These 10 Famous People Died In Arizona...And Exactly Where It Happened
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Monica Spencer
Author
Beloved, hated, misunderstood; there are plenty of famous people who have passed through Arizona lands over the years. Many have also died on Arizona soil, though not all were buried here. If you’re curious about some of the people who lived and died in our state, check out this short list.
A military leader among the Chiricahua Apaches, he led an uprising against the Americans after rising tensions between the two groups. Two years after a brief negotiation was reached, he died from natural causes and was buried in an undisclosed location in his homeland. Since no picture exists of him, we’re showing a picture of Cochise Stronghold.
One of the famed Earp brothers, Morgan was assassinated at the Campbell & Hatch Billiard Parlor in Tombstone through a windowed door. Morgan’s death sparked his brothers to seek a vendetta on the outlaw cowboys who had been threatening the Earps and were presumed responsible.
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Hayes (Akimel O’odham) served in the Marines during World War II and is best known as one of the people in the iconic flag raising photo on Iwo Jima. He was lauded as a military hero when he returned to the states and had trouble adjusting to both the fame and civilian life. He passed away January 24, 1955 in Sacaton from exposure and alcohol poisoning.
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The famous architect wintered in Scottsdale during his later years, even setting up Taliesin West as a home, studio, and school. Wright died April 9, 1959 in Phoenix, several days after a scheduled surgery.
A birth control activist, Sanger founded the organization now known as Planned Parenthood. She relocated to Tucson in the the 1930s. She died in 1966 of congestive heart failure, one year after the landmark Griswold v. Connecticut which essentially legalized contraception in the US.
The track and field athlete is best known for winning four Olympic gold medals during the Berlin games in Nazi Germany. He died in 1980 from an aggressive form of lung cancer.
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Chávez was a labor leader and civil rights activist for farm workers and is known for his nonviolent tactics. He died on April 23, 1993 in his home in San Luis (near Yuma).
A photographer and animal rights activist, she was also well-known for simply being married to Paul McCartney. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995 and died of it three years later at the family’s Tucson home.
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Jennings was a radio DJ, actor, and musician who also brought us the "Dukes of Hazzards" theme song. In his later years, he suffered from many health problems and eventually died from complications with diabetes in Chandler.
This conservative radio personality was known for his show, "The Rest of the Story," and an impressive seven decades on air. He died at a Phoenix hospital, although the cause was not disclosed by his family.
A former member of the Chicago police department, Farina took up acting and was known for his roles as gangsters or police offices, like Detective Joe Fontana in "Law & Order." He died in 2013 from pulmonary embolism (a clogged artery) in a Scottsdale hospital.
The award-winning Italian architect first came to Arizona during an apprenticeships at Taliesin West with Frank Lloyd Wright. He lived in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley while designing and building the Arcosanti community. Soleri died of natural causes at 92 in his Paradise Valley home.
Of course we didn’t list everyone. What famous person were you sorry to see not make the list?
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