Woodlawn Cemetery - Lima Ohio

05/28/2026

One of Lima's most able and interesting attorneys, Harry O. Bentley, entered the legal profession and eventually was a partner in the firm of Wheeler, Bentley & Neville. He was noted for his brilliant courtroom work. He and his wife, Blanche (Neff) Bentley, selected a classic style monument for their burial site. He passed away in 1942, and she survived him by 17 years.

05/25/2026

Wishing you a special day of remembrance on this Memorial Day and remembering all those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

05/21/2026

William J. & Henry G. Wemmer were partners to Henry Deisel in the Deisel-Wemmer Cigar Company. As the Wemmer brothers shared everything in life, so in death their families are entombed in a very handsome granite mausoleum built in 1918 on the death of Helen J. (Rieckert) Wemmer, William's wife. The two men were noted examples of thrift, ingenuity, and community spirit. William Wemmer died in 1932, and his brother Henry in 1940. He was preceded in death by his son, Henry R. in 1933, and his wife Rose Fredericka (Sautter) in 1937. Henry R.'s wife, Martha (Laughlin) survived until 1987. Also buried there are William and Helen's children: Walter H. d. 1901, Bessie d. 1921, and Henry G. & Frederick's daughter Edna d. 1905.

05/15/2026

The William M. Bell plot, on which there is a dignified memorial stone, contains many members of the Bell family. The Bells operated various industries and commercial endeavors, including the Harman & Bell furniture store on N. Main Street. Frank Harman, married to Bell daughter Clara M., built the building at Market and Elizabeth, which was long known as the Lima First Block, and is now the Enterprise Building. He met with business reverses, but will always be remembered for his civic-minded spirit.

05/10/2026

05/07/2026

George S. Vicary was well known for his wit and practical common sense in business deals. He came to Lima as a master railroad mechanic, later worked at the Solar Refinery, and finally operated the Star Iron Works at 317 E. Eureka Street. Mr. Vicary was first married to Melvina Walker Harden, who died in 1878 in California. He remarried in 1882 to Lima school teacher Anna Bell (Melhorn) and they lived at 332 W. Market Street. He died in 1922 and she in 1933, leaving no children. A tall, draped shaft marks the Vicary family's burial plot.

04/30/2026

Edward Lorenz Bayley, a Shakespearean actor, came to Lima many years ago and was married to Margaret H. (Bowsher) Ridenour, widow of prominent Lima attorney, Jacob Cloyd Ridenour. After her death, Mr. Bayley became chauffer for Nettie Pick (Streeter) Edwards (then in her 80s), and within a short time, married her. Nettie, who was always remembered for her role in Lima's night life, died in 1949 at age 86, leaving her new husband a considerable estate. Two years later, Mr. Bayley died at age 68. A red granite monument marks their graves.

04/23/2026

The Stueber family monument memorializes "Father" and "Mother," Andrew J. Stueber (1834-1902), and Katharine ( Marx) Stueber (1836-1924). Andrew was a railroad blacksmith, who was hit and killed by a P., F.W, & C. train while on duty as a watchman. Katharine was a licensed midwife, trained at Heidelberg, Germany, before coming to America and bringing her parents along. The Stuebers' two sons followed their mother's calling in medicine. Dr. Frederick G. Stueber's specialties were otolaryngology and opthalmology, and Dr. Louis J. Stueber was in the military, which unfortunately ruined his health and led to an early death (1904). Dr. F.G. and his wife Emma (Moser) Stueber, and their son Dr. Paul J. and his wife Alice (Williamson) Stueber are buried in the big mausoleum. Their son, Dr. Paul J. Stueber is here with his wife Anne (Krueger) Stueber (d. 1996 and 2006). Louis's wife Nina E. (Purtscher) Stueber is also buried close by with a smaller monument; however, George Marx, her husband is nowhere to be found (d.1871).

04/16/2026

The name Baxter is very prominent in Lima history and includes bankers, physicians, dentists, merchants, newspapermen, automotive dealers, real estate, and hospital administrators. Samuel A. Baxter, Jr. built an imposing mausoleum in a scenic setting. He died in 1908. His father, Samuel A. Baxter, Sr., had died in 1875 and is also buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, behind and above the family mausoleum with his first wife, Nancy Meason (d. 1862). Among the Baxter clan interred in the valut are Frank Baxter (1938), Clement Baxter (1957), and their wives. The latest interment was Helen (Baxter) Boyle, daughter of Frank Baxter, in 1979.

04/09/2026

A tall granite shaft memorializes the Stamets family. John P. Stamets brought the family to Lima in 1877 and became a local hardware merchant, owning a carriage shop as well. He and his wife, Malinda (Kern) Stamets, only had one child survive: Lorin E. Stamets. After the father's death in 1897, Lorin carried on the family business, then became involved in real estate, putting up downtown buildings. Lorin married Minnie Reichelderfer, daughter of the local lumber merchant, so had interests in that business as well. She died in 1924. He was a secretary/treasurer of Woodlawn Cemetery before his death in 1935, when the distribution of his estate made a large splash in the papers. Eventually, the only heirs were, as he had intended, the YWCA, YMCA, the Lima Hospital Society, and Woodlawn Cemetery. Also buried here are his borther, Harry Stamets and his family.