Charles Blondin

popular name: William Duggan

date_of_death: December 22, 1950

age: 51

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: Even as a young boy, all William "Billy" Duggan ever wanted to do is join the circus. At age 12 he ran away from home to join the Sparks Circus where among his other duties, he was tasked with feeding the elephants. He quickly feel in love with these magnificent beasts and spent nearly 40 years working for one circus after another. In 1934, Mr. Duggan created the Duggan Brothers Circus, which toured for about a year. In 1950, he purchased the Pan American Animal Exhibit and began planning to make it into a three-ring circus that he named the Hagen-Wallace Circus. But of all the animals in his new circus, a young elephant by the name of Nancy was by far his favorite. Unfortunately Billy took ill and never saw the first performance of his new circus when he died suddenly. In his honor, Duggan’s son arranged for this life-size replica of Nancy, Duggan’s beloved baby elephant, to be carved from Tate, Georgia white marble and placed on his father’s grave. The cost of the sculpture was said to be nearly $10,000 (that's $131,000 in today's money). He was laid to rest at Grave of Pleasant Grove Primitive Cemetery in Moultrie, Georgia.

popular name: Lorraine Warren

date_of_death: April 18, 2019

age: 92

cause_of_death: Natural causes

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: Lorraine Warren was a world renowned paranormal researcher and ghosthunter and was half of the husband and wife team of Ed and Lorraine Warren, Seekers of the Supernatural. The team was often asked to assist in numerous police investigations involving satanic ritualistic murders, and were in high demand by hundreds of colleges and universities to speak on the subject of the supernatural. Ed and Lorraine, have co-authored ten books on the subject of the supernatural. Two of the books were made into made for television movies, The Demon Murder Case and The Haunted. They were among only a handful of investigators asked to investigate the Amityville Horror Case, and were consultants on the first Amityville Horror film. After his passing, the film franchise featuring Ed and Lorraine Warren (portrayed by actors Vera Farmigo and Peter Wilson) “The Conjuring” has grossed over $2 billion in global ticket sales. The Conjuring was released in 2013, and quickly became one of the most widely-praised supernatural horror flicks in recent history.

popular name: Elizabeth Edwards

date_of_death: December 7, 2010

age: 61

cause_of_death: Metastatic breast cancer

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: During a lifetime of idyllic successes and crushing reverses, Elizabeth Edwards was an accomplished lawyer, the mother of four children and the wife of a wealthy, handsome senator with sights on the White House. But their 16-year-old son was killed in a car crash, cancer struck her at age 55, the political dreams died and, within months, her husband admitted to having had an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer. The scandal over the affair faded after his disclosure in 2008. But in 2009, Mrs. Edwards resurrected it in a new book and interviews and television appearances, telling how her husband had misrepresented the infidelity to her, rocked their marriage and spurned her advice to abandon his run for the presidency. Eventually John Edwards admitted he had fathered a child with the staffer. Soon afterward, he and Mrs. Edwards separated legally. Her story and John Edwards subsequent charges of campaign finance violations involving his mistress to the tune of $900,000 was fodder for tabloids for the better part of a year. Elizabeth Edwards gravesite is one of the top most-visited memorials at historic Oakwood Cemetery.