JFK's assassin shot her husband; all she wants is to be buried next to him

UPDATE at 12:29 p.m. Nov. 19, 2018: This story was originally published Jan. 25, 2018. We're bringing it back to observe the 55th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and J.D. Tippit in Dallas.

The tip comes from legendary Texas lawman Jim Leavelle, now 97. He's the man in the light-colored cowboy hat who was handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald when he was shot and killed in 1963.

The retired Dallas police homicide detective tells The Watchdog a slain policeman's widow wants to be buried beside her fallen husband. But the cemetery has not been accommodating.

This police widow is Marie Tippit. Her husband, Officer J.D. Tippit, was shot and killed by Oswald in Oak Cliff minutes before he was captured.

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J.D. Tippit is buried at Laurel Land Memorial Park in Dallas. People come from all over the world on JFK assassination tours to visit Tippit's final resting place. Maps and photos leading to the gravesite are posted on the Internet.

Leavelle points me to Rick Janich, a retired DPD detective now raising money to create the Dallas Police Museum.

Janich tells me that a police officer's memorial garden was planned around Tippit's grave, but it was never created by the cemetery. With all the years passing, he guesses cemetery records are unclear.

"Somebody needs to get this straightened out," Janich said.

Officer Tippit was a hero

Officer Tippit, his widow Marie and their three children gave the ultimate sacrifice for the nation. The argument can be made that Oswald might not have been captured if Officer Tippit hadn't pulled his patrol car alongside him.

Tippit saw that the man fit the description of President John F. Kennedy's potential assassin. That bulletin was broadcast on the police radio.

Oswald shot Tippit four times and then ran to hide in the Texas Theatre. But the shooting had aroused attention and bystanders followed Oswald, leading to his capture.

After her husband's death, Marie Tippit received letters and money from all over the world. Robert F. Kennedy called that very night. President Lyndon Johnson, the next morning in his first full day as president, called, too.

She exchanged correspondence with Jackie Kennedy.

"This great tragedy prepares me to sympathize more deeply with you," Marie Tippit sent in a telegram to the White House, now on display at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Jackie wrote back, "You and I share another bond — reminding our children all their lives what brave men their fathers were."

I call Mrs. Tippit.

Meeting Marie Tippit

In our first phone call, Marie Tippit tells me that her final wish is to rest in peace beside her husband.

She explains that when her oldest son, Allan, died in 2014, she asked Laurel Land if he could be buried near his father. Gravesites nearby are open, but cemetery officials told her the land was on hold.

Allan, who was 13 when his father was killed, was cremated instead.

She asked if she could be buried by her husband. She offered to pay. No, she was told. She was offered a spot elsewhere.

She asked them to check the records, and they said they'd get back to her, but they never did.

Her alternative is to move his grave elsewhere, she says, but she doesn't want to do that because his resting place has historical significance.

"I'm 89 years old, and I need to get this settled," she says.

I call the cemetery.

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Laurel Land owned by Dignity Memorial

I tell a staffer at Dignity Memorial, the Houston-based company that owns more than 400 cemeteries, by phone and email about Marie Tippit. I provide her contact information. I explain that this is her big wish. I even send the company video I shot of all the open spaces available near the officer's grave.

Photos of Marie Tippit

While waiting for the company to search its records, I study the life of Marie Tippit, told better in photos than any of the stories written about her and her family over the years.

Anyone can see them on Google Images. They show her with J.D. after they married, her with their kids after the terrible events of Nov. 22. There's even a YouTube video in which she thanks the nation for its outpouring of support. The widow stands before cameras to offer powerful words of gratitude.

But there's one photo that makes me weak at the knees. Marie Tippit is led out of her husband's funeral (the same day as President Kennedy's and Oswald's). Weeping mightily, she is held by two men. Her face is racked with the deepest emotional pain.

Marie tells me that picture represents "the worst day of my life. The most heartbreaking pain. The pain is so great."

You look at that picture, and you say, this woman needs to be buried beside her husband.

Dignity Memorial

After a week of waiting, Dignity Memorial this week gives Marie Tippit the good news. She can be buried beside her husband. The company is not charging her. Plus, there's room for her two children, Curtis and Brenda, if they want to join their dad, too.

The company releases a statement to The Watchdog:

"We have spoken with Mrs. Tippit, addressed her concerns and are pleased that her issue was resolved to her satisfaction. Out of respect for her privacy, we are unable to comment further."

Marie tells The Watchdog, "J.D. was the love of my life. I'm overjoyed."

She signed the cemetery papers on Wednesday.

Staff writer Marina Trahan Martinez contributed to this report.

Officer Tippit Trivia

J.D. Tippit was also a hero in World War II. He was awarded the Bronze Star.

He was a patrol officer in Oak Cliff. On Nov. 22, he unexpectedly came home for a quick lunch before he was called out to work President Kennedy's visit.

After he was killed, more than $600,000 in donations came to the family from around the world.

Abraham Zapruder donated $25,000 of the money Life magazine paid him for what came to be called the Zapruder film.

At Laurel Land Memorial Park on South R.L. Thornton Freeway, Officer Tippit was buried in a specially-designated area that was going to be called "Memorial Court of Honor" for fallen law enforcement officers. One other officer is buried there - Carl Jackson Cooke, a 21-year-old officer shot while investigating a burglary.

In modern times, Dallas police officers can be buried in the "Field of Honors" at Restland Funeral Home and Cemetery on Greenville Ave.

SOURCES: Various accounts of events, confirmed by Marie Tippit and research

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