Meet us where legendary lives are remembered
Take a self-guided tour of the beautifully landscaped grounds of Queen of Heaven Cemetery and pay your respects to the historical figures buried there.
While there, visit the grave of Celeste Lizio, whose photograph can be seen on the cover of every box of Celeste frozen pizza.
An immigrant from southern Italy, “Mama Celeste," as she was known, started making her famous pizzas in her Chicago pizzeria in the 1930s. Her pizza was so popular that she eventually focused entirely on supplying other restaurants and grocers in the area. She eventually sold her business, which is now under the ownership of ConAgra Foods.
Along with "Mama Celeste," other notable graves and monuments worth visiting include a somber and beautiful memorial to the victims of the Our Lady of the Angels School fire of 1958 in Chicago. The fire resulted in the deaths 92 students and three nuns. The profound tragedy, however, led to much needed improvements in school fire codes.
Be sure to pay your respects to Pfc. James R. Michels, who lies in the cemetery. Michels was part of 40-ma an combat patrol sent to climb Mount Suribachi in Japan with the mission to raise an American flag — a symbol that let U.S. troops know the U.S. had taken the mountain during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
