Holyhood Cemetery Association

Historic Figures

On a prominent knoll in Holyhood Cemetery, surrounded by red roses, Rose Kennedy lies beside her husband, Joseph P. Kennedy, former Ambassador to Great Britain and patriarch of the huge and famous Kennedy clan. In addition to the Kennedys, other notables buried at Holyhood Cemetery include three Massachusetts governors, Maurice Tobin, Foster Furcolo and Edward King; and four Boston mayors, Hugh O'Brien, Patrick Collins, Frederick Mansfield and Maurice Tobin. Maurice Tobin served not only as mayor and governor, but also as U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Harry Truman. John Boyle O'Reilly, the editor of the Boston Pilot, freedom fighter, poet and orator is buried here too; as are George Wright, Baseball Hall of Famer and golf course builder; and Francis Ouimet, an early golfing great who won the U.S. Open in 1913.

St. Joseph has its Kennedy connections as well. John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, father of Rose Kennedy and one-time mayor of Boston, is buried here; Kevin White former Boston Mayor and former Holyhood Director is buried here; as are two other former Boston mayors, John Hynes and John Collins. A large white stone marks the grave of John McCormack, who served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1962 to 1971. Arthur Fiedler, long time conductor of the Boston Pops and recipient of many awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, died in 1979 and is buried at St. Joseph with his wife Ellen Bottomly Fiedler.