Search This Blog

Thursday, November 3, 2011

TOMBSTONE ADDED ON CHEVROLET ANNIVERSARY

Indianapolis, Indiana - On Thursday's 100th anniversary of the Chevrolet automobile, Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials announced the placement of a headstone on the Indianapolis gravesite of Arthur Chevrolet.

Louis Chevrolet, who founded the auto brand that bears his family name, is buried in Holly Cross and Saint Joseph Cemetery in Indianapolis alongside his younger brothers Gaston, the 1920 Indianapolis 500 winner, and Arthur.

But Arthur Chevrolet died without family or the means to pay for a gravesite marker, so since 1946 his burial site lacked a headstone.

The Speedway arranged for David Ring, an Indy 500 fan who owns a funeral business, to have the stone placed at Arthur Chevrolet's burial site adjacent to those of his brothers, who did have markers bearing their names.

"When I heard that Arthur did not have a headstone I worked with IMS to arrange for one to be created and placed," Ring said.

Louis Chevrolet, born to Swiss parents, grew up in France and worked in a French car factory. He emmigrated to the United States and opened his car factory, then sent for his younger brothers to join him.

Louis Chevrolet raced in the Indianapolis 500 four times, his best showing a seventh-place finish in 1917.

Arthur Chevrolet raced twice in the Indy 500, finishing 36th in the 1911 inaugural race and 18th in 1916.

Gaston Chevrolet won the 1920 Indy 500 but was killed later that year in a race at Beverly Hills, California.

No comments:

Post a Comment