What) Ray Tse Jr. fantasized as a teenager about getting a driver's license and owning a luxurious Mercedes Benz. Ray died in 1981 at the age of 15. His desire was posthumously and eerily fulfilled when his millionaire brother, David, commissioned a 36-ton granite memorial sculpted to resemble a full-size 1982 Mercedes Benz 2400 Diesel limousine. The granite automobile, reported to have cost about $250,000, is parked on a low pedestal behind the family mausoleum. It's at the northern end of the cemetery - in the Asian section - across from the Good Shepherd Mausoleum.

    On both the trunk and the front, granite vanity license plates read: "RAY TSE." The carving is meticulous and accurate in every detail save for the missing hood ornament and side view mirrors (which would have been too easy for vandals to snap off). Three stone cutters spent 1 1/2 years creating it from a 66-ton block of granite at Rock of Ages in Barre, Vermont.

    A side note: In 1988, the brother, Raymond David Tse, was indicted on murder charges after admitting he fired 18 bullets at a gang member in his Chinatown office who was demanding protection money at gunpoint. Tse claimed self defence and was acquitted in 1991. (1)

    Where) Rosedale and Rosehill Cemetery at 355 East Linden Avenue    Open Mon-Fri  8:30 - 4:30 and Sat 9-12:30

    Why) As a teenager, I grew up on a farm.  After I got my first car, I fantasized about carving a life size replica of it from one of the many suitably shaped boulders on our property.  Of course, I had little artistic skill and no sculptural abilities so I didn't even try.  Because I have never forgotten that desire, I decided immediately that we would find this monument despite our previous grave finding failures.