Creeping It Real | Famous Graves
Los Gatos Memorial Park
2255 Los Gatos Almaden Rd, San Jose
Bill Hewlett (1913-2001): William Hewlett, one-half of the duo behind Hewlett-Packard Co. was born in the Midwest, but met his future business partner at Stanford University and died in Palo Alto.
Fremont Older (1856-1935): The storied newspaperman and editor, prodding at the biggest controversies and names in San Francisco, a habit that led to his kidnapping in 1907.
Gate Of Heaven Catholic Cemetery
22555 Cristo Rey Dr, Los Altos
Iris Chang (1968-2004): Iris Chang’s best-selling 1997 book about the Nanking Massacre called The Rape of Nanking was the first time many had heard of the violent massacre, and it made a mark on history.
Oak Hill Memorial Park
300 Curtner Ave, San Jose
“Hal” Chase (1883-1947): Harold Homer Chase, a Los Gatos native became one of the most notorious baseball players, logging time with the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants. But his alleged bettingon his own gamesultimately pushed him out of the sport.
Brooke Hart (1911-1933): Hart was the heir to the L. Hart & Sons department store, among the best-known businesses in San Jose, but shortly after graduating from Santa Clara University was kidnapped and murdered. His killers were pulled out of jail and lynched at Saint James Park, one of the last lynchings in the state.
Paul Masson (1859-1940): Paul Masson was born in France, but made his legacy in the Santa Clara Valley, where he founded what is now The Mountain Winery in Saratoga and earned the nickname “Champagne King of California.”
Charlie McKiernan (1825-1892): Mountain Charlie, one of the early settlers in the Santa Cruz Mountains, was known for his silver-plated skull and scars from a bear attack. He was “the idol of every small boy in the mountains,” according to his biography.
Madronia Cemetery
14766 Oak St, Saratoga
Frank Dorsa (1907-1996): The father of the frozen Eggo waffle started with mayonnaise, then waffle mixes, and a long list of foods with his siblings. The family sold off the snack empire in 1996 to a company later bought by Kellogg.
Mark Bingham (1970-2001): The Los Gatos native was a budding business owner when he and other passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 stormed the cockpit on Sept. 11, after the plane was hijacked by terrorists. The plane crashed short of its suspected target in Washington D.C.
Thomas Kinkade (1958-2012): The “Painter of Light,” (a name Kinkade trademarked) made his name making dreamy paintings of landscapes, many of his paintings are set in his hometown of Placerville.
Alta Mesa Memorial Park
695 Arastradero Rd, Palo Alto
Ernie Ford (1919-1991): “Tennessee Ernie” is most known for his country music, but he was an entertainer through and through. He was also a noted gospel singer and successful radio announcer.
Frank Bacon (1864-1922): Frank Bacon spent time as a farm hand, photographer and newspaperman, but rose to fame as an actor and playwright who performed with his family around California.
David Packard (1912-1996): David Packard, the other half of Hewlett-Packard Co., also served as Nixon’s U.S Deputy Secretary of Defense and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1988. Packard and his wife started the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Fred Terman (1900-1982): Fred Terman, often called the “Father of Silicon Valley,” because he designed a program focused on electronics research and taught some of the region’s earliest and most notable names at Stanford University, including Hewlett and Packard.
Ron McKernan (1945-1973): McKernan, best known as “Pigpen,” was a founding member of the Grateful Dead, and its frontman until he left the group in 1972 due to liver failure. Steve Jobs (1955-2011): The Apple Inc. co-founder led the fledgling personal computer business to the prolific hardware company behind the sleek and pricey iPhone, propelling the company to one of the richest in the world.
Shirley Temple (1928-2014): Shirley Temple wasn’t just a curly-haired child actress and icon, she went on to become the U.S. ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia as an adult and also served as the Chief of Protocol for the United States.
Santa Clara Mission Cemetery
490 Lincoln St, Santa Clara
Peter Burnett (1807-1895): The first elected governor of California served from 1849 to 1851 during the Mexican-American War.
Tiburcio Vasquez (1835-1875): A famed bandito, Vásquez formed his own gang and preferred California under Mexican rule. He was part of raids, but insisted he never killed anyone. That didn’t halt his murder conviction by a San Jose jury.
Gavilan Hills Memorial Park
1000 First St, Gilroy
Pleasant Tully (1829-1897): Pleasant Britton Tully, a California lawyer and U.S. Congressman was part of California’s Second Constitutional Convention, which amended the state’s constitution, nearly doubling its size.
Stanford Mausoleum
Stanford University
The Mausoleum, where Stanford University’s namesake, Leland Stanford Jr., and parents Leland and Jane Stanford, are entombed. The structure is opened to the public annually for the school’s Founders’ day celebration.
Read about more famous graves online at bit.ly/famousgraves
