Famous people's places / Detroit
Woodlawn Cemetery
A grand Woodward Avenue cemetery opened in 1896, home to the mausoleums of Aretha Franklin, Rosa Parks, Edsel Ford and rapper Proof.
01 / The story of this place
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Woodlawn Cemetery was incorporated in 1895 and opened along Woodward Avenue the following year, when the site was still outside Detroit's city limits; its sweeping lawn-park design, laid out by horticulturalist Frank Eurich and engineer Mason L. Brown, made it one of the era's most fashionable burial grounds and home to one of the country's largest collections of private mausoleums. Edsel Ford, the only son of Henry Ford and president of the Ford Motor Company, was buried in the Ford family mausoleum here after his death in 1943. Civil rights icon Rosa Parks was entombed in the cemetery's chapel mausoleum, renamed the Rosa L. Parks Freedom Chapel in her honor, after her death in 2005. Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, was laid to rest in Woodlawn's main mausoleum in 2018 near her father, Rev. C.L. Franklin, and her sisters. Rapper Proof, Eminem's close friend and hype man in D12, was entombed in the Rosa L. Parks Freedom Chapel mausoleum after his 2006 death. Woodlawn remains an active, well-visited cemetery today.
- Incorporated in 1895, opened in 1896 along Woodward Avenue.
- One of the country's largest collections of private mausoleums.
- Edsel Ford was buried in the Ford family mausoleum in 1943.
- Rosa Parks rests in the chapel renamed in her honor in 2005.
- Aretha Franklin was entombed here in 2018, and rapper Proof in 2006.
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 42
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- Rosa Parks 1913–2005 · civil rights activist
Buried here
She was entombed in the cemetery's mausoleum chapel, renamed in her honor, next to her husband Raymond and her mother.
- Aretha Franklin 1942–2018 · singer, songwriter, pianist
Buried here
She is entombed in the cemetery's main mausoleum, near her father and sisters; Rosa Parks also rests here.
- Proof 1973–2006 · rapper
Buried here
He is entombed in the cemetery's Rosa L. Parks Freedom Chapel mausoleum.
- Edsel Ford 1893–1943 · president of Ford Motor Company, art patron
Buried here
Edsel Ford's grave is in this historic cemetery on Woodward Avenue.
- James Jamerson 1936–1983 · bassist (Funk Brothers session musician)
Buried here
Historic cemetery on Woodward Avenue where he was buried after his death in Los Angeles.
- David Ruffin 1941–1991 · singer
Buried here
Detroit's historic cemetery on Woodward Avenue; he is buried in section three.
- Barrett Strong 1941–2023 · singer, songwriter
Buried here
Historic Woodward Avenue cemetery where he was buried in 2023.
- Levi Stubbs 1936–2008 · singer, voice actor
Buried here
Detroit's historic Woodward Avenue cemetery, where he is interred.
- Julanne Johnston 1900–1988 · silent film actress, dancer
Buried here
Johnston is buried in this historic Woodward Avenue cemetery, resting place of many Detroit notables.
- Erma Franklin 1938–2002 · singer
Buried here
Her grave, near other Franklin family members.
- James Couzens 1872–1936 · Ford Motor Company co-founder and business manager, mayor of Detroit, U.S. senator
Buried here
He is buried in this Woodward Avenue cemetery, resting place of many Detroit auto pioneers.
- Barbara Randolph 1942–2002 · singer, actress
Buried here
Her grave (per Wikidata).
- Bobby Rogers 1940–2013 · singer, songwriter
Buried here
His grave (per Wikidata).
- Roy D. Chapin 1880–1936 · co-founder and president of Hudson Motor Car Company, U.S. Secretary of Commerce
Buried here
He is buried in this Woodward Avenue cemetery, as is J. L. Hudson.
- William Clay Ford Sr. 1925–2014 · owner of the Detroit Lions, Ford Motor Company executive
Buried here
He is buried here near his parents, Edsel and Eleanor, and his brother Benson.
- Carolyn Franklin 1944–1988 · singer, songwriter
Buried here
Her grave, with other members of the Franklin family.
- Elijah E. Myers 1832–1909 · architect
Buried here
His burial place.
- Renaldo "Obie" Benson 1936–2005 · bass singer, songwriter
Buried here
His grave.
- Edgar Guest 1881–1959 · poet, newspaper columnist, radio and TV host
Buried here
The Woodward Avenue cemetery where he was buried in 1959.
- C. L. Franklin 1915–1984 · Baptist minister, recorded preacher, civil rights leader
Buried here
Historic cemetery on North Woodward where he was entombed in 1984; Aretha Franklin was later laid to rest here too.
- Uriel Jones 1934–2009 · drummer
Buried here
His grave (per Wikidata).
- Ronnie White 1938–1995 · singer, songwriter
Buried here
His grave (per Wikidata).
- Alexander J. Groesbeck 1873–1953 · lawyer, attorney general, governor of Michigan
Buried here
He is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit.
- Billy Henderson 1939–2007 · singer, dancer
Buried here
His grave.
- Marv Johnson 1938–1993 · singer, songwriter, pianist
Buried here
His grave; the headstone reads "Motown Pioneer".
- Hazen S. Pingree 1840–1901 · shoe manufacturer, mayor of Detroit, governor of Michigan
Buried here
First buried at Elmwood Cemetery, he was later reinterred at Woodlawn.
- Richard Storrs Willis 1819–1900 · hymn composer, music critic, editor
Buried here
Willis is buried in this Woodward Avenue cemetery, resting place of many prominent Detroiters.
- Matilda Dodge Wilson 1883–1967 · heiress, philanthropist, Lieutenant Governor of Michigan, co-founder of Oakland University
Buried here
The pale granite Art Deco mausoleum the Wilsons built in 1939.
- Clara Arthur 1858–1929 · suffragist, playground and public health reformer
Buried here
Historic North Woodward cemetery where she was buried in 1929.
- Albert Cobo 1893–1957 · businessman, city treasurer, mayor of Detroit
Buried here
He is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery.
- Earl Van Dyke 1930–1992 · keyboardist, bandleader
Buried here
His grave (per Wikidata).
- Lawrence Payton 1938–1997 · tenor, vocal arranger
Buried here
His grave.
- Bobby Smith 1936–2013 · singer
Buried here
His grave (per Wikidata).
- George W. Trendle 1884–1972 · radio and TV producer, broadcaster, theater owner, lawyer
Buried here
His burial place, according to Wikidata.
- Wade H. McCree 1920–1987 · judge, U.S. solicitor general, law professor
Buried here
He is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery.
- Henry Fambrough 1938–2024 · singer
Buried here
His grave (per Wikidata).
- Johnnie Mae Matthews 1922–2002 · singer, songwriter, producer, label owner
Buried here
Her grave (per Wikidata).
- Eleanor Clay Ford 1896–1976 · philanthropist, art patron, Ford Motor Company shareholder
Buried here
The family plot where Edsel is buried; her burial here is assumed from family records and should be verified.
- J. L. Hudson 1846–1912 · merchant, founder of the J. L. Hudson department store
Buried here
His body was brought back from Europe and buried here in July 1912.
- Pervis Jackson 1938–2008 · bass singer
Buried here
His grave.
- Prophet Jones 1907–1971 · pastor, televangelist and faith healer
Buried here
Historic North Woodward cemetery where he was buried in 1971.
- Richard "Popcorn" Wylie 1939–2008 · pianist, bandleader, songwriter, producer
Buried here
His grave (per Wikidata).
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Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
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