The surnames carved into the grave markers that sprout from the hillside of Bethel Park’s St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery trend toward Eastern European. Pachuta. Benedik. Mihalik. Zolock. Slota. And then, a few feet in front of a companion grave marker for Slovakian immigrants Andrew and Julia Warhola is the burial site for their world-famous son, Andy Warhol, where he was laid to rest on February 26, 1987, just a few days after his death from complications following gallbladder surgery. Its modesty stands in striking contrast to his larger-than-life public persona as a consummate New Yorker. Curiously, the grave is not even terribly close to his childhood home in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood, a half-hour drive away. The reason for this humble suburban final resting place for Andy and his parents is rooted in their Byzantine Catholic faith. The cemetery is owned and operated by St. John the Baptist Church in Pittsburgh, a sister parish of St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church, Warhol’s childhood church in Greenfield.
Receive more stories in your email
Sign up