A Memory Walk With Irving Weber – 1985.

On Memorial Day – May 27, 1985, Iowa City historian – Irving B. Weber – took his readers on a walking tour of Johnson County’s six major cemeteries – Oakland, St. Joseph (Old), St. Joseph (New), Memory Gardens, Oak Hill (Coralville), and Agudas Achim.

Along the way, Irving – who grew up in Iowa City, born in 1900 – pointed out a number of gravestones of those who played a large role in Johnson County history. So, here we are, four decades later, and we thought we’d revisit Irving Weber’s walk, adding in some pictures, links, and few stories along the way. Are you ready?

Click on the links to read more about each person Weber mentioned.

Did you know that the first Memorial Day celebrated in Iowa was on May 30, 1868?

Located at one of the highest points in Iowa City, Oakland Cemetery is nearly as old as the city itself. In 1839, when Iowa City was first platted, Block 10 – which was just outside the one-square-mile of land being developed – was set aside for use as a public cemetery, and then deeded to the residents of Iowa City on February 13, 1843. By 1875, two additional outlots had been given over for cemetery purposes, and by 1900, Oakland Cemetery – which was aptly named for the abundance of oak trees – had nearly expanded to its present size of 40 acres.

Cordelia Swan (1834-1839), Dolly B. Swan (1797-1847), Chauncey Swan (1799-1852) – read more here.

Governor Robert E. Lucas (1781-1853), Friendly A. Lucas (1796-1873) – read more here.

Peter A. Day (1825-1911)

Eli Myers (1813-1850) – read more here.

Walter Terrell (1805-1887) – read more here.

Chalmer D. Close (1832-1890) – read more here.

Joseph W.S. Horne (1848-1898)

William P. Coast (1841-1915) – read more here.

Theodore Sanxay (1819-1892)

James McCollister (1835-1927)

University of Iowa Deeded Body Program (1968-present)

Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood (1813-1894) – read more here.

Louis E. Lyon (1848-1936)

John Powell (1800-1872), Dr. George D. Darnall (1843-1928)

Teresa Dolezal Feldevert (1836-1924) – read more here.

Christian Yetter (1860-1916)

Gen. William J. Hayek (1896-1982)

Walter A. Jessup (1877-1944), Virgil M. Hancher (1896-1965)

William L.C. Burhans (1940-1982)

The Old St. Joseph Cemetery (left) was established in 1860, north of and adjacent to Oakland Cemetery at 900 North Summit Street. The New St. Joseph Cemetery (right) was platted in 1945 and is located at 1122 North Dodge Street.

Sgt. Roy L. W. Chopek (1895-1919)

Philip Clark (1804-1891) – read more here.

Martin J. Wade (1861-1931), Ralph Otto (1876-1928)

William H. Englert (1874-1920) – read more here, Louis Englert (1811-1892) – read more here.

Joseph Corso (1855-1933), Joseph Rinella (1863-1947) – read more here, Joseph Pusateri (1869-1942)

Philip C. Englert (1902-1979)

Frank A. Vogel (1876-1958), Louise (Elsie) S. Vogel (1876-1958)

Memory Gardens Cemetery is located in the southeastern section of Iowa City on Muscatine Avenue.

Mason Ladd (1898-1980), Ernest Horn (1882-1967), Charles W. Thompson (1902-1962), Robert F. Ray (1922-1982)

Helen R. Lemme (1904-1968) – read more here.

Leonard Raffensperger (1903-1974), Frank Bucky O’Connor (1913-1958), Otto H. Vogel (1899-1969), Glenn D. Devine (1895-1970), John E. Waddy Davis (1892-1974), Frank H. Bates (1906-1979), John B. Wilson (1927-2001)

Oak Hill Cemetery – located at the corner of 1st Ave and Russell Slade Blvd in Coralville, across the street from the Iowa Firefighters Memorial.

