Rambow Memorial - Done!

While on a recent pilgrimage to his grave site, (for the purpose of getting a few nice photos for The Museum) I discovered something very surprising.....
When Herman Rambow died, he was put to rest at Mt. Carmel Cemetery next to his wife, in the family plot of his inlaws - The Fitzsimons.
(Mt. Carmel is also home to a guy named Al Capone)

Initially a large 'family-style' stone was placed at the head of the plot, seemingly with the intention of having everyone's name added to it later. However, for some unknown reason, the only name ever engraved on the giant stone was that of Herman's father in law, Philip Fitzsimons.

In other words, Herman Rambow has an un-marked grave. There is nothing there to indicate that he ever existed. :frown:

See the Fitzsimons headstone here

Having been one of the most reputable, well known and sought after cue makers of all time, we believe that Mr. Rambow deserves much more than just a blank patch of grass.

So, in light of this disheartening discovery, The Chicago Billiard Museum has established a special memorial fund*, specifically for the purpose of purchasing a nice memorial grave marker for Herman J. Rambow.

UPDATE:
Our fundraising efforts were a complete success!
Please join me in thanking the following people for their care and support, and for helping us to change the course of history in a positive way.

Hundreds of years after we are all gone, and we're just a fond memory to our grandchildren's children, the name HERMAN JAMES RAMBOW will still be proudly shining in the sun thanks to you.

In no particular order:

Peter Burrows
Mark Griffin
Jeff Mohl
Deno Andrews
Arnie Kupec
Rich Klein
Charlie Duncan
Ted Antle
Tracy Porter
Bob Christenson
Geoff Conway
Dennis Walsh
The International Cuemakers Association

Herman Rambow's new memorial stone:
Mt Carmel Cemetery, Hillside IL.
Section M, Block 8, Lot 10, Grave 2





About the stone itself:
It is black granite, featuring a unique 3-layer etching technique, which is accomplished by carefully cutting away thin layers to create varying colors, textures and depth. This beautiful stone was cut by our friends at Monumental Art Works, who handled evey aspect of our project with complete professionalism.

If you like it, please drop them a line and let them know that we appreciate a job well done.
You can find them online here: http://monumentalartworks.com/

Hey Rich - to answer your previous question about Herman #2, it appears that he was the son of an Albert Rambow, who was born in Chicago around 1858, long before Charles and Christina arrived, so it doesnt look like they were related....but I guess you never know.

There was also a Herman Rambow in Indiana, Milwaukee and Washington lol

Not surprisingly, it turns out that the real Herman J Rambow's father and mother too, didnt have a headstone placed at their grave either. My guess is that they probably lived a very modest lifestyle and couldnt afford it....but I guess you never know. Maybe they just didnt like headstones.

Herman's father's cemetery (different from Hermans) was originally a German Lutheran cemetery. Do Lutherans have some tradition of un-marked graves? I dont know... But its another interesting clue about Hermans life...was he really Catholic or was his family Lutheran?

Perhaps he got married in a Catholic church, and was later buried in a Catholic cemetery simply because his wife's family was Catholic.

UPDATE:

The Fitzsimons stone is technically the property of that family, and not the Rambow family, so to change it would require permission from them. But -we'd rather place an actual marker on Herman's grave than re-engrave the stone anyway, so we won't be bothering the Fitzsimons about the stone.

The cemetery has agreed to allow us to place a standard "ground level" marker, aprox 1'x2'x1' at his grave site. Which is perfectly fine with us, and as a bonus, the size limitation will help keep the cost down.

However, the cemetery has also decided to take some additional time to try to contact a living ancestor if possible, which is also fine with us because there is no real hurry.

Again, even if they are able to find a living family member in the area, we don't anticipate any objections to placing the marker, so we will proceed as planned for now.

Side note:
I actually hope they do find a living relative(s) in the area. It is not our intention to exploit Mr. Rambow, but to honor and recognize him for his life's work, which is something that any family should be proud of.

UPDATE:

The cemetery staff has given us full permission to proceed as planned.

We are now consulting with a few different grave marker companies to come up with a suitable design, and to get quotes for what it will cost.

There was a slight typo on my last post, the marker will be 1'x2'x 4" ( a basic rectangle that is 4 inches thick, placed at ground level)

Feel free to contact me with any questions

UPDATE:

A suitable design* has been chosen for the grave marker and we have received a very reasonable estimate for the total costs.

The breakdown is as follows:

$700 Black granite marker + design work + delivery
$150 Mt Carmel setting fee

Total= $850.00

*The design had to meet certain criteria set forth by the cemetery.


Send your donation today!:smile:

cueman said:

Any updates on how much has been raised?

Click to expand...

Yes sir, as of today we have raised $400 thus far.
I will post the names as well very soon

Up to $600 today

thank you both very much - up to $750 today !

Fundraising complete !!!

Stay tuned for further details...

bumpity bump for update