Who is buried in Collier County, Florida? Denny Laine, golf legend
Some have made names for themselves in the sporting world, including one of only five golfers to achieve the Career Grand Slam.
Some went on to international fame in other careers, including one who performed alongside a musician who was once a member of the Beatles.
They are buried throughout Southwest Florida, and although not all of them are from Florida, they have ended up permanently in this state.
Here are some famous people buried in Collier and Lee Counties.
COLLIER COUNTY
Paul McCartney’s friend and Wings co-founder Denny Laine
Denny Laine lived in Naples for several years before he passed away late last year.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member died on December 5 in Naples and fans around the world shared their love and memories of the great musician.
He was the founding guitarist and lead singer of the Moody Blues and later co-founded Wings with his friend and former Beatles member Paul McCartney.
Laine was 79 when he died at NCH Baker Hospital in Naples and was buried in a small, private ceremony at Palm Royale Funeral Home & Cemetery in North Naples on Vanderbilt Beach Road.
Professional golfer, Masters champion Gene Sarazen
Born in Westchester County, New York in 1902, Gene Sarazen became a legendary professional golfer, culminating in his career when he won the Masters in 1935.
Sarazen is also in elite company as he is one of five players to have won four majors at least once, which is known as a “career Grand Slam” (winning the Masters, US Open, PGA Championship and Open Championship or British Open).
The other four who have accomplished this feat? Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
Sarazen died in 1999 at the age of 97 and is buried in Marco Island Cemetery.
Jack Ramsay, long-time NBA coach, commentator
Jack Ramsay grew up near Philadelphia and became famous as a basketball coach. In 1977, he led the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA championship.
In later years, he became a popular commentator of NBA games and was eventually inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He retired to Naples and died there in 2014. He was buried in the cemetery of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in North Naples.
LEE COUNTY
LPGA co-founder and golf champion Patty Berg
Patty Berg was a pioneer, helped found the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) and served as its president from 1950 to 1952.
The Minnesota native, who died in Fort Myers in 2006, won more than 60 tournaments, including 15 majors. She won the first US Women’s Open in 1946.
Berg, who died at age 88, is buried in Fort Myers Memorial Gardens.
World War I Medal of Honor recipient Cpl. Samuel M. Sampler
Samuel M. Sampler was born in a small town in Texas and achieved international fame through his heroic deeds.
His army company was attacked near Saint-Étienne-à-Arnes in France in October 1918 when he single-handedly attacked a German machine-gun nest and attacked the enemy with hand grenades.
During the operation, two German soldiers were killed and 28 were taken prisoner. In 1919, he received the Medal of Honor, the highest military award of the US armed forces.
“Thanks to his actions, the company was immediately able to continue its advance,” the medal citation states.
After his release, Sampler married Rosina in Oklahoma and the couple moved to her hometown of Philadelphia, where they raised their two children.
Samuel Sampler worked at the Naval Supply Depot in Philadelphia before retiring in Fort Myers, where he died in 1979 at the age of 84. He is buried in Fort Myers Memorial Gardens.
Western outlaw buried in Fort Myers
They say Florida is a place where people go when they want to escape something.
That may be true, but it is especially true of the Ten Thousand Islands in southwest Florida. The mangrove islands have attracted many famous people, and the most famous of them was probably Edgar “Bloody” Watson.
Watson died in 1910 when the residents of Chokoloskee riddled his body with 33 bullets. There are different versions explaining why they did this.
Watson allegedly hired “foreigners” to work on the plantation, and the Collier County News reported in 1954 that “people working for Watson disappeared shortly after asking for their wages.”
Some would later say that this led to the death of Watson, who many suspected had killed others. Watson ended up in the Chokoloskee area in the early 1880s. He came from Columbia County in northern Florida and was previously suspected of killing outlaw Belle Starr in Indian Territory in Oklahoma.
He then returned to Florida and killed a man in Arcadia, apparently in self-defense. Later, while in Key West for an auction, Watson slit the throat of a man who survived the attack. Watson was later suspected of killing two men he said had been “living” on his land when they refused to leave.
From outlaws to outcasts: Notorious people buried in Florida include Watergate burglars
The people of Chokoloskee seemed to have had enough of Watson when they gunned him down in the historic Smallwood Store in 1910.
Watson is buried in the Fort Myers Cemetery.
Dave Osborn is the regional editor of the Naples Daily News and News-Press. Follow him on Instagram and threads @lacrossewriter and on X (formerly Twitter) @NDN_dosborn.
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