Unusual Deaths, Interesting Stories & Unique Epitaphs of Forest Hill Cemetery
Murders where both killer and victim are at Forest Hill
Murderers                       Murder Victims 		Epitaphs                       Fire Victims
Other

Murders where both killer and victim are at Forest Hill
  • Nelson/Henderson – Harvey Nelson killed Allen & Walter Henderson then shot himself in front of the police as they attempted to apprehend him.
  • Petersen, Alfred & Sylvia – With his wife Sylvia and himself in poor health, Alfred, took both their lives shortly after celebrating Christmas with family.
  • Pierce/Jones – Harvey Pierce waited for his ex-girlfriend and her fiancιe, shot them both, killing David Jones, he then turned the gun on himself.
  • Vinyard, John & Minnie – After a drunken argument John shot Minnie in the back with a 12-gauge shotgun as she fled, then shot himself.
  • Spooner/McConnell – John Spooner went to Irving school where Emily McConnell worked, shot her and himself in front of her kindergarten class.

    Murderers
  • Belcher, Charles – Belcher killed two people before being shot and killed by police officers
  • Leon, Jose – Murderer, shot by Deputy Sheriff in Cross Plaines
  • Johnson, John "Dogskin" – Confessed killer of Annie Lemberger
  • Keig, Benjamin – Killed his wife then cut his own throat
  • Tyler, William – Shot Irene Lawrence then turned the gun on himself

    Murder Victims
  • Arnold, Roberta – Found in her bed bound, beaten, & strangled.
  • Ayers, Grace – Died of a brain hemorrhage from blow to head.
  • Bardenheier, Joseph – Unsolved murder, his body was found in a wooded area, he came to Madison because of threats he received while living in Chicago.
  • Bornstein, Oscar – Shot in the face trying to stop a robbery at a service station.
  • Bray, Gregory – Found shot to death in his home.
  • Carson, Ernest – Shot by a coworker who tried to claim self defense.
  • Crissinger, Diana – Stabbed in the neck and chest, her body was found in the middle of a street.
  • Daniels, David – Shot by police in burglary attempt.
  • Davidson, Bernice – Stabbed through the heart by ex-boyfriend.
  • Denny, Cindy – Beaten to death in her apartment. Her killer turned himself in, in San Francisco, after consulting with a priest.
  • Denny, Raymond – Seven months after his sister is murdered, Raymond is shot to death by his roommate.
  • Elver, Viola – Shot through heart as the killer was looking for her and her boss.
  • Fountain, Lizzette – Shot boy boyfriend in their Fitchburg apartment.
  • Gage, Frederick – Killed by terrorists while vacationing in Rome.
  • Good, Thomas – Stabbed in the neck and left to die by Charles Nolan.
  • Hanson, Lester – Died after suffering for months from a gunshot wound.
  • Henderson, Steven – Shot by a 17 year old for revenge over stolen drugs
  • Hines, Charles – Murdered in Washington D.C.
  • Lotwin, Louis – Shot four times at “Death Corners” while on his way to work
  • Jackson, Sadie – Shot and killed by her lover in front of the Norris Court Grocery
  • McGuigan, Jason – One of three men killed in Verona in 2003
  • McLeod, Doris – Originally buried as a Jane Doe. Found with her hands cut off and missing, her identity was unknown for months
  • Olson, Andrew – Body found in a gully buried in a junk heap.
  • Parker, Bertha – Shot in the head by a man because she told him she preferred the company of another man.
  • Parker, Lee – Shot in the chest by his wife, who he had abused for years.
  • Pierce, Charles – Stabbed to death in Chicago.
  • Prindle, Charles – Shot and killed in Token Creek.
  • Rayford, Willie – Bleed to death after being stabbed.
  • Richmond, Dennis – Shot in the head he was found still alive lying in the street, died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
  • Samples, James – Estranged wife hired a killer to shoot him.
  • Schlicht, Karl – Stabbed
  • Schmook, William – Shot and killed during a robbery attempt at the gas station he worked at in Illinois.
  • Shcheglov, Roman – Multiple gunshots to head in New Jersey
  • Sibley, Lamar – Shot ten times by a jealous husband
  • Siggelko, Herbert – Bludgeoned with car crank and left dead under a pile of brush.
  • Smith, Damon – Gunned down in a parking lot five years after his mother, Rhonda Smith, was stabbed to death by her lover.
  • Starkey, Mark – Murdered by James Wills because Wills thought he was a "Queer"
  • Stephenson, Ward – Shot by police
  • Stone, Lenny – CC Rider club member shot by rival club
  • Spears, George – Was shot in a dispute with a Union guard while in prison at Camp Randall
  • Taylor, Sheralyn – Strangled at her Sun Prairie home.
  • Tenney, John – Murdered in Oakland, CA
  • Van Deusen, Earl – Deputy killed in a gunfight inside a Mazomanie hotel
  • White, John – Stabbed in Milwaukee
  • Williams, Hazel – Hazel found dead two doors away from where her mother was beaten
  • Workman, Yvonne – Bound, gagged and tied-up then shot execution style.
  • Worth, Amy Jo – Found in a burning apartment after she had been brutally beaten with a hammer by her boyfriend
  • Ybarra, Antonio – Stabbed by another worker in Cross Plains

