The Lithuanian National Cemetery ( lt, Lietuvių tautinės kapinės) is a non-profit cemetery in

Justice, Illinois Justice is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, established in 1911. Per the 2020 census, the population was 12,600. Geography According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Justice has a total area of , of which (or 98.44%) is lan ...

, that mainly serves the Lithuanian American community in Chicago. Established in 1911, it is the resting place of many prominent Lithuanians in politics, culture, and science.

History

As the Lithuanian immigration to the United States increased, Lithuanians in Chicago established the Catholic cemetery of

Saint Casimir Casimir Jagiellon ( la, Casimirus; lt, Kazimieras; pl, Kazimierz; 3 October 1458 – 4 March 1484) was a prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Second son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was tutored by Johannes ...

in 1903. However, this cemetery would accept only Catholics for burials. The cemetery was controlled by Matas Kriaučiūnas, priest of St. George parish, who was suspected of embezzling parish's funds. The growing number of Lithuanian intellectuals felt the need for a non-religious Lithuanian cemetery. The idea was met with approval in February 1911 and the new cemetery was organized on 28 March 1911. The founding members were 21 different Lithuanian societies and organizations. The organizers purchased of land. The purchase price of $10,000 () was divided into bonds of $50 or $100 that were sold to Lithuanian organizations. The bonds paid 3% interest and were redeemed by 1921. The cemetery was officially opened on 30 May 1912 (the

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

). The first burial was a two-year-old child reinterred from the Saint Casimir Cemetery. The cemetery was blessed by Stasys Mickevičius, founder of the

Lithuanian National Catholic Church The Lithuanian National Catholic Church or LNCC ( lt, Lietuvių tautinė katalikų bažnyčia) was a small American denomination organized in 1914 by dissident Roman Catholic Lithuanian Americans mainly in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Massachusetts ...

(who is buried at the cemetery). The cemetery was and still is open to all regardless of religious or political convictions. In 1934, the cemetery purchased additional 40 acres. In 1937, the cemetery added an office building (in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style) and a

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "'' colu ...

for cremated remains. The cemetery has a monument to

Vincas Kudirka Vincas Kudirka (; – ) was a Lithuanian poet and physician, and the author of both the music and lyrics of the Lithuanian national anthem, "". He is regarded in Lithuania as a national hero. Kudirka used the pen names V. Kapsas, Paežeri ...

(he is not buried there). A traditional Lithuanian wayside shrine made of steel in height was erected in 1995 to commemorate

Soviet deportations from Lithuania Soviet deportations from Lithuania were a series of 35 mass deportations carried out in Lithuania, a country that was occupied as a constituent socialist republic of the Soviet Union, in 1941 and 1945–1952. At least 130,000 people, 70% of them ...

in 1941–1952. Many of the headstones, particularly of those emigrants who were forced to leave due to the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...

, bear Lithuanian symbols – traditional wayside shrines and crosses, folk sashes,

kanklės Kanklės () is a Lithuanian plucked string instrument (chordophone) belonging to the Baltic box zither family known as the Baltic psaltery, along with the Latvian kokles, Estonian kannel, Finnish kantele, and Russian gusli. Etymology Acc ...

, Lithuanian coat of arms,

Columns of Gediminas The Columns of Gediminas or Pillars of Gediminas ( lt, Gediminaičių stulpai, ; be, Калюмны, translit=Kaliumny, 'Columns') are one of the earliest symbols of Lithuania and its historical coats of arms. They were used in the Grand Duchy of ...

, Tower of Gediminas, etc. After Lithuania regained independence in 1990, some of the remains were returned to Lithuania. It remains the only Lithuanian cemetery in Chicago as the St. Casimir Cemetery officially dropped "Lithuanian" from its name in 1997.

Notable burials

* Juozas Adomaitis-Šernas (1859–1922), newspaper editor * Kipras Bielinis (1883–1965), Lithuanian politician (reburied at the

Petrašiūnai Cemetery Petrašiūnai Cemetery ( lt, Petrašiūnų kapinės) is Lithuania's premiere last resting place formally designated for graves of people influential in national history, politics, arts, and science. Location Petrašiūnai Cemetery is located abo ...

in 1996) *

Vaclovas Biržiška Vaclovas Biržiška (2 December 1884 – 3 January 1956) was a Lithuanian attorney, bibliographer, and educator. He was a member of a notable Lithuanian family; his great-grandfather Mykolas Biržiška was a representative in the Sejm when the Co ...

