They are politicians, business people, athletes and performers. There’s a vice president, an architect, a pilot, a critic. They founded major chains and ran machine politics, blazed civil rights trails, designed skyscrapers and sang the blues. They are famous and infamous.
And this represents only a small fraction of the notable people who are laid to rest here, a small glimpse at the pioneers and leaders who helped influence Chicago and the world.
This tour of the dead will take you from Des Plaines to Alsip, Lake Forest to Homewood to the spots where some of Chicago’s best known people are buried.
Local burials organized by topic:
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Aviation
Bessie Coleman (1892-1926)
More than just the namesake for a street that wraps around O’Hare International Airport, she was a contemporary of Amelia Earhart, whom Coleman beat in becoming the first American woman to gain an international pilot’s license. She was also the world’s first licensed black pilot.
Burial location (click link for map): Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island
Obituary: From May 1, 1926
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Chicago icons
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000)
The first African-American to win a Pulitzer, for “Annie Allen” in 1950, the former poet laureate of Illinois was rooted in the black community of Chicago’s South Side.
Burial location (click link for map): Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island
Obituary: From Dec. 8, 2000
Marshall Field (1835-1906)
Famed department store owner famous for emphasizing customer service, allowing customers to return items and introducing the department store restaurant for shoppers. The Field Museum of Natural History is named in his honor.
Burial location (click link for map): Graceland Cemetery, Chicago
Obituary: From Jan. 17, 1906
Catherine O’Leary (1827?-1895)
She and her cow were implicated for causing the Great Chicago Fire on Oct. 8, 1871, but were cleared by the city from any wrongdoing in 1997 — nearly 126 years later.
Burial location (click link for map): Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery, Chicago
Obituary: From July 4, 1895
Emmett Till (1941-1955)
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Fourteen-year-old Chicago youth murdered for reportedly whistling at a white woman in a store while visiting his family in Money, Miss. After he was beaten and shot, the boy’s body was found three days later in the Tallahatchie River. His alleged killers were later acquitted by an all-white jury.
Burial location (click link for map): Burr Oak Cemetery, Alsip
Obituary: From Sept. 4, 1955
Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe (1886-1969)
World-renowned architect who was the last director of Germany’s Bauhaus design school. After moving to Chicago in 1937, he pioneered development of the city’s “glass house” apartment buildings.
Burial location (click link for map): Graceland Cemetery, Chicago
Obituary: From Aug. 19, 1969
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Crime
Al Capone (1899-1947)
Chicago’s Prohibition-era mobster was the head of a crime syndicate that gave the city a reputation of lawlessness in the roaring 1920s. This is his actual burial site. His name is also on a family gravestone within Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery in Chicago.
Burial location (click link for map): Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery, Hillside
Obituary: From Jan. 26, 1947
Chicago’s Prohibition-era mobster was the figurehead chosen to illustrate the breakdown of law and order that followed the effort to legislate alcoholic beverages out of America. He is not buried here, but his name is on the family gravestone.
Cenotaph (click link for map): Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery, Chicago
Obituary: From Jan. 26, 1947
Sam Giancana (1908-1975)
Onetime chief of the Chicago crime syndicate was found shot to death on the kitchen floor of his Oak Park home; had testified the previous year before a grand jury with immunity from prosecution.
Burial location (click link for map): Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery, Hillside
Obituary: From June 20, 1975
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Film and television
John Belushi (1949-1982)
Born in Humboldt Park and mostly raised in the western suburbs, Belushi was the first in what would be a very long lineage of Chicagoans to join the cast of “Saturday Night Live.” On Martha’s Vineyard, off Cape Cod in Massachusetts, where Belushi had a home, there are two grave sites, a small stone that reads “Belushi” (where he is said to be buried) and a newer, less solemn stone with a questionable epitaph: “I may be gone but rock and roll lives on.” At the Elmwood Cemetery, where Belushi’s parents are buried, the scene is far classier: An honorary tombstone to their son reads, “He Made Us Laugh.”
Cenotaph (click link for map): Elmwood Cemetery and Mausoleum, River Grove
Obituary: From March 6, 1982
John Hughes (1950-2009)
Writer, director, producer of movies with topics of teen angst — “Sixteen Candles,” The Breakfast Club,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Weird Science” to name a few — that often were set in the Chicago suburbs.
Burial location (click link for map): Lake Forest Cemetery, Lake Forest
Obituary: From Aug. 7, 2009
Robert Reed (1932-1992)
Best know for his role as Mike in “The Brady Bunch,” the actor was born in Highland Park, raised in Des Plaines and buried in Skokie.
Burial location (click link for map): Memorial Park Cemetery and Mausoleum, Skokie
Obituary: From March 21, 2011
Gene Siskel (1946-1999)
The Tribune’s movie critic and columnist for nearly three decades. He was paired for 24 years on television with the Chicago Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert, and together they transformed the way America watched movies.
Burial location (click link for map): Westlawn Cemetery, Chicago
Obituary: From Feb. 23, 1999
Elaine Stritch (1925-2014)
Actress whose husky voice and brassy demeanor dominated world stages for more than 60 years, and whose career included Emmy-winning roles in television shows “30 Rock” and “Law & Order.”
Burial location (click link for map): Memorial Park Cemetery and Mausoleum, Skokie
Obituary: From July 17, 2014
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Music
Steve Goodman (1948-1984)
Chicago singer-songwriter whose love of the Cubs led to him creating the “Go Cubs Go” anthem; also famous for penning “City of New Orleans” for Arlo Guthrie and Willie Nelson. His ashes were reportedly spread in the bleachers at Wrigley Field just before opening day 1988.
