Find A Grave - Normandy

Akins, Virgil 'Honey Bear' b. March 10, 1928 d. January 22, 2011
Professional Boxer. He was the former World Welterweight Champion (1958). The St. Louis native began his professional career in 1948 initially as a lightweight, and earned his first title fight (a bout for the Massachusetts version of the World Welterweight Title) in 1957 against Tony DeMarco. Akins would defeat DeMarco with a 14th-round knockout and scored a 12th-round technical knockout in their rematch three months later. In June 1958 Akins fought Vince Martinez for the World Welterweight...[Read More] (Bio by: C.S.)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Bell, James Thomas 'Cool Papa' b. May 17, 1903 d. March 7, 1991
Hall of Fame Baseball Player. Nicknamed "Cool Papa" for his composure and grace under pressure, he played and coached professional baseball for 29 years. Of his early life, little is known, however, he began playing baseball for the St. Louis Stars, in the Negro League in 1922 as a left-handed pitcher. But he found his talent worked wonders in center field, and was quickly moved to that position. As a center fielder, he was known for his blazing speed, once being timed at running from home...[Read More] (Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Breitenstein, Theodore 'Ted' b. July 1, 1869 d. May 3, 1935
Major League Baseball Player. Played Major League baseball as a pitcher for eleven seasons (1891 to 1901) for the St. Louis Brown Stockings (Cardinals) fo the American Association and National League, and the Cincinnati Reds. As a young man he worked for the Wrought Iron Range Company making cookstoves in St. Louis, and continuted to work there during his baseball career. By 1895 he was considered to be the finest lefthander in baseball. Three times he won over 290 games, topping with 27 in...[Read More] (Bio by: Connie Nisinger)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Plot: Section 2, Lot 124
Britt, Allen d. October 19, 1899
American Folk Figure. He was fatally shot by Miss Frankie Baker, a regular in the "red light" district of the city, on Targee Street in St. Louis, Missouri. This incident was written about in a song first called "Frankie & Albert" (for Al Britt), which was later changed to "Frankie & Johnny." A movie with the same name was made several years later. (Bio by: Connie Nisinger)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Plot: Grave is unmarked--in the current Baby Section [unmarked]
Gaines, Lloyd Lionel [memorial] b. 1912
Gaines, an African American, had been denied admission to the law school of the University of Missouri & he applied to state courts for an order to allow his admission on the grounds that refusal constituted a denial of his rights under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Missouri Supreme Courts upheld the university's decision to reject his application, but the U.S. Supreme Court reversed this decision & maintained that the state of Missouri was obligated to provide equal...[Read More] (Bio by: Connie Nisinger)
Cause of death: Death date unknown, but murder is suspected
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Plot: Section 29, Lot 217
Huntley, Thomas Elliott b. June 25, 1903 d. September 27, 1983
A graduate of Morehouse College & Virginia Union Theological Seminary, Huntley became pastor of Central Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri in 1942. He was responsible for "The Church on Wheels" program, which was designed to curtail juvenile delinquency & received international acclaim by religious leaders all over the world. Pastor Huntley led the first national Negro Ministers Prayer march on Washington, D.C. in 1948, which sparked the proclamation for the first Civil Rights Bill by...[Read More] (Bio by: Connie Nisinger)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Hyde, Cowan F. 'Bubba' d. November 20, 2003
Negro League Baseball Player. Bubba Hyde was a star outfielder in the Negro Leagues in a career that spanned four decades. Playing for more than a dozen teams in his career, he started off his with the Memphis Red Sox in 1927. An exceptionally fast player, he actually ran exhibition races against race horses running around a baseball diamond. Hyde had a shot at the majors with the Boston Braves in 1950, but he left spring training to be with his pregnant wife. Cut by the Braves, he spent the...[Read More] (Bio by: Frank Russo)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Lampton, James J. b. 1817 d. March 2, 1887
Lampton was the son of Mark Twain's granduncle. The character of Colonel Sellers in Mark Twain's The Gilded Age was based on Twain's cousin James Lampton. Originally interred at Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, MO (Block 71, Lot 1075), but was moved to St. Peter's Cemetery, St. Louis, MO in 1905. (Bio by: Connie Nisinger)
Cause of death: Heart complications
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Plot: Section 24A, Grave 75)
Lyons, William 'Willie' d. December 25, 1895
American Folk Figure. He was killed by a man named Lee Shelton on Christmas Eve in 1895 at a saloon on 11th and Morgan (now Delmar) in St. Louis. Lyons and Shelton were actually friends but something caused an argument between them, causing an altercation which then resulted in Shelton's shooting of Lyons. This incident became immortalized in the song "Stagger Lee." (Bio by: Connie Nisinger)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Plot: Section 5, Lot 289, unmarked [unmarked]
Pabst, Edward D. b. 1868 d. June 19, 1940
Major League Baseball Player. Ed Pabst's career lasted only 12 major league games, all of them in the American Association. The interesting thing about his career was that he was traded from the Philadelphia Athletics to the St. Louis Browns only 8 games after his September 26th 1890 debut. He accrued career totals of 12 hits and 3 RBI with a .308 batting average with 3 stolen bases. (Bio by: Frank Russo)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Packnett, Ronald B. b. 1951 d. 1996
