Billie Holiday Burial Site, St. Raymond's Cemetery

The grave site of "Lady Day" was unmarked for at least a year, after which this marker was placed by Louis McKay, Billie Holiday's husband at the time of her death. According to Meg Greene's book Billie Holiday: A Biography, the date of death on this tombstone was originally incorrect. It appears to be correct today:

"A year after Holiday’s death, Downbeat magazine reported that McKay had yet to erect a tombstone for his wife. To make things right, the magazine set up a fund to purchase one for Holiday. McKay protested and eventually placed one on her grave. The inscription read: Beloved wife Billie Holiday known as 'Lady Day' Born April 7, 1915, Died July 15, 1959. In a final indignity, McKay had mistaken the date of her death."