27 famous people you might not have known were buried in Michigan

By Metro Times editorial staff on Fri, Oct 22, 2021 at 2:51 pm

From pint-sized comedy actors to female serial killers, suicide doctors, and the Queen of Soul, Michigan is the final resting place of many well-known American entertainers, business leaders, activists, and even a victim of the infamous Charles Manson cult.

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Jackie Wilson

Nicknamed “Mr. Excitement” for his enthusiasm during performances, Jackie Wilson was a talented soul, pop, and rhythm and blues singer. After his death in 1984, Wilson was buried in Westlawn Cemetery in Wayne.

Photo via Brunswick Records / Wikimedia Commons

Image: 27 famous people you might not have known were buried in Michigan

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Sojourner Truth

Born into slavery in Swartekill, New York in 1797, Truth escaped to freedom in the late 1820s. After meeting Frederick Douglass and William Lloyld Garrison in New York City, Truth became an outspoken abolitionist. After the Civil War, she continued to speak on issues including prison reform, women’s rights, and aid for former slaves. Following her death in 1883, she was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek.

Photo via National Portrait Gallery / Wikimedia Commons

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Ernie Harwell

He may be “loooong gone,” but Ernest “Ernie” Harwell, the legendary voice in the sports broadcasting world, lives on through Detroit baseball. Best known as the voice of the Detroit Tigers between 1960-1991, and again in 1993-2002, Harwell was raised in Atlanta and eventually served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He ended up announcing Major League games for teams like the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and the Baltimore Orioles. Harwell landed in Detroit and became a staple of Tigers baseball and has been honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. In 2009, he was celebrated as the first recipient of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association’s Ernie Harwell Lifetime Contribution Award. A year later, Harwell died at the age of 92 of cancer. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Farmington.

Photo via mwlguide / Wikimedia Commons

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Son House

A former preacher from Mississippi, at the age of 25 Edward James "Son" House Jr. converted to the blues, where his slide guitar playing caught the attention of Charley Patton. While House's recordings originally sold poorly, his career had a second wind thanks to the blues revival of the 1960s. He retired in 1974, and later moved to Detroit, where he died in 1988 at age 86. He is buried at the Mt. Hazel Cemetery, where members of the Detroit Blues Society raised money through benefit concerts to build a monument.

Photo Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

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Pervis Jackson

Motown greats the Spinners have kept spinning thanks to their rich and long-lasting music legacy. Pervis Jackson, an original member of the Domingos, and later, the Spinners, served as the group’s bass singer and performed hits like “I’ll Be Around,” “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love,” and “Might Love.” The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999, at which point they continued to tour. Jackson died of cancer in 2008 at the age of 70. He's buried at Detroit’s Woodlawn Cemetery.

Photo via Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
(Jackson is pictured far right)

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Verne Troyer

While he may have been a small guy — 2’8’’ to be exact — with a larger-than-life legacy, few know that Austin Powers’ scene-stealer Verne Troyer was a Michigan native. The actor had a genetic disorder known as achondroplasia dwarfism, which inspired his Hollywood career, starting in 1994 when he performed as a stunt double in the film Baby’s Day Out. After a series of film appearances, his breakout role in 1999’s Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me as Dr. Evil’s silent, but expressive, pint-sized clone, was also his seminal performance. He continued to appear on a variety of films and TV series, including VH1 reality show The Surreal Life. Troyer died from alchol poisoning in 2018 at the age of 49. He is buried in Leonidas Cemetery in St. Joseph County.

Photo via Rob DiCaterino / Wikimedia Commons

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Rosa Parks

Civil Rights activist Rosa Parks moved to Detroit in the late 1950s, following her role in the historic Montgomery bus boycott. She worked as a secretary and receptionist in the congressional office of U.S. Rep. John Conyers. Later, Parks was a board member of Planned Parenthood. Following her death in 2005, she was buried in Detroit’s Woodlawn Cemetery.

Photo via National Archives and Records Administration Records of the U.S. Information Agency Record Group / Wikimedia Commons

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Aileen Wournos

Born in Rochester, Aileen Wournos is remembered as one of the most notorious female serial killers of the 20th century. After a childhood of neglect and abuse, Wournos traveled between Florida and Michigan, committing petty crimes and assault. In 1991, she confessed to the murders of six men between 1989 and 1990. After her execution in Florida in 2002, her ashes were scattered under a tree in an undisclosed location in Michigan.

