Calvary Cemetery, Wichita, Kansas

Calvary Cemetery, also historically called Mount Calvary Cemetery and Catholic Cemetery of Wichita, is Wichita’s oldest Catholic burial ground.

Calvary Cemetery is quite prominent, with some excessively large monuments and high visibility from Kellogg.

Grave of Jesse Cornejo, founder of Cornejo & Sons

Most passing through town heading east or west can’t help but notice the garden of large granite towers and small granite stones that dot the 11.5 acre consecrated burial ground.

Gifford-Wilkins family stone

An 1833 news report stated that a Mr. Healy donated “a piece of ground on the hill-side for a Catholic cemetery.” This was probably Patrick Valentine Healy, a local real estate man and Irish immigrant with considerable wealth, and a faithful member of the Catholic church. Healy died in 1918.

Calvary Cemetery served as the only blessed and consecrated Catholic burial ground in Wichita for nearly a century.

Some legends say there are pioneer graves on this land dating back to 1859, but there is no confirmed record of that. There were, however, a few burials here before it was designated a Catholic cemetery.

For years, the Catholic Diocese stated that the first interment at Calvary Cemetery was for a child named Mary Monley in 1878. Mary was the daughter of Canadian immigrants who came to Kansas in 1875.

After Mary died, her parents headed to Wellington, Kansas where they settled permanently. While Mary remains here alone, they earned the title “first family of the Catholic Church, Wellington, Kansas, 1879.”

Thomas Monley’s family about 1900. Source

Presently, the Catholic Diocese of Wichita states that the first official interment at Calvary Cemetery was in 1876, two years before Mary Monley died.

Source

Margaret Dillon (née Stapleton) does not have a marked grave, and not much is known about her. She was believed to be the first wife of Dennis Dillon and she was about 22 when she died, perhaps in 1875, not 1876. Dennis is buried here with two other known wives, both of whom have a place on the Dillon gravestone.

Dennis Dillon, Nora Dillon, Mary Dillon. Is Margaret nearby?

Patrick Linot was once labeled as being the “first adult buried in the old Catholic Cemetery.” We know now that Margaret Dillon, not Patrick, was likely the first adult buried here.

Patrick and his wife Margaret (née Madden) were Irish immigrants. Margaret and their daughter Kathryn are both buried here, but their graves are unmarked while Patrick’s name is inscribed here twice.

Patrick Linot, Died Feb 28, 1883, Aged 56 yrs

Patrick’s death occurred a few months prior to the land donation from Mr. Healy and the consecration of this cemetery.

Patrick Linot, Feb 28, 1883, Age 56 Yrs

Priests Circle

The polished granite alter and Gaelic cross in the roundabout near the former center of the cemetery was erected in 1948.

The circle was planned by the cemetery director Father Thomas P. Ryan and Bishop Mark Carroll. The altar and cross were designed by William Quiring of the Quiring Monument Company in Wichita.

The area was intended to be reserved for persons who made religion their life’s work.

There are just eight people buried here in the circle. The last burial here was in 1940.

German native Rev. Anthony Joseph Abel was the first Catholic priest buried in this circle in 1907.

The only woman and non-priest in the circle is Magdalena Neusius, the sister of Rev. Fr. Nicholas Neusius. According to her obituary, she served as a housekeeper for her brother and lived at the convent for the fifteen years leading up to her death. Her will contained “an unusually long list of beneficiaries” for her apparently sizable estate.

Also inside the circle is an abortion memorial, which is common to find in Catholic cemeteries. The inscription on this one is quite lengthy. It reads:

“This memorial is dedicated to our brothers and sisters whose lives were cut short by the tragedy of abortion – the greatest destruction of innocent life in the history of humankind. May future generations read this inscription and be reminded that every human life is created by God, formed by His own image, therefore sacred and precious in His sight.”

The memorial is inscribed with 22 small crosses, each one said to represent one million abortions since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. The memorial was dedicated in 1988 on the 15th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

Wichita used to be the home of one of just three abortion clinics nationwide that offered late term abortions. Dr. George Tiller was murdered at his church by an anti-abortion extremist in 2009.

Marble Pieta Statue

The marble Pieta statue was a gift from George Hutter of the Hutter Construction Company in Wisconsin.

The statue was placed in the northeast corner of the cemetery and dedicated in 1955.

The statue is made from Carrera marble and was sculpted in Carrera, Italy.

The Pieta statue is on the burial plot for the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother.

The group of religious sisters have served the Ascension Via Christi Hospital system since 1889.

The sisters founded the St. Francis Hospital, which is in operation today as Via Christi St. Francis.

