A Detroit Cigar Baron's Mausoleum Was Stripped by Thieves, But No One Ever Told the Family
The mausoleum built for Susan Burns' grandfather, Oscar Rosenberger, owner of the once-famous San Telmo Cigar Company in Detroit, was ransacked at Woodmere Cemetery. The thieves stole the ornate copper doors and a stained-glass window, leaving the family landmark designed by architect Albert Kahn damaged and exposed.
Burns found out about the theft while browsing online and is devastated. "I just found out about this, and I'm devastated," she says. "They desecrated a sacred landmark, and I'm the only one left to find out about this." The theft occurred in late 2012 as part of a broader wave of graveyard crimes at Woodmere Cemetery.
Thirteen years later, on Tuesday, I visited Woodmere Cemetery and discovered that the damage had not been fully sealed. The front of the Rosenberger mausoleum, where the copper doors once stood, had been boarded up. However, a rear opening where the stained-glass window had been removed was still open to the elements.
Theft at Woodmere Cemetery is part of a broader trend of vandalism targeting century-old mausoleums and other metal memorials. A year earlier, vandals toppled headstones and destroyed statues across the cemetery. The 250-acre cemetery in southwest Detroit is also home to the resting place of mayors, senators, judges, authors, lumber barons, and Civil War soldiers who were moved there after Fort Wayne was razed.
Burns, who lives in Florida, says she is incensed that no one from the cemetery notified her. "It's disgusting, and they did nothing," she says. "I can't believe this. How dare they?" Burns contacted me after coming across a story I wrote about the theft in January 2013.
Everstory Partners, a Florida-based company that purchased Woodmere in October 2023, declined to discuss specific incidents or family issues publicly. However, Alan Byrd, a spokesman for Everstory Partners, says the company is working hard to improve conditions at Woodmere.
"This is unacceptable," Burns says. "They need to fix that mausoleum." The damage caused by the theft will be difficult to repair and the loss of the stained-glass window is irreplaceable. Burns is now looking for a lawyer to file a lawsuit against the cemetery owners, arguing they should have tried to locate surviving relatives and alert them to the theft.
The situation highlights issues with the management of cemeteries in Detroit. Everstory Partners has faced criticism from families at other cemeteries across the country. In Charlotte, N.C., a family filed a lawsuit against Everstory over conditions at York Memorial Park, while a couple sued the company in Virginia due to "extremely disrespectful" conditions at Roosevelt Memorial Park.
The situation is another example of how broken promises and lack of communication can lead to devastating consequences for families who entrust cemeteries with their loved ones' final resting place.
The mausoleum built for Susan Burns' grandfather, Oscar Rosenberger, owner of the once-famous San Telmo Cigar Company in Detroit, was ransacked at Woodmere Cemetery. The thieves stole the ornate copper doors and a stained-glass window, leaving the family landmark designed by architect Albert Kahn damaged and exposed.
Burns found out about the theft while browsing online and is devastated. "I just found out about this, and I'm devastated," she says. "They desecrated a sacred landmark, and I'm the only one left to find out about this." The theft occurred in late 2012 as part of a broader wave of graveyard crimes at Woodmere Cemetery.
Thirteen years later, on Tuesday, I visited Woodmere Cemetery and discovered that the damage had not been fully sealed. The front of the Rosenberger mausoleum, where the copper doors once stood, had been boarded up. However, a rear opening where the stained-glass window had been removed was still open to the elements.
Theft at Woodmere Cemetery is part of a broader trend of vandalism targeting century-old mausoleums and other metal memorials. A year earlier, vandals toppled headstones and destroyed statues across the cemetery. The 250-acre cemetery in southwest Detroit is also home to the resting place of mayors, senators, judges, authors, lumber barons, and Civil War soldiers who were moved there after Fort Wayne was razed.
Burns, who lives in Florida, says she is incensed that no one from the cemetery notified her. "It's disgusting, and they did nothing," she says. "I can't believe this. How dare they?" Burns contacted me after coming across a story I wrote about the theft in January 2013.
Everstory Partners, a Florida-based company that purchased Woodmere in October 2023, declined to discuss specific incidents or family issues publicly. However, Alan Byrd, a spokesman for Everstory Partners, says the company is working hard to improve conditions at Woodmere.
"This is unacceptable," Burns says. "They need to fix that mausoleum." The damage caused by the theft will be difficult to repair and the loss of the stained-glass window is irreplaceable. Burns is now looking for a lawyer to file a lawsuit against the cemetery owners, arguing they should have tried to locate surviving relatives and alert them to the theft.
The situation highlights issues with the management of cemeteries in Detroit. Everstory Partners has faced criticism from families at other cemeteries across the country. In Charlotte, N.C., a family filed a lawsuit against Everstory over conditions at York Memorial Park, while a couple sued the company in Virginia due to "extremely disrespectful" conditions at Roosevelt Memorial Park.
The situation is another example of how broken promises and lack of communication can lead to devastating consequences for families who entrust cemeteries with their loved ones' final resting place.
i feel so bad for this lady burns she's just devastated and wants to sue the cemetery owners for being so clueless... it's disgusting how some companies prioritize profits over people and graves 
And now the family has to deal with the emotional toll of finding out about it online and having to navigate a lawsuit against the cemetery owners... so much stress for no reason. 
. Can you believe some random thieves would desecrate a family's mausoleum like that? And no one from the cemetery even bothers to let Susan Burns know what happened? Like, come on! That copper door was probably priceless and now it's just gone 
. And I'm not even going to get started on how bad this looks for Everstory Partners, they're supposed to be fixing up the place but instead they're getting sued left and right 
. It's just another example of how cemeteries are being managed like they're just a money pit rather than a place where people go to pay their respects to loved ones 
.
It's not just about the monetary value; it's about the sentimental value and the memories that come with those artifacts. The copper doors and stained-glass window are like a part of the family's legacy, you know? 
It's unacceptable. I'm so sorry to see this happen, and I hope Everstory Partners takes responsibility for fixing the damage and being more communicative with families in the future. 
. I mean, that's some bad customer service right there. Burns is right to be incensed and looking for a lawyer - this kind of thing should have been handled properly from the start. And can you blame her if she feels like the cemetery owners just didn't care about the family's concerns? It's all about the benjamins, right? 
that's so sad! A family finds out about a theft after years go by & no one told them? It's like, how could they not check up on the mausoleum if someone was gonna steal from it? 
The damage is done & now a family has to deal with trying to fix it...that stained-glass window is like, priceless! 
!
. I mean, think about it, a bunch of old stuff just sitting there collecting dust for 13 years is probably just asking to be vandalized! It's like the universe was waiting for someone to shake things up around there. And can you blame the thieves for not telling the family? I'm sure Susan Burns has been living in Florida and hasn't even set foot in Detroit in years, so it's not like she could've shown up unannounced at the cemetery. Plus, if the Everstory Partners company is trying to improve conditions, maybe this is just a wake-up call for them? It's all about change, right?!