Photo via Photo via Florida Department of Corrections / Wikimedia Commons

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Dodge Brothers

John and Horace Dodge founded the Dodge Brothers Company in 1900. The company began as a supplier for Ford Motor Company, and later the brothers began producing automobiles under their own name. John (right) and Horace (left) both died in 1920 after contracting influenza and pneumonia in New York during the flu pandemic of 1918. They were buried in Detroit’s Woodlawn cemetery.

Photo of Horace Dodge via Jbarta / Wikimedia Commons
Photo of John Dodge via Jbarta / Wikimedia Commons

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Henry Ford

The industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company is one of Michigan’s most well-known residents. He was a proponent of the assembly line and is remembered for turning the automobile from a luxury indulgence into an affordable necessity. After his death in 1947, Ford was buried in the Ford Cemetery in Detroit.

Photo via 10 of 28

W.K. Kellogg

Will Keith Kellogg is best known as the founder of the Kellogg Company. Kellogg was also a Seventh Day Adventist, a vegetarian, and an Arabian horse breeder. Following his death in 1951 at age 91, Kellogg was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek.

Photo via Cal Poly Pomona University Special Collections & University Archives / Wikimedia Commons

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Jay Sebring

Jay Sebring was a celebrity hairstylist who was killed by the Manson family in 1969 alongside movie star Sharon Tate. Sebring was raised in Southfield and attended Detroit Catholic Central. Prior to his death, Sebring styled celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Jim Morrison. He was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield.

Photo via screengrab / YouTube

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Harry Blackstone Jr. and Sr.

Harry Blackstone Sr. (left) and his son (right) are remembered for their talent as magicians and illusionists. Henry Blackstone Sr., who was a World War II USO performer, regularly dressed in tails for his shows and was accompanied by a pit orchestra. His son, Harry Blackstone Jr., did live magic shows and also created special effects for artists including Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind, and Fire, and Jane’s Addiction. Both father and son are buried at Lakeside Cemetery in Colon.

Photo of Harry Blackstone Sr. via Billboard / Wikimedia Commons
Photo of Harry Blackstone Jr. via David Belenzon / Wikimedia Commons

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Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith

Famous as the guitarist for the Detroit rock band MC5, Fred "Sonic" Smith later married fellow musician Patti Smith and settled in St. Clair Shores. In 2003, he was named in Rolling Stone’s list of the top 100 guitarists of all time. After his death in 1994, Smith was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.

Photo via screengrab / YouTube

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Betty Ford

Former First Lady Betty Ford was a fervent advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment, abortion rights, substance abuse recovery, and breast cancer awareness. Along with her husband and former President Gerald Ford, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Following her death in 2011, Ford was buried at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids.

Photo via 15 of 28

Susie Garrett

An actress of theatre and television, jazz vocalist, and acting teacher, Susue Garrett is best known for playing Cherie's grandmother Betty Johnson on the NBC series Punky Brewster, as well as a guest appearance on The Twilight Zone. She died in 2002 in Southfield at the age of 72 and is interred at Woodlawn Cemetary.

Publicity photo

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Bo Schembechler

Bo Schembechler is remembered for his tenure as the University of Michigan’s head football coach from 1969-1989. He was later the president of the Detroit Tigers from 1990-1992. Following his death in 2006, Schembechler was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Ann Arbor.

Photo via screengrab / YouTube

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Rose Gacioch

Portrayed by Rosie O’Donnell in “A League of Their Own,” Rose Gacioch played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 to 1954. She became a press operator in Illinois and retired to Sterling Heights in 1978. After her death in 2004, she was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Detroit.

Photo via screengrab / YouTube

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George Gipp

Nicknamed “The Gipper,” George Gipp was a talented football player for Notre Dame University. He still holds a number of records at Notre Dame, including for average yards per rush for a season. In 1920, Gipp died at just 25 years old following a pneumonia infection. He is buried in Lake View Cemetery in Calumet in the Upper Peninsula.

Photo via Jwalte04 / Wikimedia Commons

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