The first sister buried in this plot was in 1892, and the last was in 1996.

One of those buried here is Bavarian-born Sister Mary Corona who died in 1914 after falling from an open window she was cleaning at St. Francis Hospital.

Michelangelo’s Pieta Replica

There is a second Pieta statue in the southwest corner of the cemetery.

The bronze veneer statue was molded from a cast of Michelangelo’s original Pieta statue.

It is about half of the size of the marble statue on the other side of the cemetery.

The statue was purchased with donations from several Catholic families and was installed in 2012.

The statue is in the St. Joseph’s Garden addition, which was opened in 2009 and was dedicated to the Patron Saint of a Happy Death.

Our Lady of Fatima Shrine

Calvary Cemetery was the first cemetery in the diocese to have a ‘no monument’ section dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima. ‘No monument’ means all markers must be flat and flush to the ground, memorial garden style.

This area is not the most photogenic.

The monument to Our Lady of Fatima, or Mary, is a simple granite monument featuring an image of Mary holding a rosary, her head crowned with twelve stars meant to symbolize the twelve apostles.

Mary’s dress displays a Star of Esther, and carved below her feet are the words “Fatima Russia,” a reminder of the message delivered in a vision: Russia must be converted to Catholicism through a proper consecration ceremony. The ceremony has yet to be performed properly.

“If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated.” Source

Garden Mausoleum

The Ascension-themed Garden mausoleum at Calvary was completed and blessed in 1984, expanding the end-of-life interment options available to Catholics.

The open mausoleum has space for almost 1,300 in the main covered area and the outdoor lawn crypts. It cost about $419,000 to build.

Wichita’s first bishop, Bishop John Joseph Hennessey, is interred here, as well as Bishop Mark K. Carroll, a supporter of the American Civil Rights movement and the namesake of Bishop Carroll Catholic School.

The outdoor lawn crypts have plenty of space left for the cremated remains of faithful Catholics.

Other Burials at Calvary Cemetery

Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or BVM, have a burial plot here. Historically these sisters have advocated for social justice causes, like participating in the 1965 Selma marches.

The first woman to receive a PhD in computer science was a BVM sister.

Oreste Mattei (1861-1887)

36-year-old Italian Oreste Mattei was driving a wild pony in downtown Wichita when he was thrown from his buggy at First and Market. “Blood poured from his ears and mouth and when he was picked up, a large pool stained the road where his head lay.”

Oreste kept a fruit stand near the post office downtown. He moved here with his three brothers, all of whom had businesses here in town. Their mother died back in Tuscany around this same time. His brothers are not buried here with him.

Patrick McDonald Jr. (1862-1888)

Pat McDonald was struck and killed by a bolt of lightning in 1888.

The news report of the tragedy said that “the lightning struck McDonald’s straw hat, tore a hole in it, and the electricity passed through his body and set fire to the coat sleeve of Johnny McDermott,” who was with him at the time.

“Those who saw the body of the dead man soon after it was struck say it had turned perfectly black.”

Nettie Isabella Baehr (1883-1889)

Nettie Baehr was the five-year-old daughter of Elizabeth Schuh and Joseph Baehr. Joseph was the proprietor of the Opera House Drug Store (later the Baehr Drug Store) selling “strictly first-class drugs!” for nearly 40 years.

Richard Cooke (1882-1899)

In 1899, 16-year-old Richard Cooke was swimming in a pond at Maple Grove Cemetery with the son of the founder of Highland Cemetery when he was somehow “taken with cramps” and drowned.

He is buried here with his mother Mary who died less than a year later. Her death certificate says she died of septicemia, or sepsis.

Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (The Redemptorists)

The Redemptorists are society of missionary priests who “strive to imitate the virtues and examples of Jesus Christ, Our Redeemer, consecrating themselves especially to the preaching of the word of God to the poor.”

Frank Galletly (1869-1932)

“Death rode with Frank Galletly” on his final ride in 1932 after 25 years as a Santa Fe engineer. He was set to retire that day, and was just 65 miles from the final stop of his career when a cow derailed the train and he was killed.

Frank’s gravestone bears the oldest known existing ceramic portrait at Calvary Cemetery.

Frank lived in Oklahoma at the time of his death, but his body was returned to Wichita for burial beside his first wife, Sadie (née Gilmer).

Edward Sauzek (1895-1918)

Edward Sauzek enlisted in in the Army 1917 and left America on a ship from New York in May 1918. He died in a hospital in France five months later from wounds received in battle. He was just 23. His body was not returned to his family until 1922 for burial here.

