Westlawn Cemetery
| Westlawn Cemetery | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1937[1] |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 41°57′28″N 87°49′38″W / 41.95778°N 87.82722°W[2] |
| Type | Public |
| Style | Jewish cemetery |
| Size | 72 acres (29 ha) |
| No. of interments | 49,000[1] |
| Website | westlawncemetery |
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
- 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
(His conviction was later reversed. He died awaiting a new trial, still legally presumed innocent.)[3][4] - 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.[5] He was convicted and sentenced to 7 years in prison.[6]
References
- ^ a b "About". westlawncemetery.org. Lakeshore Jewish Funerals, Inc. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ "Westlawn Jewish Cemetery". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ New York Times-June 1, 1995
- ^ www.history.co.uk-this-day-in-history/November-22
- ^ "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.
External links
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