These famous people were not born in New Jersey, but are buried here

Among the many graves of famous New Jersey natives in state cemeteries are those of notable individuals who moved to the Garden State, adopted it as their home and remain in their final resting place.

For the most part, people choose to be buried based on where they were born, grew up and where their loved ones live. North Jersey notable natives who are buried in the state include Whitney Houston, Allen Ginsberg, Virginia Apgar, Aaron Burr and Grover Cleveland.

Among the non-native notables who are buried in New Jersey are Thomas Alva Edison, who was born in Ohio, Missouri-born Yogi Berra, Joey Ramone from New York and Althea Gibson originally from South Carolina.

Here is a list of famous people who have New Jersey as their final resting place:

Thomas Alva Edison

Edison, born in Milan, Ohio, and known as the Wizard of Menlo Park, is famous for making a workable lightbulb, inventor of the phonograph and an early film pioneer. His film studios eventually made almost 1,200 films.

Edison was also a pioneer in the electric power grid, helping to light up sections of Manhattan in the late 19th century and eventually merged with a number of energy producers to become Consolidated Edison (ConEd) in 1936. The inventor and businessman died in 1931 at age 84. He was buried alongside his wife Mina at West Orange's Edison National Historic Site.

Enoch Poor

A brigadier general in Gen. George Washington's Continental Army, Poor was born and raised in Andover, Massachusetts. He took part in the invasion of Canada, and his brigade played a key role in fending off British attacks in the Battle of Freeman's Farm and Battle of Bemis Heights, collectively known as the Battle of Saratoga. His brigade was one of the many who wintered in Morristown in 1776 through 1777 and participated in the Battle of Monmouth in 1778.

Poor was garrisoned near Hackensack where he died at age 44 after a brief illness that may some speculate derived from a gunshot wound suffered during a duel. After a funeral attended by his superior Marquis de Lafayette and Gen. George Washington, Poor was buried in the cemetery outside Hackensack's First Dutch Reformed Church.

Ben E. King

Born in Henderson, North Carolina, the "Stand By Me" singer moved to Harlem at age 9 but as an adult settled in Teaneck. Born Benjamin E. Nelson, King started in R&B groups before going solo and taking his stage name in 1960. "Stand By Me" was one of his first solo hits and the song's reemergence alongside the 1986 movie of the same name saw King become the first to have Billboard Hot 100 hits in the '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s. King died in 2015 at the age of 76 and was buried in Hackensack Cemetery and Mausoleum.

Olympia Dukakis

A talented fencer in her youth who treated patients with polio before finding her place on stage and screen, Dukakis appeared in prominent dramatic films including "Steel Magnolias," "Mr. Holland's Opus," and "Moonstruck." The latter role earned her an Oscar and a Golden Globe. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Dukakis moved to Montclair in 1970, where she raised three children with fellow actor Louis Zorich. Dukakis died in New York City in 2021 at the age of 89. She was interred in Montclair's Mount Hebron Cemetery.

Yogi Berra

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1925, Berra signed with the New York Yankees in 1943 before joining the U.S. Navy and landing on Normandy Beach the following year. Though wounded in his catching hand during combat, Berra became one of the best catchers in Major League Baseball history, serving behind the plate for Don Larsen's perfect game, in game five of the 1956 World Series.

Berra won the American League Most Valuable Player Award three times, the World Series 10 times and the All-Star Team 18 times. A long-time resident of Montclair, Berra was also known for his turns of phrase, known as "Yogisms." Berra died in 2015 and was buried in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover.

Althea Gibson

A native of Silver, South Carolina, Gibson won plenty of gold. The Associated Press' Female Athlete of the Year in 1957 and 1958, Gibson won three of tennis' four Grand Slams and was the first Black player to compete in the women's pro golf tour.

Gibson, who moved to Harlem at a young age, later settled in East Orange. She became New Jersey's first female athletic commissioner in 1976 and the following year made an unsuccessful bid for State Senate. Gibson died in 2003 at age 76 and was buried in Rosedale Cemetery in Montclair.

Shirley Booth

Born Marjory Ford, Booth is one of just two dozen actors to have won an Oscar, a Primetime Emmy and a Tony Award. A New York City native, Booth made her Broadway debut in January 1925 alongside Humphrey Bogart and featured regularly in radio series and plays before breaking into television and films in the 1950s. The lead in the 1960s series "Hazel," Booth won both her Emmys for outstanding performance by a lead actress in a series. She died in 1992 in her Massachusetts home and was buried in her family plot in Montclair's Mount Hebron Cemetery.