    Epitaphs (Epitaph: An inscription on a tombstone or monument in memory of the person buried there)
  • Bincer, Wanda – “Shoah Survivor - Member of Polish Underground”
  • Brackett, Cyril – “Student of the University Drowned in Lake Menona”
  • Delaplaine, George – “The World Is My Country; To Do Good My Religion”
  • Eldridge, Charles – “In Memory Of Our Little Man”
  • Gawara, Helen – She Bore Witness to the Holocaust She is Now Set Free
  • George, John – “Killed by the Cars”
  • Gurevich, Rosa – Survived The Blockade
  • Hamburger, Iette – Name: “Iette Hamburger”
  • McBride, James – “Here lies a sinner saved by Grace”
  • Quigley – “Best Friends, We Grew Up Together and Realized Many Dreams.”
  • Rice, June – “Budded on Earth to Bloom in Heaven”
  • Rosenberg, Iris – “If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,...”
  • Schimming, Milo – “Thank You for Coming. Pardon us for not Rising.”
  • Seligman, Ralph – “Drowned in Lake Monona”
  • Thomas, Howard & Joseph – “We Went Home, See Ya Later”
  • Workman, Yvonne – “Murdered”
  • Young, Amy – “Drowned in an attempt to rescue our daughter, Betty”

    Fire Victims
  • Ansell, Lois –
  • Delaplaine, Emeline – Dress caught fire from a kerosene lamp.
  • Fitch, Joseph & William – Father & Son.
  • McCarthy Family – Shanty Hill.
  • Oasen, Bert – Cigarette caused fire at gas station.
  • Oakey, Alfred, Lucile & Marion – Father & daughters died in the Iroquois Theater fire.
  • Robbins, Ruth – Killed in the Iroquois Theater fire.
  • Turner, Irene – Died saving her 2 year old son.
  • Petersen, Rolland – Rolland died in the Allen Hall fire.

