11 famous figures who are buried in Michigan
From musical prodigies to civic leaders, here are 11 famous figures who are buried in Michigan.
Michigan is a wonderful place to live, but it’s also where some people have chosen as their final resting spot in the afterlife. The Detroit Free Press names 31 famous figures who are buried in Michigan, along with information on how to visit their graves (if you’re so inclined). We conducted further research to learn more about the famous people buried here.
From musical movers to political leaders, Michigan is full of people making an impact, both in life and from the beyond. Here is a closer look at 11 famous figures who are all buried in Michigan. (And if you’re wondering and morbidly curious, the answer is yes, you can visit most of these gravesites!)
1. Aretha Franklin
Buried in: Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit, MI
The Queen of Soul herself is aptly spending her eternal repose in the Motown State. The Queen of Soul—who was also a self-taught pianist—passed away in 2018 and is buried in the Detroit cemetery’s main mausoleum near her family’s crypt.
Franklin was the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and is well-known for many songs, but perhaps most notably her 1967 hit, “Respect,” which became a global phenomenon and a feminist anthem. Through her lifetime, Franklin won 18 Grammys, had 112 singles on the Billboard charts, sold over 75 million records worldwide, and started her own label, Aretha’s Records.
The award-winning musician and singer moved to Michigan as a child with her family, spent her early formative years singing for her father’s Baptist church choir, and owned many properties here throughout her adult life, including a mansion in Detroit.
2. Rosa Parks
Buried in: Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit, MI
Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit is home to many famous figures buried in Michigan, and the city considers it an honor to hold the body of The Mother of the Civil Rights movement herself, Rosa Parks.
Nearly every school child in the U.S. knows the story of Rosa Parks, who bravely refused to move to give her seat to a white person—which was the law at the time—after her long shift as a seamstress. Her actions resulted in the Bus Boycott of 1955 by 17,000 black citizens, leading to (finally) bus desegregation in the country.
But what not everyone knows is that Rosa Parks spent her final years alive in none other than Michigan—Detroit, to be exact. After losing her job as a seamstress, she moved to Detroit right after her arrest to be near her brother, and that’s where she remained until she died in her Detroit home in 2005. Also, let’s take a minute to let that sink in: Rosa Parks was alive until 2005. Segregation is not so ancient.
After her death, Rosa Parks was the first woman and second African-American to lie in state, mourned by the public in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in 2005 before being interred at Woodlawn Cemetery’s chapel, which was renamed in her honor as the Rosa L. Parks Freedom Chapel.
3. Sojourner Truth
Buried in: Oak Hill Cemetery, Battle Creek, MI
It almost seems impossible that our little state of Michigan could host not just one integral and powerful force in the civil rights movement, but also two. Not only is Michigan the eternal resting spot for Rosa Parks, but it’s also home to none other than American abolitionist Sojourner Truth.
The famed human rights activist escaped slavery with her infant daughter in 1826 and was the first Black woman to win a lawsuit against a slave owner, allowing her to recover her son in 1848. Truth also urged men to join the Union during the Civil War and organized supplies for Black troops. She moved to Harmonia, Mich., near Battle Creek, at the invitation of her friends, who identified as Quakers, and remained there the rest of her life. She was treated by Dr. Henry Kellogg near the end of her life, but passed away in 1883.
4. Betty Ford
Buried in: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
Former First Lady Elizabeth Anne “Betty” Ford is buried alongside her husband, Gerald R. Ford, in the Presidential Museum dedicated to his life and career in Grand Rapids, Mich. Betty was raised in Grand Rapids and moved to Washington, D.C. after marrying Gerald. She became an unexpected First Lady following the Nixon scandal in office, but quickly became one of the most prolific and beloved First Ladies.
She openly shared both her triumphs and her struggles, including her journey with breast cancer and addiction. After her own recovery, Ford co-founded the non-profit Betty Ford Center at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California. Her non-profit raises funds to help research and design treatments for chemical dependence. Today, the Betty Ford Center is considered one of the most outstanding treatment facilities in the world.
5. W. K. Kellogg
Buried in: Oak Hill Cemetery, Battle Creek, MI
Every Michigander knows the name “Kellogg,” so it isn’t surprising that Will Keith (W.K.) Kellogg was laid to rest in Michigan. The founder of the Kellogg Company—maker of popular cereals like Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Fruit Loops, and now snacks like Pringles and Cheez-It—is also buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek.
The story of the Kellogg brothers and how they got their start in cereal is an interesting one. W.K. originally worked at the Battle Creek Sanitarium with his brother, Dr. Harvey Kellogg, where the duo first developed flaked cereal. A patient of the sanatorium allegedly observed their process and went on to use it to form Post Cereals. As a result, W.K. decided to found his own cereal company, originally known as the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, which eventually became Kellogg’s. W.K. spent the last 14 years of his life blind due to glaucoma, but was fully involved in business and philanthropic affairs until his death at the age of 91. He is buried alongside his brother.
