Rambow Memorial Fund

Mr. Bond

Mr. Bond

Orbis Non Sufficit
Gold Member
Silver Member
For you Rambow enthusiasts out there, some interesting new details have emerged.

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 next to his wife, in the family plot of his inlaws - The Fitzsimons.

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.

From now until the end of September, we will be accepting donations to this fund, with 100% of every donation going towards the purchase and installation of the memorial marker. (The size and shape of the memorial will be directly related to how much money is raised)

For those interested in helping us honor and acknowledge Mr. Rambow properly, donations may be sent to the official memorial fund steward, via standard mail to:

Guest, Walsh & Townsend Ltd.
120 West Madison Suite 1100
Chicago, IL 60602

Or, if you prefer an electronic method, donations can also be sent via PayPal to the following address: gwtlaw@aol.com

IMPORTANT:
1. When sending a donation, please make sure to include a note, message or some prominent indication that your donation is specifically for the Rambow Memorial Fund.

2. You have the option to remain anonymous, or to be recognized for your donation. If you wish for you or your company to be recognized, please include a note, message or some prominent indication of whom the donation should be credited to. If it is unclear who we should attribute a donation to, we will presume that you have chosen to remain anonymous.


If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

As things progress, further details, including funds raised and an updated list of donators will be posted here, and on the Chicago Billiard Museum website.

Thank You in advance for your consideration and time,
Mr. Bond
 
Something else I discovered:

- two men, both named Herman Rambow, died on the same day in Chicago. and neither has a headstone. :eek:
 
Nice idea but I'm curious about the legalities or authority to place a headstone on a grave. I would think you would have to have some bona fide written authority from the family in order to do something like that. Have you already resolved this issue?
 
Last edited:
Mr. Bond

I kinda agree with the previous post about having authority.

That being said, I think it is a great idea.

Count me in!

Perhaps you can get an estimate so we know what the goal is. Herman Rambow should be remembered since he really was a huge piece of pool cue history.

Mark Griffin, CEO
CSI - BCAPL - USAPL
 
Mr. Bond said:
Something else I discovered:

- two men, both named Herman Rambow, died on the same day in Chicago. and neither has a headstone. :eek:
Click to expand...

This is a little strange. Wondering if it's not the same man, with a double obituary in error. Rambow is not a common name and Herman Rambow makes it just that more uncommon.
 
Mr. Bond said:
Something else I discovered:

- two men, both named Herman Rambow, died on the same day in Chicago. and neither has a headstone. :eek:
Click to expand...

For what it is worth I got this from SS records.

Name
Birth
Death
HERMAN RAMBOW
Oct 03, 1882
Dec 01, 1967
Last residence: 60651 (Chicago, Cook, IL)
 
Herman Rambow: Inducted 2004
Born in 1880, Rambow worked off and on for Brunswick from the time he was 14 until 1950. He started out as a mail boy and turned Ivory Balls, working his way up. Rambow built cues all the way up to his passing away in 1967. Rambow is given credit with inventing the piloted joint. It had the screw in the butt and a brass insert with wood pilot tenon similar to the stainless steel jointed cues we see today. Rambow mainly used brass joints. Rambow had a lot of equipment that he built himself. He even had a homemade three jaw chuck that was completely made out of wood. Almost everything on his lathe was made out of wood. His cues normally did not have a rubber bumper and often had a thin ivory ring around the bottom above the short plastic butt plate. This ring is now referred to as the Rambow or Hoppe ring. It was a Rambow that Willie Mosconi ran his record 526 balls in a row with in 1956. In 1968 Herman Rambow was the first cuemaker ever inducted into the Billiard Congress of America’s Hall of Fame.
 
Something seems odd. Usually a family marker would be placed in the center of the plot and then optionally there would be small stones level with the ground to mark the location of the individual graves. The graves to the left of the Fitzsimmons marker look unrelated - different last name, anyway - could be a married daughter, I guess. If they are unrelated, it looks like a two grave plot because that's where the family marker is centered. Could be a 4 grave plot, 2 by 2. But are you sure the cemetery guy guided you to the right spot?

When I met him I'm pretty sure he talked about recently playing pool with his grandkids so he did have family. Hard to believe they wouldn't have marked his grave.
 
Rich93 said:
Something seems odd. Usually a family marker would be placed in the center of the plot and then optionally there would be small stones level with the ground to mark the location of the individual graves. The graves to the left of the Fitzsimmons marker look unrelated - different last name, anyway - could be a married daughter, I guess. If they are unrelated, it looks like a two grave plot because that's where the family marker is centered. Could be a 4 grave plot, 2 by 2. But are you sure the cemetery guy guided you to the right spot?

When I met him I'm pretty sure he talked about recently playing pool with his grandkids so he did have family. Hard to believe they wouldn't have marked his grave.
Click to expand...

