Our History

Grandpa Thomas Gibbons along with his wife Ann, known affectionately as Granny Gibbons to the current generation were both licensed embalmers and funeral directors. Thomas Gibbons graduated from Worsham Mortuary College in 1935 and was President of his class.  Ann Gibbons graduated from Worsham in 1946. Tom and Ann were both known for their kindness and compassion to families in Chicago and to the churches and parishes they worked so closely with. When St. Patrick’s Church in Chicago had severely dwindling attendance and even more severe financial problems, the Gibbons started their Monthly Mass of Remembrance for all of those who passed away during each month. It not only gave Tom and Ann an opportunity to make a generous donation on behalf of all of those families each month. It also attracted thousands of people per year to the struggling, but historic Catholic Church in the West Loop. Today, Old St. Pat’s in among the most thriving parishes is the Archdiocese and the country for that matter. This decades long tradition continues with a mass for the families of the departed every single month of the year. Every Pastor since the 1950s has recognized the important contribution of the Gibbons Family in their assistance to St. Patrick’s during the years of struggle to maintain it’s community and vibrancy. The close relationship between the Gibbons Family and the family and parents of Cardinal Francis George led to the Gibbons Family led to their managing the Funeral Arrangements for the Cardinal at his personal request.