in peace.
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