Edward was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart.

Source

Bernard J. Millet (1888-1927)

Bernard J. Millet shot himself inside the Sunflower Room of Hotel Wolf in Ellinwood, Kansas in 1927. His grave marker has been vandalized.

Bernard’s story is part of the history of the building, and the current building owners claim that Bernard haunts the hotel. The bullet that went through Bernard’s skull and into the Sunflower Room ceiling left a hole that is a macabre tour highlight.

The story told is that he killed himself because he was rejected by a woman. They even have her photo on display as part of the tour.

The “popular young woman from Larned” that did not return Bernard’s affections which supposedly caused him to commit suicide.

Wichita news reports left out any gruesome or sensational details, and instead stated that Bernard died at the home of his brother.

Joseph Ackerman (1840-1934)

Joseph Ackerman immigrated from Switzerland and became a prominent Wichita businessman. He owned Ackerman Island, which was the home to the Wonderland Amusement Park and later the Island Park baseball stadium.

Island Park was the site of a historic baseball game in 1925 between the Ku Klux Klan and the Wichita Monrovians, an all-Black baseball team. Catholics umpired the game. The Monrovians won, and Joseph was alive to see it.

The Wichita Eagle, Jun 22, 1925

Preston McBride (1925-1951)

Preston McBride was charged with murder and hanged for his crime. He was not a practicing Catholic, but converted just prior to his execution and per his wishes, he was buried here. Preston’s parents are buried at Calvary Cemetery, too. You can read about Preston here.

Order of Friars Minor

The Order of Friars Minor (OFM) is a male religious fraternity and a branch of the Franciscan order. In life, you may recognize them by their long gray or black frocks tied with white cords around their waists. In death, you can recognize them by the symbols and the abbreviation OFM on their gravestones.

Paul Garofalo (1956-1980)

Paul Garofalo was a Wichita police officer who was killed in 1980 during a routine patrol near the intersection of Ninth and Washington.

Paul was shot twice at close range with a 20-gauge sawed-off shotgun by someone who ambushed him and his partner. He was just 24 years old.

The man convicted of his murder (three different times) maintained his innocence until he died of liver cancer in prison in 1999.

John L. Weigand, Jr. (1932-2002)

When local lawyer John L. Weigand, Jr. died in 2002, he was able to fulfill one of his strongest desires – turning his lifetime earnings into a trust to benefit Kansas law students.

John lived a frugal life, and the J.L. Weigand, Jr. Notre Dame Legal Education Trust and the law students it supports have benefitted from that frugality. Some of the nations largest scholarships go to legal students in Kansas from this trust, which it claims to be able to do forever.

Segregation at Calvary Cemetery

A visual review of Calvary Cemetery indicates that at some point, dead Catholics were separated by race.

“He flew to heaven, child Jose, son of Jose Lopez and Carmen Gutierres, born Dec 18, 1929, died Jan 13, 1929, R.I.P.”

One section of the cemetery contains many different markers with Spanish writing or Hispanic names.

“The child, Francisco Ortega, was born Nov 2, 1938, Died Mar 20, 1940, his parents dedicated this.” The initials R.D.O at the bottom of this stone likely stand for “Requiescat Deo Omnipotente,” a Latin phrase which translates to “May he rest in peace with Almighty God.”

“If [Mexican Catholics] attended the church, good native Catholics stare them out of countenance and dishearten them.” The Catholic Advance, Nov. 23, 1912

Wichita didn’t have a Spanish-speaking Catholic priest until 1913, when our first Mexican Catholic church service was held for 90 families.

The Wichita Eagle, Nov 7, 1913

It appears that for decades, Mexican Catholics were buried in a different section, on the downhill slope of the hill where the earliest residents lie at at the top.

“Here rest the remains of my beloved mother, Francisca Angel, who passed away on May 26, 1939. In memory of her son Jose Garcia and family.”

Catholic doctrine does not mandate segregation, but parishes are made of people who adopt the racial attitudes of their communities.

“In memory of Antonio Gallardo, born June 8, 1917, died March 26, 1926. His mother dedicated this. R.D.O. (Requiescat Deo Omnipotente)”

There are also language barriers that can be difficult to cross, misunderstandings about cultures or religious practices, and of course just flat out blatant racism. These things led to both church and cemetery segregation.

“Damiana Hernandez, wife of Dolores Escudero, born September 27, 1881, died December 2, 1929, in memory of her husband and children. R.I.P.”

It’s not just the Mexican Catholics who were buried separate from the others. The apparently segregated section is also the final resting spot for individuals belonging to other non-white races.