Westlawn Cemetery
For the cemetery in Canton, Ohio, see West Lawn Cemetery.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1937[1] |
| Location | Norridge, Illinois |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 41°57′28″N 87°49′38″W / 41.95778°N 87.82722°W[2]Coordinates: 41°57′28″N 87°49′38″W / 41.95778°N 87.82722°W[3] |
| Type | Public |
| Style | Jewish cemetery |
| Size | 72 acres (29 ha) |
| Number of interments | 49,000[1] |
| Website |
westlawncemetery |
Westlawn Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery located in Norridge, Illinois. The cemetery covers 72 acres (29 ha) and roughly 46,000 people are buried there.
Notable interments
- Jack Ruby, convicted of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald
- Abe Saperstein, creator of the Savoy Big Five, precursor of the Harlem Globetrotters
- Shel Silverstein, poet, author, satirist, and cartoonist
- Gene Siskel, film critic
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 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.[4] He was convicted and sentenced to 7 years in prison.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "About". westlawncemetery.org. Lakeshore Jewish Funerals, Inc. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ↑ "Westlawn Jewish Cemetery". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
- ↑ "Westlawn Jewish Cemetery". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
- ↑ "Neo-Nazi Convicted Of Vandalizing Jewish Cemetery"
- ↑ "Neo-Nazi Mariusz Wdziekonski Gets Maximum Sentence For Defiling Jewish Graves". Huffington Post. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2014.