More: Scout helps preservation group restore slave cemetery in Mahwah

Dudley Moore

Dudley Moore was born in England and won a music scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford and later starred in London's West End. He appeared in several BBC TV shows but after marrying actress Tuesday Weld moved to the USA.

He won notice for his performance as a supporting actor in "Foul Play" and was selected as the lead in the iconic 1970's movie, "10". He is perhaps best known for his title role in "Arthur," which he starred in with Liza Minelli. In 1999, he announced that he had a degenerative brain disorder. He died three years later in Plainfield and was buried in Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains

Michelle Thomas

Born in Brookline, Massachusetts in 1968, Thomas was crowned Miss Talented Teen New Jersey in 1984 and later that year appeared on "Soul Train". In 1988, she portrayed Justine Phillips, the girlfriend of Theo Huxtable on the massively popular comedy series "The Cosby Show." She appeared in numerous TV shows before landing the role of Myra Monkhouse, an attractive girl who is attracted to nerdy boys, polka music and, ultimately, Steve Urkel of "Family Matters."

In August 1997, Thomas was diagnosed with a rare cancer. She died the next year and was buried in Montclair's Rosedale Cemetery.

Joey Ramone

Ramone, born Jeffrey Hyman in Queens, New York, was not the original lead singer of the iconic punk rock band, the Ramones. After Dee Dee Ramone determined he could not sing and play guitar at the same time, he turned over the frontman duties to Joey, who was a drummer turned guitarist.

The band had initially limited commercial or critical success. Still, the Ramones had an outsized influence on rock music and the punk subculture during its run from 1974 to 1996. Many credit the Ramones and their first concert at Greenwich Village's CBGBs in 1974 for ushering in the punk rock era. Diagnosed with lymphoma in 1995, Joey died six years later at the age of 49. He was interred in New Mount Zion Cemetery in Lyndhurst.

David Prater

Prater, a Grammy Award-winning soul singer best known for the song "Soul Man," was born in Georgia. Dave in the R&B duo Sam & Dave, Prater grew up singing gospel choirs before meeting Sam Moore in Florida in 1961. The two put out 10 consecutive Billboard Top 20 singles in the 1960s and saw a resurgence of popularity in 1979 when the Blues Brothers covered "Soul Man." Prater moved to Paterson in 1974 but died in his home state from injuries suffered from an April 1988 car crash. Then 50, Prater was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Totowa.

Elston Howard

A St. Louis, Missouri, native, just like fellow New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra, Howard in 1955 became the team's first Black player. The nine-time Major League Baseball all-star and 1963 American League Most Valuable Player later became a fixture in Teaneck. Howard moved there in 1958 and served on the Board of Education for Bergen County's vocational and technical high schools before he died in 1980 at the age of 51. Howard was buried in Paramus' George Washington Memorial Park.

Luther Vandross

Born in Manhattan, New York, Luther Vandross won eight Grammy Awards during a heralded singing career that started at the famed Apollo Theater. Vandross spent years as a backup singer for artists from King and Diana Ross to Ringo Starr and David Bowie before breaking through as a solo artist in the 1980s with the song "Never Too Much." He remained at the top of R&B even after suffering a stroke in 2003, due to that year's release of "Dance With My Father." Vandross died two years later at the age of 54. He was buried in George Washington Memorial Park, in Paramus.

Kitty Kallen

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kitty Kallen sang with many big band greats such as Harry James Jimmy Dorsey and Artie Shaw and is known for her song "It's Been A Long, Long, Time," which she recorded with James in 1945 and played often to welcome the troops returning from the Second World War.

She began singing on the radio as a child. Kellen received formal training in music and was said to have flawless pitch and diction. Soon, she was singing with the big bands. Kallen's career contained no fewer than five hits. She spent most of her career living with her husband Budd Granoff in Englewood, but died in Cuernavaca, Mexico, in 2017 at 94. She was buried in Beth-El Cemetery in Paramus.

