Ferncliff Cemetery

Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is located on Secor Road in the hamlet of Hartsdale, town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, about 25 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. It was founded in 1902, and is non-sectarian. Ferncliff has three community mausoleums, a crematory, a small chapel, and a main office located in the rear of the main building.

Features

One of the most desirable and pleasant aspects of Ferncliff is the fact that the cemetery is located in a very quiet and serene residential neighborhood. Secor Road is an east-west thoroughfare of light residential traffic. There are no commercial buildings, malls, stores or commercial traffic in the neighborhood. This feature is very unusual for lower Westchester County, and Ferncliff Cemetery is located in the ideal place for people who desire quiet meditation when they visit the final resting places of their loved ones.

Ferncliff Cemetery is a non-profit, non-sectarian facility that is a very desirable final resting place for people from all walks of life.

Ferncliff has a very small chapel that can be setup for any kind of religious service. The chapel, main office, and cremation ovens are all located in the rear of the main building.

Mausoleums

Ferncliff Cemetery is world famous for its three community mausoleums.

Ferncliff

The Ferncliff Mausoleum, aka "The Cathedral of Memories," is the cemetery's oldest mausoleum and was constructed in 1928. It has classic architecture, but the corridors are dark without glass panes to admit natural light. Judy Garland, Ed Sullivan, and Joan Crawford are three of the most famous interments in the main mausoleum.

hrine of Memories

The Shrine of Memories is Ferncliff's second mausoleum and was constructed in 1959. "Shrine of Memories" is a more contemporary structure than "Ferncliff Mausoleum." It has many panes of glass to admit natural light, and there is a large frieze of Christopher Columbus in the main hall of the building. Basil Rathbone is one of the most famous interments in "Shrine of Memories."

Rosewood

Rosewood is Ferncliff's most recently completed community mausoleum, having been constructed in 1999.

Cremations

It is interesting to note that Ferncliff Cemetery has the only crematory in Westchester County, New York, and performs approximately 10% of the cremations in New York State. Due to local ordinances, no additional crematories can be constructed in Westchester County. John Lennon and Nelson Rockefeller are two notables who were cremated at Ferncliff.

Ground Burials

The cemetery is also known for its in-ground burials in sections located in front of the mausoleums. Ferncliff is one of the very few cemeteries that does not permit upright headstones in its outdoor plots. All outdoor grave markers are flush with the ground. This feature facilitates maintenance of the cemetery grounds. However, there are several upright headstones that were placed before this policy was instated.

