Dion O'Banion was born in 1899 in Aurora, Illinois. His family soon moved to an Irish neighborhood in Chicago. The area had one of the highest murder rates in the city.

O'Banion served as alter boy at Holy Name Cathedral. However, that didn't keep him from being a thief at the young age of 10 and a hired thug by 17.

His North Side gang specialized in burglary, safecracking, hijacking and bootlegging.
O'Banion was known as a gentleman. Besides his gangster business, he ran a flower shop. Whenever an organized crime figure was killed, he and his companions each spent thousands of dollars on floral tributes. O'Banion provided these flowers himself. It was he who popularized the wearing of suits and ties among gangsters. He also tried to refine their manners and speech.

On Nov. 10, 1924, three men entered the flower shop and shot Dion O'Banion to death. The murder was never solved.

His casket cost $10,000. The funeral procession to Mount Carmel was a mile long, with 26 cars and trucks just to carry the flowers. O'Banion's burial drew 15,000 mourners.

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Go to Gangster Graves home page.
Go to Personal Journal page.

Information on O'Banion was found at graveyards.com