Vera M. Russell (1901-1997)

John Davis (1834-1929)

Edward K. Koser (1870-1935), Benjamin W. Bowers (1851-1929), James Paintin (1856-1916), Henry W. Fairchild (1863-1949), Lucien I. Dennis (1853-1944), James A. Vaughn (1860-1935), Lorin I. Conklin (1859-1936), Joseph A. Brandstatter (1893-1971)

The U.S. Hebrew Association of Iowa City was founded in 1859 for the purpose of establishing a cemetery that serves the Jewish population of Johnson County. The 1859 cemetery had eighty graves. Agudas Achim Cemetery is located at 875 Linder Road NE – between Dubuque Street and Prairie du Chien Road.

Joseph Braverman (1888-1944), Samuel Whitebook (1892-1969), Herman Snider (1918-1983), Osher Saltzman (1874-1934), Abraham Dicker (1882-1965), Morris Worton (1865-1955), Arthur Shulman (1876-1959), Abraham N. Hilfman (1892-1935), Samuel Markovitz (1884-1976), Joseph Kimmel (1868-1943).

William “Wild Bill” Sackter (1913-1983)

Bill Sackter spent 44 years in a Minnesota mental institution before emerging in the mid-1960’s – befriended by a young college student from Minneapolis. When that friend moved to Iowa City to accept a job with the UI School of Social Work, Bill came as well, eventually blossoming into a local celebrity and national icon thanks to an Emmy-award-winning TV film – which changed the perspective on disability rights not only in Iowa but nationwide. Read more here.

Back in 1985, when Irving Weber took his Memorial Day walk, there was little awareness of the Muslim community here in Iowa City. So today, as we close, we want to keep you aware of the latest efforts to expand the diversity of cemetery options in Johnson County…

With the nearest Muslim cemetery in Cedar Rapids, the Al-Iman Center of Iowa – also known as the Iowa City Mosque – purchased – in 2012 – 5.97 acres of property located on Sharon Center Road in the southwest section of Iowa City. When completed, Al-Iman Cemetery will serve the growing Muslim community throughout Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty and surrounding areas. Read more here.

Mr. Iowa City – Irving B. Weber (1900-1997) – read more here.

Well, that just about does it. But before we close, let’s head back to where we started – Oakland Cemetery. In 1997, Mr. Iowa City – Irving Weber – passed, and we thought it appropriate to include his information here as well. Godspeed, Irving, Godspeed!

Without a doubt, Irving B. Weber’s writings from the 1970’s to the 1990’s are vitally important to the preservation of Johnson County, Iowa history. Thus, here at Our Iowa Heritage, we’ve taken the liberty to INDEX the material from Weber’s eight classic books. It’s our hope that this resource – which provides indexing links to the contents of Weber’s books – will help historians, both today and in the future, access these valuable resources! Click here to visit our INDEX page.
On July 1, 1976, The Iowa City Press-Citizen published a special 76-page Bicentennial edition. In that edition there were articles and pictures related to stories found on this page. You can read more here.
DYK-December 8, 2023
May 30, 1868 – The first celebration of Memorial Day in Iowa. A Day-by-Day Calendar of Historical Events In Iowa, William J. Petersen, State Historical Society of Iowa, 1946, p 51

Memorial Day – May 27, 1985 – Iowa City historian – Irving B. Weber – takes his readers on a walking tour of Johnson County’s six major cemeteries – Oakland, St. Joseph (Old & New), Memory Gardens, Oak Hill in Coralville, and Agudas Achim.

Kudos to the amazing resources below for the many quotes, photographs, etc. used on this page.

A Walk Through History, Irving Weber, Historical Stories About Iowa City – Volume 3, pp 235-242

Find-A-Grave – FYI – A note about our gravestone listings from Find-A-Grave. This webpage simply doesn’t have space to include links to all of the family members – i.e. spouse & children – unless Irving Weber specifically mentioned them in his 1985 article. Thus, we offer the one link that will take you to the “head-of-household” Find-A-Grave link, and from there, you can explore the other family members as well! Thanks!

Oakland Cemetery website

Oakland Cemetery, Find-A-Grave

Oakland Cemetery – Burial Search

St. Joseph Cemetery website

Old St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Find-A-Grave

New St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Find-A-Grave

Memory Gardens Cemetery, Find-A-Grave

Oak Hill Cemetery, Find-A-Grave

Agudas Achim Cemetery, Find-A-Grave

Photos – As Muslim community grows, so does the need for a local Muslim cemetery, Aimee Breaux, Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 22, 2019

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