01/13/2026
Wyatt Earp: Born: March 19, 1848 in Monmouth, IL
Died: January 13, 1929 in Los Angeles, CA.
During all his years of law enforcement and gunfights Wyatt was never so much as grazed by a single bullet. Wyatt Earp spent his final years working mining claims in the Mojave Desert during the winters while summering in nearby Los Angeles. He died peacefully at the age of 81 with his wife Josie at the bedside. She was unable to attend his funeral because of her grief. After a Los Angeles funeral service with John Clum and George Parsons as well as his attorney from the Tombstone days, W.J. Hunsacker, Wilson Mizner, a friend from the Alaska days and early Hollywood western stars Tom Mix and William S. Hart as pallbearers. He was cremated in Los Angeles and his ashes were taken to Colma and interred in the Jewish section of the Hills of Eternity Cemetery.
Widowed Josie had her beloved Wyatt's ashes buried in the family plot at the Little Hills of Eternity Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery in Colma, California. One can surmise that as Josie's parents were both buried in this cemetery, and Josie knew that when her time came, she would be buried beside her parents. She and Wyatt probably discussed the matter, and Wyatt, having no record of anti-Semitism and adoring his wife, probably just said, "Sure."
Wyatt Earp was not Jewish, but his grave is surrounded by gravestones adorned with Stars of David and menorahs. Josie died in 1944, and was buried next to Wyatt.
Of course, the Earp gravesite is the most visited and popular tourist attraction in Colma. A simple, flat plaque anchors the Earps' joint gravesite, unlike the other graves around it, which are mostly upright, stone graves. Josie once had a 250-pound block of concrete installed to mark Wyatt's grave. Incredibly, in 1957, the concrete marker was stolen. We can presume, by huge Wyatt Earp fans
