Bonnie & Clyde Notorious in Life, Nondescript in Death

Visitors expecting a landmark, surprised by burial sites

Despite a long-held fascination with notorious bandits Bonnie and Clyde, their Dallas grave sites remain unremarkable.

So much so that when history buff Angela Ship went looking for them she was surprised by what she found.

“It was sad,” she said.  “Like it or not, good or bad, he’s part of Dallas history.”

The infamous couple met in Texas and the pair was blamed for numerous robberies and at least 13 murders during the early 1930s.

The pair are not buried together, but in separate cemeteries. Clyde Barrow is buried at the Western Heights Cemetery on Fort Worth Avenue while Bonnie Parker is buried at the Crown Hill Memorial Park on Webb Chapel Road in Northwest Dallas.

Ship said she found high grass, fallen tree limbs and scattered pieces of headstones around Clyde Barrow's grave.

Dallas cemetery historian Frances James maintains the Western Heights Cemetery through donations and volunteers.

“The state doesn’t care. The city doesn’t care.  The county doesn’t care,” James said.  “It's just individuals.”

To help raise money for unfunded cemeteries in Dallas County, James has written a book, with proceeds dedicated to her cause. 

Angela Ship hopes more people will help maintain the under-served sites.  “To me it’s a historical landmark. It should be kept nice."

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