6. C.W. Post
Buried in: Oak Hill Cemetery, Battle Creek, MI
Speaking of cereal, former Battle Creek Sanitarium patient and founder of Post Cereals, C.W. Post, is also buried in the same cemetery as his fellow cereal businessmen. The former farm implement worker suffered from two nervous breakdowns in his working life, which led him on a quest for better health. He was particularly said to be interested in the science of digestion and how it affected mental health, which is what led him to the Sanitarium and his interest in the whole-grain cereal movement.
His first cereal product was Grape-Nuts, and at the time, his company was known as Postum Cereal. Post came down with a stomach ailment in 1913 and, after an unsuccessful recovery, took his own life in 1914. In 1915, the C.W. Post Mausoleum in Oak Hill Cemetery was built for $100,000. Post’s final resting place is made of Victoriw White granite from the Keene, New Hampshire quarry. Although the mausoleum has two marble vaults, they are empty, and Post is buried nine feet below.
7. Henry Ford
Buried in: Ford Cemetery, Detroit, MI
American innovator and creator of the assembly line in the Ford Factory, Henry Ford, was known for his revolution of the auto industry and his business prowess. He was also a well-known and public racist, anti-Semitic figure, and supporter of the Ku Klux Klan. Later in life, Ford released statements denouncing some of his former harmful remarks and actions and established the Ford Foundation.
He is buried on the grounds of St. Martha’s Commons, a plot purchased by his great-grandfather, George Ford.
8. Dodge Brothers
Buried in: Detroit’s Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit, MI
Another well-known name in the automobile space, the Dodge Brothers Company was founded in 1900 by brothers Horace and John Dodge with an initial focus on bicycle wheels. The company then pivoted to supplying engines, transmissions, and axles before partnering with Ford Motor Co. in 1903. The brothers released their own car in 1914 and by the following years, were ranked as America’s third-best-selling automaker.
The brothers were born and raised in Niles, Mich., where they remained their entire lives. Both brothers passed away in 1920 from influenza.
9. Rose “Rosie Gaspipe” Gacioch
Buried in: Mount Olivet Cemetery, Detroit, MI
The inspiration for Rosie O’Donnell’s character in the 1992 feature film “A League of Their Own,” Rose Gacioch was a three-time all-star baseball player. While working in a factory during WW II, she tried out for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, organized by P.K. Wrigley of the Chicago Cubs. The professional league was organized because so many men were away at war, and showcased the talent and abilities of women in a way never seen before.
Rosie, of course, made the team and went on to become one of the best players, both as a right fielder and pitcher, for the Rockford Peaches. The league would go on to enjoy a long run of 11 seasons, largely due to her talent. In her final season, she recorded a total of 13 home runs. As a pitcher, she won 94 out of 174 games, and her skill with overhand pitching led the league to change its rule to allow overhand pitching for women.
Rose worked in a Detroit Chrysler factory in the off-season and retired to Sterling Heights, Michigan. She died in Clinton, Michigan, and is buried in Detroit.
10. Edward George Farhat AKA “The Sheik”
Buried in: Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Williamston, MI
Considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Edward George Farhat, also known as “The Sheik” in the ring, is considered the forefather of today’s hardcore wrestling. Born the 10th of 11 children to Lebanese immigrants in East Lansing, Mich., Farhat served in WWII before introducing himself to the world as a wrestling figure.
He learned wrestling while deployed and was discovered by local wrestling promoters while working out once he returned after the war. He started wrestling at the local circuit, but his fame grew when he introduced his character, “The Arabian Sheik,” in 1949. Farhat used a variety of entertainment and wrestling techniques to create and maintain his character, including biting his opponents, pretending not to speak English outside of the ring, and using a “ball of fire” in the ring, all of which contributed to a successful 49-year career as a professional wrestler.
Farhat operated his own wrestling promoter arm in Detroit, Big Time Wrestling, which booked shows at Cabo Hall, and held a variety of World Wrestling Federation Titles before retiring in 1998. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007. He died in 2003 and was buried in Michigan alongside his wife, Joyce, who participated in the drama of the ring and acted as his “translator” when he appeared in public. (In real life, of course, Farhart did speak English, was a Michigan native, and actually a practicing Catholic.)
11. James Jamerson
Buried in: Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit, MI
Motown legend James Jamerson is widely considered the greatest bass player to ever live. He was uncredited during much of his time as a bassist with the Funk Brothers, the backing band for Motown Records, but it was his bass lines that shaped the band’s signature sounds. He is often called the “Father of Modern Day Bass.”
His music career began in earnest after he moved to Detroit, where he had moved with his mother after a childhood bike accident left him briefly wheelchair-bound. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Jamerson spent 15 years with the Funk Brothers in Detroit before he moved to LA. Although he died in LA from complications of alcoholism, he was laid to rest in Detroit, where his grave remains one of the most well-visited in the cemetery.
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