Rockne receives homecoming, as football coach legend reburied at University of Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND — Ninety-three years after the death of historically revered Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, his casket was exhumed and reburied at the Cedar Grove Cemetery at the University of Notre Dame.

Rockne, who coached from 1918 to 1931 and won three national championships, died in 1931 in a plane crash. He was 43. His Mass was celebrated at Notre Dame’s Sacred Heart Church, now the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, on April 4, 1931.

Rockne’s grave, along with the graves of his wife, son and grandson, were moved from Highland Cemetery in South Bend to Cedar Grove Cemetery on Notre Dame’s campus, accompanied by an interment service led by the Rev. Paul Doyle on April 28.

The University of Notre Dame released a statement regarding its assistance to the Rockne family.

"At the request of the Rockne family, the University of Notre Dame was honored to assist with the disinterment of the remains of football player, coach and athletic director Knute Rockne and several Rockne family members from Highland Cemetery in South Bend and their subsequent burial at Cedar Grove Cemetery on campus," the statement says. "The prayers of the Church were offered for the repose of their souls upon their reinterment."

Family home on the move, too: South Bend allows former Rockne home to move im May, legal questions remain

Tricia Sloma, morning anchor for Tribune reporting partner WNDU-TV, attended the reburial and spoke with Rockne’s surviving family about their decision to move the graves decades later.

“The reburial was a relief for so many of these family members,” Sloma said, describing the reburial as somber, with tears shed during the interment, yet they had feelings of a weight lifted, as well.

“The family seemed relieved that they had finally reached this point with the university,” she said. “These surviving relatives buried their parent’s ashes with this family plot. They were saying goodbye to mom and dad again. Knowing the legacy of their family and their family name, it’s a lot of weight. I think all that weight lifted, yesterday.”

Opinion: A Notre Dame football coaching legend (finally) returned to where he belongs on campus

When Sloma attended the reburial, she spoke with Rockne’s granddaughter, Jeanne Anne Rockne, who said moving the graves had been a topic of discussion for decades, but it was something her father was against.

Seven surviving Rockne grandchildren made the decision to move the graves, WNDU reported.

"Grandma was very much concerned that Grandpa's grave would not turn into a memorial site,” Rockne’s grandson, Knute Rockne III, told WNDU.

Rockne’s granddaughter Jeanne Anne described to WNDU how cigarettes, cigar butts, shot glasses and whiskey bottles were often left at her family’s grave at Highland Cemetery in South Bend.

Now, the family’s confidence in Notre Dame's ability to better protect the grave was a factor in moving them, WNDU reported.

The Rockne family chose a burial plot on Portage Avenue, at Highland Cemetery, for a simple, yet important distinction: perpetual care.

Burial plots at Highland Cemetery, established in 1912, were fairly new compared to the cemetery on Notre Dame’s campus, Cedar Grove, which was established in 1843, predating the Civil War. Highland Cemetery offered perpetual care, the mowing and tending to the graves, that didn’t exist at Cedar Grove at the time. Now that Cedar Grove is in the care of Notre Dame, they offer perpetual care.

Decades later, the Rockne family decided to move Knute, Bonnie, their son Bill and grandson Timothy to Cedar Grove.

"I’m glad he’s here,” Nils Rockne said. “I’m glad Notre Dame will look after the family. I feel comfortable knowing he’ll be cared for forever.”

Cedar Grove Cemetery is open to the public from dawn to dusk. Video or photography is allowed for private or personal use only.

Email Tribune staff writer Camille Sarabia at csarabia@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football legend Rockne and his family reburied on campus