Death Extends It’s Hand

My brother called me a 12:32a.m. this morning to let me know that grandpa is dead. It was expected. I had rushed to Indiana Tuesday afternoon after getting a call from my brother that grandpa was not doing well and probably wasn’t going to make it through. He looked so awful. His blood pressure was declining rapidly; pulse barely readable. He refused to eat and wasn’t communicating with anyone — just laid in his bed in the fetal position.

I rubbed his back and told him not to worry, everything will be ok, don’t be afraid — just let go. I didn’t want him to suffer any longer and I don’t think he wanted to either.

Memories.

The photograph was taken last weekend at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, in the mausoleum. Hillside, IL

Chicago Area Cemeteries Tour – Part III

Note: Added a Chicago Cemetery Tour page to the right-side column. There you will find a brief history behind the tour and a list of cemeteries that I have visited and will be visiting.

Last weekend Danialle and I spent most of Saturday exploring the seemingly never-ending corridors of the Queen of Heaven mausoleum. This place is HUGE — 3 floors, 30,000 crpyts! Queen of Heaven is a Roman Catholic cemetery operated by the Archdiocese of Chicago; located in Hillside, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. Because of it being Memorial Day weekend, there quite a few visitors moving about the mausoleum. The mausoleum contained many sculptures, mosaics and paintings of Catholic saints.

Across the street from Queen of Heaven Cemetery is Mount Carmel Cemetery. It is a Catholic cemetery and operated by the Archdiocese of Chicago, as well. One of the popular attractions for Mount Carmel Cemetery is the Bishop’s Mausoleum, the final resting place for the Bishops and Archbishops of Chicago. Most recently, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin was interred here after his 1996 death. Unfortunately, the Bishop’s Mausoleum was not open for visitors despite being Memorial Day weekend. Another notable attraction at Mount Carmel is the grave of notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone.

The last graveyard we visited before heading back to Chicago was Chapel Hill Gardens. This cemetery consisted of only bronze memorial plaques set flush with the ground. There were a few section monuments, but nothing much to investigate. Because of this we spent very little time here.

Chicago Area Cemeteries – Part I
Chicago Area Cemeteries – Part II

Angelic Reflection

Irving Park Cemetery – Chicago, IL

I’ve managed to get behind on my Chicago Cemetery Tour update posts.

Floating On A Sea Of Grass

While waiting for the mausoleum at Acacia Park Cemetery to open, Danialle wanted to take our picture together laying on the grassy hillside next to it. I decided at the last minute to exclude the mausoleum and I think it was a good decision. I love this photo of us!

Kaboom!

The picture above is of my dog Kaboom! rehearsing for his latest dramatic role, set to hit Broadway in the coming weeks

Chicago River Photowalk

Since my last couple of posts were dedicated to death, here are a couple of photos to celebrate life.

A few of us Chicago Flickr Meet Club members met downtown after work to go on a photowalk. While walking along a path next to the Chicago River, we stumbled upon a gaggle of geese. The protective parents tolerated our presence until the goslings became too curious of us. As the goslings drew closer to me, video clips of America’s Funniest Home Videos began playing in my mind.

Above: A goose quietly resting on her nest built on the Chicago River.

Chicago Area Cemeteries Tour – Part II

Chicago Area Cemeteries Tour – Part 1 can be found here.

Crossed two more cemeteries off the list. Two weeks ago, Danialle and I visited Saint Boniface Cemetery and Bohemian National Cemetery.

The stand-out monument, for me, at Saint Boniface Cemetery is the Link mausoleum. The Link mausoleum is flanked by a Saint on either side of the door while a Putto watches from above. The image above is a close-up shot of the Saint residing on the right-side of the doorway.

Bohemian National Cemetery is very large and beautiful. We were only able to scratch the surface of this expansive graveyard in the two hours we spent there. Sadly, the chapel and columbarium building were closed during our visit.

To date, we have visited the following Chicago area cemeteries:

• Rosehill Cemetery
• Graceland Cemetery
• Saint Boniface Cemetery
• Bohemian National Cemetery
• Forest Home / German Waldheim Cemetery (upcoming post)
• Acacia Park Cemetery (previously visited before tour)