The Fitz grave plot holds 4 people. Philip and Sarah are side by side directly in front of the stone. Herman and Maude are directly in front of them.

Herman absolutely had grandkids...but no Pranno graves are near his.
 
jay helfert said:
This is a little strange. Wondering if it's not the same man, with a double obituary in error. Rambow is not a common name and Herman Rambow makes it just that more uncommon.
Click to expand...

I visited both graves. They are two diff people...two diff cemeteries...
Herman #1 was a german jew..
The "real" Herman was a german catholic..

We also have his obit posted on the museum site (it names the cemetery)
 
macguy said:
For what it is worth I got this from SS records.

Name
Birth
Death
HERMAN RAMBOW
Oct 03, 1882
Dec 01, 1967
Last residence: 60651 (Chicago, Cook, IL)
Click to expand...

FYI: if you check The Museum site in the Chicago Companies section, we have a copy of his death certificate
 
Mr. Bond said:
The Fitz grave plot holds 4 people. Philip and Sarah are side by side directly in front of the stone. Herman and Maude are directly in front of them.

Herman absolutely had grandkids...but no Pranno graves are near his.
Click to expand...

LOL, Ben, I shouldn't have doubted you. You sure know your Rambow. I'll throw in if the cemetery will let you do it.
 
Wonder why the family did not hire a stone cutter to finish putting in the rest of the names of people buried in the family plot? Looking at the photo you posted there is room, and the TYPE FACE could be match to make it all look proper! JMHO.
 
Mr. Bond said:
I visited both graves. They are two diff people...two diff cemeteries...
Herman #1 was a german jew..
The "real" Herman was a german catholic..

We also have his obit posted on the museum site (it names the cemetery)
Click to expand...

Ben - how old was this second Rambow? There's only one Herman Rambow in the entire social security death index.

I know the death certificate shows the cemetery, a Catholic one, but the certificate was signed before the actual interment. Is it possible that our Herman was Jewish (even though he married a Fitzsimmons) and that in 1967 the Catholic cemetery said "only Catholics allowed here", so they found a Jewish cemetery for him? Seems doubtful even in 1967, but there could be some other explanation perhaps. It just seems so odd that two Herman Rambows would die on the same day in the same city.
 
DogsPlayingPool said:
Nice idea but I'm curious about the legalities or authority to place a headstone on a grave. I would think you would have to have some bona fide written authority from the family in order to do something like that. Have you already resolved this issue?
Click to expand...

We have spoken with the cemetery at length about this. The plot is actually owned by Sarah and Maude, but they are both deceased, (and so is Loretta, Herman's only child) so the permission issue lies with the cemetery alone at this point.

The cemetery has indicated that they are "ok" with what we'd like to do and at the very least, we will be allowed to engrave the existing stone. They will be letting us know this week if placing an altogether new marker is kosher. (There appears to be no reason why they would say no)

In the very unlikely event that they do say no, the monies we raise will go toward engraving the Fitzsimons stone with Herman and Maude's name and dates.
 
Rich93 said:
Ben - how old was this second Rambow? There's only one Herman Rambow in the entire social security death index.

I know the death certificate shows the cemetery, a Catholic one, but the certificate was signed before the actual interment. Is it possible that our Herman was Jewish (even though he married a Fitzsimmons) and that in 1967 the Catholic cemetery said "only Catholics allowed here", so they found a Jewish cemetery for him? Seems doubtful even in 1967, but there could be some other explanation perhaps. It just seems so odd that two Herman Rambows would die on the same day in the same city.
Click to expand...

Two on the same day-in the same city-and neither has a headstone - the odds are astronomical....

You know what Rich, thats the first thing I thought - Rambow was Jewish. It made perfect sense when you consider that the Brunswicks were Jewish as well. In fact, to be totally honest with ya, when I found the Jewish Rambow grave, I was convinced that I had found the right one. But the plain and simple truth is, it wasnt him.

Consider also, his marriage certificate, which shows Herman and Maude got married at a Catholic church, something a Jewish couple probably wouldnt do. lol

How old was the Jewish Rambow? I dont remember off the top of my head, I'll have to dig it up and let you know.... (However, I do remember that the Jewish Rambow was not HJR, but just HR)
 
CocoboloCowboy said:
Looking at the photo you posted there is room, and the TYPE FACE could be match to make it all look proper! JMHO.
Click to expand...



I am in the sign business, and I am very familiar with granite, limestone, cast stones, etc. That being said, you would have to sandblast Mr. Rambow's name in the stone.
 
rambow memorial

sizl said:
I am in the sign business, and I am very familiar with granite, limestone, cast stones, etc. That being said, you would have to sandblast Mr. Rambow's name in the stone.
Click to expand...
-
-
How much would a sand blasting of mr.rambow and his wifes name cost to have done if you had to give a estimate? And can the sand blasting be done on site?
-
Thx
Rob.M
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top