Richard McDonald's Niche

There is no more iconic fast food chain than McDonald’s. With locations in more than 100 different countries and service to about 68 million people on a daily basis, it is commonly believed that the company’s logo—the Golden Arches—is one of the most recognizable symbols on Earth.

Yet the final resting place of Richard McDonald—one half of the McDonald brothers who founded the chain in the 1940s—is a humble niche in the tranquil Mount Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum in Manchester, New Hampshire, the town in which he and his brother were born.

The McDonald brothers’ idea for a “Speedee Service System” for quickly preparing and serving food to customers was first realized in the original McDonald’s, a small drive-in joint across the country in San Bernardino, California. Word soon spread, and the brothers began to franchise their establishments, catching the attention of Ray Kroc, who partnered with the brothers, eventually buying them out of their own company by the 1960s. 

After being bought out and missing out on millions of dollars in the eventual growth of their chain, they retired to pretty quiet lives. Passing away peacefully in a nursing home in 1998, Richard McDonald was cremated. His ashes were entombed at Mount Calvary with his wife, Dorothy. 

Though Ray Kroc may have often claimed to be “the founder” of the McDonald’s empire, Richard’s humble niche sports the iconic golden arches and the words “Founder of McDonald’s.”