Lou Duva

A legendary boxing trainer and promoter who worked with Evander Holyfield, Michael Moorer and Pernell Whitaker, Duva was born in New York City, New York, but grew up in Paterson. Duva started in boxing as a fighter in the 1940s but quit to open a trucking business. He nonetheless remained around the sport and in 1955 opened Garden Gym in central Paterson, launching his historic ringside run. Duva was inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998. He died 19 years later at the age of 94 and was buried in Totowa's Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

William Colfax

Born in 1756 in New London, Connecticut, Colfax was commissioned as a lieutenant in Gen. George Washington's Continental Army at the age of 17 and eventually served as a Capt. Washington's Life Guards. He participated in battles from Bunker Hill to Yorktown and was injured three times. Once, he took a bullet in his midriff.

After the war, Colfax settled in modern-day Passaic County and served as a Bergen County judge and a New Jersey state legislator. He was called back to duty in his 50s to participate in the War of 1812 but ultimately returned to Wayne. He was buried there in 1838 in the Colfax Family Burying Ground.

Joseph Wiseman

Best known for playing the creepy villain in the James Bond film "Dr. No," Wiseman was born in Montreal and raised in New York City. He was cast for his career-defining role in December 1961 at the age of 43. By then, Wiseman had been entertaining (and often unsettling) audiences for decades, starting his career at 16 and making his Broadway debut at 20 in "Abe Lincoln in Illinois." Wiseman died in 2009 at the age of 91 in his Manhattan home. He was buried in King Solomon Memorial Park in Clifton.

George Gately

Born in Queens Village, New York, Gately was the cartoonist best known for creating “Heathcliff.” The younger brother of fellow cartoonist, John Gallagher, Gately in 1964 began his foray into newspaper comics with "Hapless Harry." Nine years later, he introduced America to "Heathcliff," a stout, toothy-grinned feline with a penchant for mischief. Gately retired in 1998 and died in 2001 at the age of 72, but "Heathcliff" lives on through his nephew, Peter Gallagher. Gately was buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Tenafly.

Lamont 'Big L' Coleman

A Harlem rapper best known for his clever wordplay, street life subject matter and freestyling skills, Coleman was born in 1974 and died less than 25 years later when he was shot nine times in a drive-by shooting. During his brief career, Coleman worked with Columbia Records before forming his own label, Flamboyant Entertainment. In February 1999, when he was shot and killed, Coleman was on the brink of signing to Roc-A-Fella Records, which famously included Jay-Z. Like Howard and Vandross, Coleman was buried in George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus.

Mychal Judge

It may seem strange that a friar, albeit a chaplain for the New York Fire Department, is on this list but those who knew Judge said they knew a legend. He was the first official victim of the 9/11 attacks. Born in Brooklyn in 1933, Judge lived a courageous life ministering the aid and advocating for gay rights.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Judge rushed to the stricken towers and entered the lobby of the World Trade Center's North Tower to provide aid and comfort for the rescuers and survivors. When the South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m., debris went flying through into the lobby and Judge died at that time from a heart attack at the age of 68. Judge's body was found and carried out of the North Tower by five people. He was buried in Totowa's Holy Sepulcher Cemetery.

Estee Lauder

A Queens, New York native born Josephine Esther Mentzer, Estee Lauder created a cosmetics empire. The only woman among 20 people in Time Magazine's list of the 20th century's great "builders and titans," Lauder famously gave away product samples to potential customers as part of her revolutionary focus on sales techniques.

Growing up, Lauder wanted to be an actress. She ended up working for her chemist uncle John Schotz and his company, New Way Laboratories, where she began a pioneering foray into the beauty industry. Lauder died in Manhattan in 2004 at the age of 95. She was buried in Paramus' Beth-El Cemetery.

The Isley Brothers

Natives of Cincinnati, Ohio, three of The Isley Brothers of R&B - O'Kelly, Rudolph and their younger brother Marvin - are buried in Paramus' George Washington Memorial Park. O'Kelly and Rudolph were members of the original trio that included Ronald Isley, also known today as Mr. Biggs.

Marvin joined the group in 1973, along with brother Ernie Isley and Rudolph's brother-in-law Chris Jasper. In its various iterations, the group released 16 Billboard Top 40 albums. It earned the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014, nearly 60 years after Rudolph himself a house in Teaneck and his mother a place in Englewood for her and his younger brothers.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: These famous people were not born in New Jersey, but are buried here