Ashes dispersed (click link for map): Wrigley Field, Chicago
Obituary: From Sept. 21, 1984
Koko Taylor (1928-2009)
Chicago’s “queen of the blues,” whose fame rose from South Side clubs to the world stage; the most revered female blues vocalist of her time, with signature hits including “Wang Dang Doodle,” “I’m a Woman” and “Hey Bartender.”
Burial location (click link for map): Washington Memory Gardens, Homewood
Obituary: From June 4, 2009
Muddy Waters (1915-1983)
Born McKinley Morganfield, this singer/guitarist’s electrified blues became known as the “Chicago sound” and inspired young rock musicians including the Rolling Stones, who derived their name from his song, “Rollin’ Stone.”
Burial location (click link for map): Restvale Cemetery, Alsip
Obituary: From May 1, 1983
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Politics
Jane Byrne (1933-2014)
Chicago’s first female mayor remembered for launching Taste of Chicago, inspiring the redevelopment of Navy Pier and encouraging moviemaking in the city by luring production of box-office hits including “The Blues Brothers.”
Burial location (click link for map): Calvary Cemetery, Evanston
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Obituary: From Nov. 14, 2014
Richard J. Daley (1902-1976)
Legendary mayor of Chicago who is the first person to achieve six terms — 21 years — in the position.
Burial location (click link for map): Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery & Mausoleum, Alsip
Obituary: From Dec. 21, 1976
Charles Gates Dawes (1865-1951)
Banker and politician who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his World War I reparations plan. Served as vice president of the United States under President Calvin Coolidge from 1925-29.
Burial location (click link for map): Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum, Chicago
Obituary: From April 24, 1951
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (1890-1964)
Labor and American Communist party activist for more than 50 years; became chairman of the party in 1961.
Burial location (click link for map): Waldheim Cemetery within Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park
Obituary: From Sept. 6, 1964
Harold Washington (1922-1987)
Chicago’s first black mayor, who after five years in office was on the verge of running city government his way.
Burial location (click link for map): Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago
Obituary: From Nov. 26, 1987
Frances E. Willard (1839-1898)
Educator, reformer and founder of the World Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. Known for her excellent speaking and lobbying skills, she was a leader of the national Prohibition Party.
Burial location (click link for map): Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum, Chicago
Obituary: From Feb. 19, 1898
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Religion
Cardinal Joseph Bernardin (1928-1996)
Led the Chicago Archdiocese for 14 years — after becoming the nation’s youngest archbishop in 1972 — and is remembered for bridging gaps among clergy over the reforms of Vatican II.
Burial location (click link for map): Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery, Hillside
Obituary: From Nov. 15, 1986
Cardinal Francis George (1937-2015)
The first Chicago native to serve as head of the nation’s third-largest archdiocese; shepherded the Chicago church through school closings and the priest sexual abuse scandal during his 17-year tenure.
Burial location (click link for map): All Saints Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum, Des Plaines
Obituary: From April 17, 2015
Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975)
Born Robert Poole, the son of a Baptist preacher and sharecropper, he became the co-founder of the controversial all-black National of Islam with a philosophy of black self-determination. His organization was blamed for the assassination of his former protege, Malcolm X.
Burial location (click link for map): Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens, Glenwood
Obituary: From Feb. 26, 1975
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Sports
Ernie Banks (1931-2015)
Known worldwide as “Mr. Cub,” Banks became the Cubs’ first African-American player on Sept. 17, 1953, and went on to become an 11-time All-Star and two-time National League Most Valuable Player (1958-59). His boundless enthusiasm and optimism personified what it meant to be a Cubs fan.
Burial location (click link for map): Graceland Cemetery, Chicago
Obituary: From Jan. 23, 2015
Jack Brickhouse (1916-1998)
Though he broadcast games for several local teams in virtually every major sport, the Peoria native became synonymous as the voice of the Cubs after calling Cubs games from 1941-81.
Burial location (click link for map): Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum, Chicago
Obituary: From Aug. 6, 1998
Harry Caray (1914-1998)
Baseball play-by-play man for 53 years — including 11 with the White Sox and 16 with the Cubs — who took the tired baseball custom of the seventh-inning stretch and tranformed it into a memorable, albeit off-key Chicago ritual.
Burial location (click link for map): All Saints Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum, Des Plaines
Obituary: From Feb. 19, 1998
Charles Comiskey (1859-1931)
President and owner of the Chicago White Sox; sole owner of the club from the day of its inception. The only man of his day who rose from the player ranks to club ownership.
Burial location (click link for map): Calvary Cemetery, Evanston
Obituary: From Oct. 26, 1931
George “Papa Bear” Halas (1895-1983)
Owner of the Chicago Bears for nearly six decades, legendary coach and founding father of the National Football League.
Burial location (click link for map): St. Adalbert Catholic Cemetery, Niles
Obituary: From Nov. 1, 1983
Jack Johnson (1878-1946)
The first black man to become heavyweight boxing champion of the world. His 29-year boxing career included 109 major fights — including at least one where he was paid to lose.
Burial location (click link for map): Graceland Cemetery, Chicago
Obituary: From June 11, 1946
Ray Meyer (1913-2006)
The coach, face of DePaul University basketball for 42 seasons, including a 1945 National Invitation Tournament championship and a staggering 724-354 record.
Burial location (click link for map): All Saints Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum, Des Plaines
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Obituary: From March 18, 2006
Jesse Owens (1913-1980)
U.S. Olympic track sprinter who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, shattering Adolf Hitler’s theories of Aryan superiority.
Burial location (click link for map): Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago
Obituary: From April 1, 1980
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Sources: baiduhai reporting and archives; FindAGrave.com; cemetery icon by Curve from the Noun Project
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