Notable Interments, Burials, Cremations

*Addyman, Frank H. (1884-1934) Former Mayor of Ardsley
*Althouse, Paul S. (1889-1954) Singer
*Archer, Harry (1886-1960) Composer
*Arlen, Harold (1905-1986) Composer
*Armour, Thomas (Tommy) (1895-1968) Hall of Fame Professional Golfer
*Auer, Leopold (1845-1930) Violinist
*Austin, Albert Elmer (1877-1953) U.S. Congressman - House of Rep. (CT)
*Baer, Arthur (1886-1969) Journalist
*Baldwin, James (1924-1987) Novelist, Essayist
*Barthelmess, Richard Semler (1895-1963) Actor
*Bartók, Béla (1881-1945) Composer, Pianist, Scholar (remains moved in 1988 to Farkasreti Cemetery in Budapest, Hungary)
*Beard, Charles (1874-1948) Educator, Historian
*Beard, Mary (1867-1958) Historian
*Billingsley, Sherman (1900-1966) Restaurateur, owner of Stork Club
*Biow, Milton (1892-1976) Advertising Entrepreneur
*Bloch, Ray (1902-1982) Musician
*Booth, Ballington (1857-1940) Social Reformer "Volunteers of America"
*Booth, Maud Charlesworth (1865-1948) Co-founder of Volunteers of America
*Bordoni, Irene (1895-1953) Actress, Singer
*Boswell-Leedy, Connee (1907-1976) Singer
*Browning, Frances Heenan (1910-1956) Actress
*Caesar, Adolph (1933-1986) Actor
*Calder, A. King (1898-1964) Actor
*Calloway, Northern J. (1950-1990) Actor
*Cardillo, Salvatore (1880-1947) Composer
*Carnegie (Zanft), Hattie (1856-1956) Dress Designer
*Carvel, Thomas (1906-1990) Founder of Carvel Ice Cream
*Madame Chiang Kai-Shek (1897-2003) First Lady of the Republic of China
*Christians, Mady (1900-1951) Actress
*Coppola, Michael (1900-1966), Mafioso, inspired a relative to make a movie
*Cores, Alexander (1900-1994) Violinist Dorian String Quartet
*Crawford, Joan (1908-1977) Actress
*Damerel, Myrtle (1888-1978) Actress
*de Putti, Lya (1899-1931) Actress
*de Vecchi, Dr. Paolo (1847-1931) Italian American Philanthropist
*Donahue, Jack (1888-1930) Actor
*Duke, O.L. (1953-2004) Actor
*Feuermann, Emmanuel (1902-1942) Cellist
*Fick, Donna Damerel (Marge Vail) (1912-1914) Actress, Myrt & Marge Vail Radio Show
*Fields, Lew (1867-1941) Actor, Comedian
*Fokine, Michel (1880-1942) Choreographer
*Freed, Alan (1921-1965) Radio DJ, "The Father of Rock & Roll" - Ashes moved in 2002 to Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame
*Fuleihan, Anis (1900-1970) Noted Composer, Pianist & Conductor
*Furness, Betty Midgley (1916-1994) Actress, Consumer Advocate, Commentator
*Garland, Judy (1922-1969) Singer, Actress
*Gunther, John, Jr. (1929-1947) Son of John Gunther
*Hammerstein, Oscar II (1895-1960) Composer
*Harris, Gordon L. (1893-1958) Founder of Ferncliff Mausoleum
*Hart, Moss (1904-1961) Playwright, Director
*Hart, Kitty Carlisle (1910-2007) Actress
*Haughton, Aaliyah (1979-2001) Singer, Actress
*Hayes, Irene (1896–1975) Business woman who created Irene Hayes Wadley & Smythe, a leading Manhattan florist and Gallagher's Steak House
*Henderson, Helen A. (1897-1988) Showgirl
*Henson, Jim (1936-1990) Muppets Creator
*Horney, Karen (1885-1952) Psychiatrist
*Hunter, Alberta (1895-1984) Singer, Songwriter
*Kern, Jerome (1885-1945) Composer
*Koo, VK Wellington (1888-1985) Diplomat, Statesman
*Kohtio, Dr. August G. (1929-2000) Ophthalmologist, Professor
*Kung, Hsiang-His (1881-1967) Minister of Finance & Industry - China
*Lennon, John (1940-1980) Musician
*Lorne, Marion (1885-1968) Actress
*Mabley, "Moms" (1899-1975) Comedienne
*Malik El-Shabazz, El-Hajj (1925-1965) Civil Rights Leader known as "Malcolm X", born Malcolm Little.
*Mancuso, Francis X. (1887-1970) Supreme Court Judge (NY)
*Marlowe, Hugh (1911-1982) Actor
*Maxwell, Elsa (1883-1963) Society Leader
*Mizell, Jason (1965-2002) DJ
*Monk, Thelonious (1917-1982) Musician
*Muhammed, Khalid A. (1949-2001) Civil Rights Activist
*Munson, Ona (1910-1955) Actress
*Nakasa, Nat (1937-1965) South African Writer
*Nordstrom, Dagmar, (1903-1976), pianist, composer, one of The Nordstrom Sisters
*Oberhardt, William (1882-1958) Artist, Portrait Painter, Illustrator, Sculptor
*Passannante, William F. (1920-1996) State Assembly (NY)
*Potts, David Matthew (1906-1976) U.S. Congressman, House of Rep. (NY)
*Powell, James (1949-1964) Author
*Rank, Otto (1884-1939) Psychiatrist
*Rathbone, Basil (1892-1967) Actor
*Revson, Charles (1906-1975) Founder of Revlon Cosmetics
*Revson, Douglas (1941-1967) Racecar Driver
*Revson, Peter (1939-1974) Racecar Driver
*Robeson, Paul (1898-1976) Actor, Singer, Civil Rights Activist
*Rockefeller, Nelson (1908-1979) Governor of New York, 41st Vice President of US (cremated there; ashes scattered on his own estate)
*Rodriguez, Arsenio (1911-1970) Cuban composer, bandleader
*Romberg, Sigmund (1887-1951) Composer
*Sands, Diana (1934-1973) Actress
*Sealy, Malik (1970-2000) NBA Player
*Shabazz, Betty (1936-1997) Philosopher, Leader, Wife-Malcolm X
*Shor, Bernard "Toots" (1903-1977) Restaurateur
*Soglow, Otto (1900-1975) Author, Cartoonist, New Yorker Magazine
* Soong, T.V. (1894-1971) "Financier, Diplomat, Chairman of National Bank of China"
* Steele, Alfred (1904-1959) Businessman, Board Chairman of Pepsi, Married to Joan Crawford
* Sturges, Preston (1898-1959) Writer
* Sullivan, Ed (1901-1974) Gossip Columnist, Television Host
*Taranda-Arlen, Anya (1915-1970), model, showgirl
*Trilling, Lionel (1905-1975) American Literary Critic
*Tyler, Judy Hess (1933-1957) Actress
*Ulric, Lenore (1892-1970) Actress
*Veidt, Conrad (1893-1943) Actor
*Vine, Billy (1915-1958) Actor, Comedian
*Wall, Alexander (1884-1946) Historian, notable Director of the New York Historical Society
*Walburn, Raymond (1887-1969) Actor
*Warfield, David (1866-1951) Actor
*Waterman, Frank (1869-1938) Founder of Pen Company
*Woolrich, Cornell (1903-1968) Author, Screenwriter
*Young, Whitney M. Jr. (1921-1971) Social Reformer, National Urban League

See also

* List of other famous cemeteries
* List of United States cemeteries
*

External links

* [http://www.ferncliffcemetery.com Ferncliff Cemetery Association]