Reverend Packnett was the pastor of Central Baptist Church. He was involved in the Urban League, Black Leadership Roundtable, the Dialogue Group of Civic Progress, the Monsanto YMCA, the Million Man March, St. Louis Schools Mentoring Program, the Success by Initiative of the United Way & the St. Louis Clergy Coalition. He was host of the radio program called "Lighthouse" on KATZ. (Bio by: Connie Nisinger)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Plot: Section 23, Block F, Lot 27, Grave #5
Peters, Francis H. 'Frank' b. 1838 d. 1924
Francis was co-founder of the Peter's Dry Goods & Clothing Store in St. Louis. His son was employed by Chaflin Allen Shoe Company, which was in financial trouble. Francis & a partner by the name of Miller bought the shoe company & renames it Peter's Shoe Company. The company was expanded many times & eventually merged with another shoe company & became International Shoe Company. Francis was one of the founders of the North Side YMCA & contributed a considerable amount of money to get the...[Read More] (Bio by: Connie Nisinger)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Plot: Section 8, Lot 461
Peters, Louis Berhard Elias b. February 2, 1855 d. 1940
Louis was co-founder of the Peter's Dry Goods & Clothing Store in St. Louis. They bought another shoe company & eventually became the International Shoe Company. Louis was a member of the St. Louis & Warne building committee & the St. Peter's Cemetery Board of Managers. (Bio by: Connie Nisinger)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Plot: Section 8, Lot 182, Grave 2
Phillips, Homer G. b. April 1, 1880 d. June 18, 1931
Attorney, Civic Leader. Homer Gilliam Phillips, a descendant of slaves, attended Howard Law School in Washington D.C. During this time, he boarded in the home of black poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar. In 1904, Phillips moved to St. Louis where he married and opened a law practice. Philips became active in local politics. Among his many accomplishments, Phillips helped organize the National Bar Association and later served as its third president. But Philips' greatest dream is said to be the...[Read More] (Bio by: Katie)
Cause of death: Murdered
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Pruitt, Wendell O. b. June 20, 1920 d. April 15, 1945
Captain, United States Army Air Force World War Two fighter pilot, member of the Tuskegee airman, was the youngest of ten children born to Elijah and Melanie Pruitt in St. Louis, Missouri attending local schools. After graduation from Sumner High School he enrolled in Lincoln University in Jefferson City, and was pledged to the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Subsequent to the attack on Pearl Harbor, he enrolled in pilot training class at Tuskegee Army Air Field graduating in class 42-K-SE on...[Read More] (Bio by: Connie Nisinger)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Plot: Section 29, Lot 192
Scott, Phillip Lee b. September 7, 1907 d. February 7, 1987
Episcopal Bishop. He founded the Lively Stone Church of God in 1934. His radio ministry program, "Voice in the Wilderness" was heard in Missouri and Kentucky. His ministry spanned over 53 years. He became Diocesan of the 12th Episcopal District of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World during that time. Warne Avenue in St. Louis (a location for two of his churches that were joined by a pedestrian crosswalk known at the "Chapel of the Sky") was renamed in his honor. (Bio by: Connie Nisinger)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Plot: Garden of St. Peter, Lot 8, Part B, Grave 3
Smith, Willie Mae b. June 6, 1904 d. February 2, 1994
"Mother" Willie Mae Ford Smith the seventh of fourteen children was a groundbreaking evangelist and gospel singer who stired up both congreagations and church leaders. She became director of the Soloists Bureau of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses in 1936. She was one of the first to sing in the blues-influenced gospel style developed by Thomas A. Dorsey in the 1920's and 1930's. Among her songs to her credit are "If You Just Keep Still". Willie Mae Ford Smith died in 1994...[Read More] (Bio by: Curtis Jackson)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Plot: Section: 28, Block: K, Lot: 38
Stark, John Stillwell b. April 11, 1841 d. October 21, 1927
Publisher. He met ragtime pianist Scott Joplin at the Maple Leaf Club in St. Louis and heard the rag named for the club. The number was printed and put on sale. He also published the rags of James Scott and Joseph Lamb as well as lesser-known ragtime composers until 1922. Lottie Joplin, the wife of Scott Joplin, renewed the copyright of her husband's Maple Leaf Rag and signed it over to him. The work "They All Played Ragtime," states "Ex-publisher John Stark, with his hand press on Laclede did...[Read More] (Bio by: Connie Nisinger)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Plot: Block C, Section 24, Lot 24, Grave 3
Steeples, Lemuel b. 1956 d. March 14, 1980
Steeples was the National Golden Gloves boxing champion in 1979 for the 139 pound weight class. That same year, he was also the Pan Am Champion in the 139 pound weight class (Sugar Ray Leonard won the same award in the same weight class in 1975.) As a member of the U.S. National Boxing team, Steeples was killed in a plane crash near Warsaw, Poland only a year later. (Bio by: Connie Nisinger)
Cause of death: Plane crash
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Plot: Bethany Division, Block L, Section 28
Swearer, Benjamin b. May 18, 1825 d. November 2, 1902
Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland and entered the Union Navy in Maryland. He attained the rank of Seaman. His citation reads "Embarked in a surfboat from the USS Pawnee during action against Fort Clark, off Baltimore Inlet, 29 August 1861. Taking part in a mission to land troops and to remain inshore and provide protection, Swearer rendered gallant service throughout the action and had the honor of being the first man to raise the flag on the...[Read More] (Bio by: Don Morfe)
Saint Peters Cemetery, Normandy, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Plot: Section 25, Block F, Lot 6, Grave 2

Records 1 to 20 (of 24 total matches)

Records 21 to 24