Famous people's places / Detroit – East Side
Forest Lawn Cemetery
Detroit's east-side non-denominational cemetery, opened in 1889, where journalist Helen Thomas's ashes were buried in 2013.
01 / The story of this place
Make time for these
Forest Lawn Cemetery opened on Detroit's east side in 1889, spreading across parkland along Van Dyke Avenue south of McNichols Road. It became one of the city's major non-denominational burial grounds, filling over the following century with the graves of Civil War veterans, business leaders and civic figures alongside ordinary Detroiters. Journalist Helen Thomas, the trailblazing White House correspondent who covered ten U.S. presidents for United Press International, was born in Kentucky but grew up in Detroit; after her death in 2013, her ashes were interred here following a funeral on August 15, 2013. The cemetery remains an active, operating burial ground today.
- Opened in 1889 on Detroit's east side
- Runs along Van Dyke Avenue south of McNichols Road
- Holds graves of Civil War veterans and civic leaders
- Journalist Helen Thomas's ashes were buried here in 2013
- Still an active cemetery today
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 4
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- Helen Thomas 1920–2013 · journalist, White House correspondent, columnist
Buried here
Her ashes were buried in Detroit after her funeral on August 15, 2013; Find a Grave lists her here.
- Vincent Chin 1955–1982 · draftsman, hate-crime victim
Buried here
Cemetery where Vincent Chin is buried, later joined by his parents.
- Hank Cosby 1928–2002 · saxophonist, songwriter, arranger, producer
Buried here
His grave (per Wikidata).
- Lily Chin 1920–2002 · civil rights activist
Buried here
Detroit cemetery where Lily Chin is buried with her husband and son.
Is this your venue? Update this page for free ↗
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
Events at this place
Published events automatically linked from our event guide. Times are local to the venue.
We have no published upcoming events linked to this place yet. That does not mean the venue has no events; check its official calendar too.
Official website & visitor information ↗