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Westlawn Cemetery: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 41°57′28″N 87°49′38″W / 41.95778°N 87.82722°W / 41.95778; -87.82722[2]
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{{Short description|Jewish cemetery in Cook County, Illinois}}
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{{for|the cemetery in [[Canton, Ohio]]|West Lawn Cemetery}}
{{ infobox cemetery
{{ infobox cemetery
| name = Westlawn Cemetery
| name = Westlawn Cemetery
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| map_size =
| map_size =
| map_caption =
| map_caption =
| established =
| established = {{start date|1937}}<ref name="about"/>
| country = [[United States]]
| country = [[United States]]
| location = [[Norridge]], [[Illinois]]
| location = [[Norridge]], [[Illinois]]
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| coordinates = {{coord|41|57|28|N|87|49|38|W|region:US-IL_type:landmark|notes=<ref>{{cite gnis|type=retired|id= 420965|name=Westlawn Jewish Cemetery}}</ref>|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates =
| latitude =
| longitude =
| type = Public
| type = Public
| style =[[Jewish cemetery]]
| style = [[Jewish cemetery]]
| owner =
| owner =
| size = {{convert|72|acre|ha}}
| size = {{convert|72|acre|ha}}
| graves =
| graves =
| interments = 49,000<ref name="about">{{cite web| title=About Us| url=http://westlawncemetery.org/about/| website=Westlawn Cemetery and Mausoleum| accessdate=2 April 2023}}</ref>
| interments = 46,000
| cremations =
| cremations =
| leases =
| leases =
| website =
| website = {{Official|http://westlawncemetery.org/}}
| findagrave =
| findagraveid = 108820
| political =
| political =
}}
}}
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'''Westlawn Cemetery''' is a [[Jewish cemetery]] located in [[Norridge]], a suburb of Chicago in [[Illinois]]. The cemetery covers {{convert|72|acre|ha}} and roughly 46,000 people are buried there.
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{{for|the cemetery in [[Canton, Ohio]]|West Lawn Cemetery}}
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'''Westlawn Cemetery''' is a [[Jewish]] [[cemetery]] located in [[Norridge]], [[Illinois]]. The cemetery covers {{convert|72|acre|ha}} and roughly 46,000 people are buried there.


==Notable interments==
==Notable interments==
* [[Leonard S. Chess]], record company executive<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&q=chess| title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons| edition=3rd| first1=Scott| last1= Wilson| first2=Gregory W.| last2=Mank| date=August 19, 2016| publisher=McFarland & Co.| isbn=978-0-7864-7992-4| page=133, #2289}}</ref>

* [[Virginia Lee Corbin]], actress
*[[Jack Ruby]], convicted of the murder of [[Lee Harvey Oswald]]
* [[Sandy Dvore]], artist
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*[[Abe Saperstein]], creator of the Savoy Big Five, precursor of the [[Harlem Globetrotters]]
* [[Mike Nussbaum]], actor
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*[[Shel Silverstein]], poet, author, satirist, and cartoonist
* [[Susan Nussbaum]], actress and playwright
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*[[Gene Siskel]], film critic
* [[Richard Elrod]], jurist, sheriff, and legislator
* [[Jack Ruby]], convicted of the murder of [[Lee Harvey Oswald]], who at the time was under arrest for the assassination of US President [[John F. Kennedy]]<ref>Wilson and Mank at #11021</ref><br>(His conviction was later reversed. He died awaiting a new trial, still ''legally'' presumed innocent.)<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/01/us/phil-burleson-61-jack-ruby-s-lawyer.html| title=Phil Burleson, 61, Jack Ruby's Lawyer| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=June 1, 1995| access-date=April 2, 2023| url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.history.co.uk/this-day-in-history/November-22| title=This Day In History: November 22| website=[[History (European TV channel)|Sky History]]}}{{dead link|date=April 2023}}</ref>
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* [[Abe Saperstein]], creator of the Savoy Big Five, precursor of the [[Harlem Globetrotters]]<ref>Wilson and Mank at #11201</ref>
* [[Harry Sawyer (mobster)|Harry Sawyer]], [[Jewish-American organized crime]] boss based in the [[Twin Cities]], co-conspirator and protector of the [[Dillinger Gang|Dillinger]] and [[Barker-Karpis Gang]]s.<ref>{{cite book| first=Paul| last=Maccabee| year=1995| title=John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crook's Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul, 1920-1936| url=https://archive.org/details/johndillingersle0000macc/page/284/mode/2up?q=sawyer| publisher=[[Minnesota Historical Society]] Press| pages=284–285| isbn=978-0-8735-1316-6| access-date=April 2, 2023}} </ref>
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* [[Shel Silverstein]], poet, author, satirist, and cartoonist<ref>Wilson and Mank at #11695</ref>
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* [[Gene Siskel]], film critic<ref>Wilson and Mank at #11741</ref>


==Vandalism==
==Vandalism==
Westlawn was the site of gravestone desecration in January 2008. At least 57 tombstones were defaced with anti-Semitic slogans. Using white and blue spray paint, the vandal drew [[swastika]]s and slurs on tombstones in a western section of the cemetery.
Westlawn was the site of gravestone desecration in January 2008. At least 57 tombstones were defaced with [[anti-Semitic]] slogans. Using white and blue spray paint, the vandal drew [[swastika]]s and slurs on tombstones in a western section of the cemetery.