    Other
  • Adams, Kenneth – Died in a car stunt gone wrong
  • Bauer, Adolph – Killed himself in his office in the basement of the Capitol
  • Beck, Frank – Frank was killed in the explosion of a train boiler in the Madison roundhouse
  • Berryman, Hosea – Found hanging from his necktie at the Fess tavern, was it murder or suicide?
  • Betz & William Melvin – Cannon blasts, Forth of July
  • Blucher, Harry – Hit by chimney bricks knocked over from a falling tree during a windstorm
  • Bond, Varley – Does His ghost haunt the Stoner House?
  • Breiby, Edwin Died in a plane crash at Madison airport, his body was burned beyond recognition
  • Burns, George – Died in Madison police station, nothing else known about him
  • Coffman, Jerome & Thelma – Jerome was electrocuted on the job, Thelma accidentally shot by brother
  • Draper, Lyman – Claimed to have contacted the dead
  • Edgar, William & Michael Zwank – Both killed in the Capitol Collapse of 1883
  • Ela, Emerson – Dirty judge who freed "Dogskin" Johnson to try and get himself elected
  • Engelberger, John – Does His ghost haunt the Castle & Doyle Building?
  • Fairchild, Cassius – Reopened wound while acting as a pallbearer leading to his death
  • Fischer, Richard – Almost 40 years after being killed in Vietnam his remains were buried
  • Fitch, Demming – Cemetery Superintendent, had the job of moving remains
  • Four Teens – Died in a car crash together, now buried side by side
  • Freeman, John – His wife and two of their children died at their own hand
  • Harvey, Governor Lewis – Drowned, his body was found 14 days later 65 miles downstream
  • Hauge, Arnie – 11 year old boy dies on Lowell school playground of a weak heart
  • Hough, William – Was in the midst of platting Forest Hill when he died
  • Hult, Clarence & Robert – Father & son drown in car that goes through ice on Mendota
  • Jefferson, E. H. – Son of President Thomas Jefferson
  • Jenkins, Lindsay – Fell from atop a nine story building
  • Klauber, Caroline – Died on the spot upon hearing of the death of a young friend
  • Kutzbock, August – Suicide by drowning, filled pockets with rocks and walked into Lake Mendota
  • La Follette, Robert Jr. – Suicide in Washington D.C.
  • La Follette, Robert Sr. – Dug up his father's & brother's bones and reburied them at Forest Hill
  • Lamp, Gerald – Smothered when sand collapsed on him while digging a tunnel playing
  • Lawrence, Charlotte & Thomas – Husband and wife die on the same train bridge 20 years apart
  • Lefferts Children – All three children died within 16 days from diphtheria in May 1877
  • Lewis, Henry – Hanged himself in the Dane County jail
  • Marks, Eugene – Died in fall building new capitol at Bismarck, North Dakota
  • Martin, Leona – Newlywed commits suicide, jumps from hotel window
  • Moore, Anthony – Hitting the gas rather than brake causes death of young boy
  • Moore, Janet – Her body was found under a mobile home porch, she had gone there to hide
  • Nelson, Raymond – Gored by deer
  • Nelson, Robert – Kills self after abducting, then releasing, woman
  • Nielson, William – Grief stricken after his dog died he hung himself with the leash
  • Parish, Walter – Both legs and one arm were severed from a fall between train cars
  • Paul Children – All three children died within 2 days from diphtheria in May 1892
  • Peat, Becky – One of two girls run down in front of East High in 1991
  • Peil, Rocky – A strange death, heart recovered years later
  • Petersen, Sylvia – Shot and killed by her husband, Alfred, because they were both in poor heath. Alfred then killed himself.
  • Plaenert, Harry – Harry was buried alive under a pile of sand
  • Purdie, Maxwell – His body was kept in the receiving vault for almost a year and a half
  • Quigley, Rev. Susan – Killed by hit-and-run crossing street perpetrator denies doing it but eventually convicted.
  • Robinson, Robert – Dies from a 75 foot fall while working on an antenna
  • Ruck, Ronald – Child dies in fall from mothers’ arms
  • Schmudlach, Coleen – Froze to death
  • Shafer, Allan – Quarterback for the Wisconsin football team, he died from injuries sustained in a game with Iowa
  • Siebecker, Lee – Hangs self a year and a half after partner, Michael Olbrich, died in the same manner
  • Smith, Isaac & Sarah – "Don't Bury Sarah, I am going to die tonight and then we can be buried together"
  • Smith, John – Buried along side three wives
  • Wallestad, Arthur – Fell and hit his head, died in freezing temperatures
  • Ward, AJ & Lucius Fairchild – Ward amputated Fairchild's arm in the Civil War, they are buried only a few feet away from each other
  • Watkins, Elbert – Died of a heart attack while being interviewed on camera
  • White, Charles – Died from a fall while in a fight with another man
  • White, Joseph – Died from a fall from window at Madison general hospital

  • Body Parts – In some cases just limbs have been buried
  • Jewish Books – The Jewish people bury religious books that can no longer be used