KU Giving Magazine
Support Your Passion
In 1928, Lawrence’s mayor renamed the burial ground Pioneer Cemetery and assigned crews to clean it up. By the early 1950s, however, it was again heavily overgrown. Chancellor Franklin Murphy took a personal interest in it and persuaded KU Endowment to consider acquiring it. In 1953, the city deeded Pioneer Cemetery to KU Endowment for one dollar.
The first burial there in 86 years was that of Elmer McCollum, a KU alumnus, eminent scientist and discoverer of Vitamin A. He spent most of his career away from Kansas, but he retained fond memories of Lawrence and KU and wished to be buried in Pioneer Cemetery. On May 6, 1968, his ashes were interred there, and a new chapter in the cemetery’s history began.
Since then, Pioneer Cemetery has become the final resting place for more than 450 members of the KU community. It remains an active cemetery, with new interments each year and frequent visitors, who wish to stop by the graves of loved ones or explore the history of Lawrence and KU.
For questions about interment or to make a gift, contact Monte Soukup at msoukup@kuendowment.org or 785-832-7435. To learn more about the history of Pioneer Cemetery visit kuhistory.com.
Recognizing that space in Pioneer Cemetery is quite limited, KU Endowment in 1994 developed the following regulations for those who would be buried there.
Eligibility
Other regulations
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