(1884–1956), Lithuanian bibliographer *

Viktoras Biržiška Viktoras Biržiška (February 23, 1886, Viekšniai - 27 January 1964 Chicago) was a Lithuanian mathematician, engineer, journalist, and encyclopedist of noble extraction. His brothers were Mykolas Biržiška and Vaclovas Biržiška. Biography He ...

(1886–1964), Lithuanian mathematician *

Kazys Bobelis Kazys Bobelis (4 March 1923 – 30 September 2013) was a Lithuanian surgeon and politician. Biography Bobelis was born in Kaunas. His father was Colonel Jurgis Bobelis (1885–1954). In 1941, Bobelis participated in the June Uprising against t ...

(1923–2013), Lithuanian surgeon and anti-Soviet activist * Jonas Budrys (1889–1964), Lithuanian intelligence officer, commander of the

Klaipėda Revolt The Klaipėda Revolt took place in January 1923 in the Klaipėda Region (also known as the Memel Territory or ). The region, located north of the Neman River, was detached from East Prussia, German Empire by the Treaty of Versailles and became a ...

, consul in New York * (1883–1969), long-term editor of '' Naujienos'' *

Kazys Grinius Kazys Grinius (, 17 December 18664 June 1950) was the third President of Lithuania, and held that office from 7 June 1926 to 17 December 1926. Previously, he had served as the fifth Prime Minister of Lithuania, from 19 June 1920 until his resignat ...

(1866–1950),

President of Lithuania The President of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Prezidentas) is the head of state of Lithuania. The officeholder has been Gitanas Nausėda since 12 July 2019. Powers The president has somewhat more executive authority th ...

(reburied at his birthplace in 1994) * Vladas Jakubėnas (1904–1976), Lithuanian composer *

Steponas Kairys Steponas Kairys (; 1879 in Užnevėžiai near Ukmergė – December 16, 1964 in Brooklyn) was a Lithuanian engineer, nationalist, and social democrat. He was among the 20 men to sign the Act of Independence of Lithuania on February 16, 1918. ...

(1879–1964), signatory of the

Act of Independence of Lithuania The Act of Independence of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Aktas) or the Act of February 16, also the Lithuanian Resolution on Independence ( lt, Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Nutarimas), The signed document is actually titled simply '' ...

(reburied at the

in 1996) * Marius Katiliškis (1914–1980), Lithuanian writer * Rapolas Skipitis (1887–1976), Lithuanian Minister of the Interior *

Jonas Šliūpas Jonas Šliūpas (6 March 1861 – 6 November 1944) was a prominent and prolific Lithuanian activist during the Lithuanian National Revival. For 35 years, he lived in the United States working to build national consciousness of Lithuanian America ...

(1861–1944), Lithuanian activist (cremated in Germany; urn with ashes buried at the cemetery in 1948) * Maurice Tillet known as

The French Angel Maurice Tillet (23 October 1903 – 4 September 1954) was a Russian-born French professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, The French Angel. Tillet was a leading box office draw in the early 1940s and was twice World Heavyweight Cham ...

(1903–1954), French professional wrestler, buried in the same grave as his Lithuanian friend

Karl Pojello Karl Pojello (born Karolis Požėla, February 13, 1893 – September 4, 1954) was a Lithuanian and later American professional wrestler and promoter. Early life Pojello was born in Steigviliai, Russian Empire in 1893. In 1906, he moved to St. ...

(1893–1954) *

Adomas Varnas Adomas Varnas (January 1, 1879 in Joniškis, Lithuania – July 19, 1979 in Chicago, United States) was a prominent Lithuanian painter, photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''grap ...

(1879–1979), Lithuanian painter

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , first1=Motiejus , last1=Batutis , first2=Aldona , last2=Daukus , first3=Grožvydas , last3=Lazauskas , url=http://lithnatcemetery.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/LNCbook-75thAnnREVweb.pdf , title=Lithuanian National Cemetery. Lietuvių tautinės kapinės 1911–1986 , page=6 , year=1986 {{cite web, url=http://www.draugas.org/mirties/kazys-bobelis/ , title=Kazys Bobelis , date=30 September 2013 , publisher=

Draugas ''Draugas'' (English: ''Friend'') is the only Lithuanian daily newspaper published abroad. Until 2011, the newspaper was published five days a week, except Sundays and Mondays. It is currently published three days a week, Tuesday, Thursday, and ...

