Bro. Burl Ives: A Visit To His Final Resting Place

by Midnight Freemasons Contributor
Gregory J. Knott


Final resting place of
The Ilustrious Burl Ives, 33rd Degree
"When you've set goals and dreams, you don't feel old."

~The Illustrious Burl Ives, 33°
Magnolia Lodge No. 242, California


I was driving to my wife's family's house in southern Illinois and I had the opportunity to stop and visit the cemetery in which American folk singer Burl Ives is buried. He is one of my favorite singers of all time, and I had the opportunity to see him perform in 1981 when I was Scout attending the National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill Virginia.

Bro. Ives had a long association with freemasonry:

Brother Ives was involved in Freemasonry as a youth, becoming a DeMolay on December 5, 1927. Then, after moving to California, he petitioned Magnolia (now Magnolia-La Cumbre) Lodge No. 242.  In 1977, he joined the Scottish Rite Bodies of Santa Barbara, California, becoming a dual member in the Valley of Bellingham, Washington, in 1990. In recognition of his many services to our Order, he was invested with the Rank of Knight Commander Court of Honour in 1985, coroneted an Inspector General Honorary in 1987, and elected a Grand Cross by The Supreme Council in 1993.



Appropriately, the passing of Ill.·. Bro.·. Ives was marked by a memorial service held, under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of F. & A. M. of California on May 4, 1995, at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Los Angeles. Also, following graveside services by the Reverend Stephen Willis, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Newton, Illinois, the officers of The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of A. F. & A. M. of the State of Illinois assembled on May 15, 1995 at Mound Cemetery to conduct a memorial service of the Craft for Brother Ives as a courtesy to his home Lodge, Magnolia-La Cumbre No. 242, of Santa Barbara, California. The cremains of Bro.·. Ives were then placed in the grave.


As I walked through the Cemetery, I noticed that several other members of the Ives were also buried there, including his parents Frank Ives 1880-1947 and Cordella Ives 1882-1954, both of whom were associated with Masonry and Order of the Eastern Star. Their graves are right next to Bro. Ives.



The gravesite of Burl Ives' parents Frank and Cordella--
both active in the fraternity
~GJK

Gregory J. Knott is the Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 in St. Joseph (IL) and a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), and Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL). He's a member of both the Scottish Rite, and the York Rite, and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club in Champaign-Urbana. He's also a member of the Ansar Shrine (IL). Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts--an Eagle Scout himself, he serves the Grand Lodge of Illinois A. F. & A. M. as their representative to the National Association of Masonic Scouters.

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