A 21 year old Polish immigrant male was charged with the crime in February 2008. If convicted of institutional vandalism, the alleged perpetrator faces up to 7 years in prison. He has been directly linked by police to a [[neo-Nazi]] organization in the [[Chicago]] area.{{citation needed}}
A 21-year-old [[Polish American|Polish]] immigrant male was charged with the crime in February 2008. He has been directly linked by police to a [[neo-Nazi]] organization in the [[Chicago]] area and he was a member of the [[National Socialist Movement (United States)|National Socialist Movement]]. He was convicted on two charges of [[felony vandalism]] and sentenced to 7 years in prison, the maximum sentence.<ref>{{cite news| date=2010-12-03| title=Neo-Nazi Convicted Of Vandalizing Jewish Cemetery| url=https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2010/12/03/neo-nazi-convicted-of-vandalizing-jewish-cemetery/| work=[[WBBM-TV|CBS Chicago]] News| access-date=2020-11-24| language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Neo-Nazi Mariusz Wdziekonski Gets Maximum Sentence For Defiling Jewish Graves| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/17/neonazi-mariusz-wdziekons_1_n_798472.html| accessdate=25 February 2014| newspaper=[[HuffPost]]| date=17 December 2010}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
* {{official website|http://westlawncemetery.org/}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.westlawnjewishfunerals.com/|title=Westlawn Jewish Funerals|accessdate=2009-10-09}}
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* [https://maps.google.com/maps?q=41+57+28N+87+49+38W&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=16&iwloc=addr Google Maps view of the cemetery]
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* {{coord|41|57|28.80|N|87|49|36.12|W|region:US-IL_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
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* [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=41+57+28N+87+49+38W&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=16&iwloc=addr Google Maps view of the cemetery]


[[Category:Cemeteries in Chicago, Illinois]]
[[Category:1937 establishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in Chicago, Illinois]]
[[Category:Cemeteries established in the 1930s]]
[[Category:Cemeteries in Chicago]]
[[Category:Cemetery vandalism and desecration]]
[[Category:Jewish cemeteries in Illinois]]
[[Category:Jewish cemeteries in Illinois]]
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in Chicago]]

{{Chicago-stub}}

Latest revision as of 22:46, 1 December 2024

For the cemetery in Canton, Ohio, see West Lawn Cemetery.
Westlawn Cemetery
Map
Details
Established1937 (1937)[1]
Location
Norridge, Illinois
CountryUnited States
Coordinates41°57′28″N 87°49′38″W / 41.95778°N 87.82722°W / 41.95778; -87.82722[2]
TypePublic
StyleJewish cemetery
Size72 acres (29 ha)
No. of interments49,000[1]
WebsiteOfficial website
Find a GraveWestlawn Cemetery

Westlawn Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery located in Norridge, a suburb of Chicago in Illinois. The cemetery covers 72 acres (29 ha) and roughly 46,000 people are buried there.

Notable interments

[edit]

Vandalism

[edit]

Westlawn was the site of gravestone desecration in January 2008. At least 57 tombstones were defaced with anti-Semitic slogans. Using white and blue spray paint, the vandal drew swastikas and slurs on tombstones in a western section of the cemetery.

A 21-year-old Polish immigrant male was charged with the crime in February 2008. He has been directly linked by police to a neo-Nazi organization in the Chicago area and he was a member of the National Socialist Movement. He was convicted on two charges of felony vandalism and sentenced to 7 years in prison, the maximum sentence.[11][12]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "About Us". Westlawn Cemetery and Mausoleum. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Westlawn Jewish Cemetery". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  3. ^ Wilson, Scott; Mank, Gregory W. (August 19, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons (3rd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 133, #2289. ISBN 978-0-7864-7992-4.
  4. ^ Wilson and Mank at #11021
  5. ^ "Phil Burleson, 61, Jack Ruby's Lawyer". The New York Times. June 1, 1995. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  6. ^ "This Day In History: November 22". Sky History.[dead link‍]
  7. ^ Wilson and Mank at #11201
  8. ^ Maccabee, Paul (1995). John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crook's Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul, 1920-1936. Minnesota Historical Society Press. pp. 284–285. ISBN 978-0-8735-1316-6. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  9. ^ Wilson and Mank at #11695
  10. ^ Wilson and Mank at #11741
  11. ^ "Neo-Nazi Convicted Of Vandalizing Jewish Cemetery". CBS Chicago News. 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  12. ^ "Neo-Nazi Mariusz Wdziekonski Gets Maximum Sentence For Defiling Jewish Graves". HuffPost. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
[edit]
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