, access-date=14 July 2019 , language=lt {{cite web, url=https://www.ve.lt/naujienos/visuomene/sociumas/lietuviu-tautinese-kapinese-cikagoje---uzmirstas-iskilaus-diplomato-kapas-1301984/ , date=15 January 2015 , title=Lietuvių tautinėse kapinėse Čikagoje – užmirštas iškilaus diplomato kapas , access-date=14 July 2019 , language=lt , publisher=Vakarų ekspresas {{cite web, first=Vida , last=Girininkienė , publisher=Lietuvos žinios , date=29 October 2011 , url=https://www.alfa.lt/straipsnis/12840173/kur-guli-lietuviai-ieskoje-sviesos-ir-geroves , title=Kur guli lietuviai, "ieškoję šviesos ir gerovės" , access-date=14 July 2019 , language=lt {{cite web, url=http://www.griniausmuziejus.lt/biografija , title=Lietuva buvo ir bus , language=lt , access-date=14 July 2019 , publisher=Lietuvos prezidento K. Griniaus memorialinis muziejus , date=5 January 2015 {{cite book , first=Gediminas , last=Ilgūnas , title=Steponas Kairys , publisher=Vaga , year=2002 , language=lt , isbn=5415016643 , pages=410–412 {{cite book , first=Juozas , last=Jakštas , title= Dr. Jonas Šliūpas , year=1979 , publisher=Akademinės skautijos leidykla , location=Chicago , oclc=5223546 , language=lt , page=281 {{cite web , first=Algis , last=Kusta , url=http://lzs.lt/lt/naujienos/kitu_kampu/archive/p75/kur_santaikoje_ilsisi_amerikos_lietuviai.html , title=Kur santaikoje ilsisi Amerikos lietuviai , date=23 October 2015 , work=Kitu kampu , publisher=Lietuvos žurnalistų sąjunga , access-date=14 July 2019 , language=lt {{cite web , first=Thomas , last=Latour , url=https://www.draugas.org/news/karolis-poze%CC%87la-proper-gentleman-and-champion-of-the-mat/ , title=Karolis Požėla Proper Gentleman and Champion of the Mat , date=13 October 2017 , publisher=

, access-date=14 July 2019 {{cite web , first=Jack , last=McCarthy, url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2011-01-05-ct-x-s-justice-cemetery-roots-0105-20110105-story.html , title=Justice: It's the living end. Tiny suburb is home to 4 cemeteries and more than 200,000 people, the vast majority of them dead , date=5 January 2011 , publisher=Chicago Tribune , access-date=14 July 2019 {{cite journal , first=Antanas J. Van , last=Reenan , url=http://www.lituanus.org/1998/98_2_01.htm , title=The Lithuanian Cemetery and the Archdiocese of Chicago: A Documented Clash Between the Universal and the Particular , journal=Lituanus , date=Summer 1998 , volume=2 , issue=44 , issn=0024-5089 {{cite book , first=Arvydas , last=Reneckis , url=http://lithnatcemetery.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/LithNatCem-100YearsBOOKweb.pdf , title=Lietuvių tautinės kapinės. Lithuanian National Cemetery 1911–2011 , publisher=Lietuvių tautinės kapinės. Lithuanian National Cemetery , year=2011 , pages=19, 34–35 {{cite encyclopedia , last1=Tamošaitis , first1=Mindaugas , title=Skipitis Rapolas , encyclopedia=Lietuvos Respublikos 1918–1940 m. vyriausybių ministrų biografinis žodynas , editor-first1=Mindaugas , editor-last1=Tamošaitis , editor-first2=Algis , editor-last2=Bitautas , editor-first3=Artūras , editor-last3=Svarauskas , publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras , year=2016 , language=lt , location=Vilnius , isbn= 978-5420017784 , page=359 {{cite web , first=Rūta , last=Taraškevičiūtė , url=https://www.aidas.us/lietuviu-tautiniu-kapiniu-praeitis-ir-siandiena , title=Lietuvių tautinių kapinių praeitis ir šiandiena , publisher=Čikagos aidas , date=31 May 2019 , access-date=14 July 2019 , language=lt {{cite journal , last=Urbonienė , first=Skaidrė , title=Lietuviškas kryžius išeivijoje JAV: memorialinis paminklas, interjero atributas, dekoro elementas , journal=Menotyra , year=2013 , issue=20 , volume=1 , pages=62–63 , url=https://etalpykla.lituanistikadb.lt/fedora/objects/LT-LDB-0001:J.04~2013~1371809952968/datastreams/DS.002.0.01.ARTIC/content , issn=1392-1002 Cemeteries in Cook County, Illinois Lithuanian-American culture in Chicago 1911 establishments in Illinois