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Monumental Art Works

4.8 (20 reviews)
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Custom memorial for my 17 year old son, an artist and free spirit taken too soon by cancer

My 17 year old son Cameron died in August at Lurie Children's Hospital after a 10 month battle with Burkitt's Lymphoma. He was our only child and the center of our world. His loss was (and continues to be) devastating to me and my husband; especially in the early days following his death, we struggled with ways to honor his unique spirit. Cameron was an artist, who planned to study at the Rhode Island School of Design, so the headstone that marked his eternity needed to be special and unique. It needed to reflect his 17 year old self, which included questions about God, religion and life. After Cameron's funeral, I scoured the internet in an effort to find someone who could craft the perfect piece. I was willing to travel to whatever corner of the world housed the artist that would bring Cameron's spirit alive in stone. Imagine my surprise when the artist whose work kept appearing in my window was located in Blue Island, Illinois, mere miles from my Beverly home. Viktor is a trained sculptor with an artist's sensitvity. In my first meeting with Viktor, I brought pictures of my son, some of Cameron's artwork and a few ideas. Viktor sat with me and endured my mother's grief. I gave him free reign as, within minutes of meeting him, I knew that he understood my son's essence. Although I was told that it would take at least a week for Viktor to draft a design, I received a call from his lovely and highly professional daughter Olga two days later; on a morning walk, Viktor received an inspiration and knew what was needed to remember my son. His design was beautiful in its simplicity. It was exactly what Cameron would have wanted. The stone was installed this week. When my husband (who was not involved in the design process) saw it, he cried. I can assure you that, as a Southside Irishman, that does not happen often. The artistry and craft that was once a prevalent part of society is on the decline, in favor of fast and cheap goods. To find an artist of his caliber whose work impacts not just museum attendees and art collectors, but those who have or will face death is a unique gift.

Our beloved Dad (Part 1)

Let me start out by saying that if you are looking for a customized headstone by HAND - not laser, this place is more than qualified. And if you're also looking for great customer service and great prices, this is EXACTLY the place you need to go. Being extremely close with my grandfather set me out on a massive search for the best custom etching place and for a great price for his headstone when he passed and this is where my search ended. I was in contact with Olga as my customer service specialist and she was fantastic at getting back to me about my inquiries. On the day my family and I went to talk in person with her, we also met the actual man that was going to do the custom etching (Viktor) and he was just as friendly and welcoming as Olga. They both sat down with us and talked out exactly what we wanted and showed us many different designs to help us make our final decisions. When we walked out of there, I know we all felt very confident with our grandfather's headstone in their hands. Just this week, Olga reached out to me to let me know that the headstone was finished and also included a picture of it. It was EXACTLY what we wanted! I may not know you, but I would not recommend such a service as a loved one's headstone with the upmost confidence if I was not 100% sure that they would take the greatest care of this task, while showing sincere compassion and patience. If you do go through Monumental Art Works, tell them Melissa Santiago sent you.

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3 years ago

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Olga B.

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4 years ago

Liz was great. She was very helpful and timely. I appreciate her patience and expertise. My mother-in-law's grave marker looks great.

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Review Highlights - Monumental Art Works

Olga did a wonderful job explaining and guiding us through the custom process of ordering a headstone.

Mentioned in 13 reviews

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People searched for Funeral Services & Cemeteries 2,636 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

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Central Chapel Funeral & Cremation

Central Chapel Funeral & Cremation

(5 reviews)

Clearing

It's hard to loose a love one,but loose two within a week apart is more than words can say and it's…read moreyour mom and sister to whom you where very very close to.then you need help navigating the funeral business and insurance companies then hospital and final rest .i check with two others before I called central and from the moment I spoke with Ann I felt the caring,warm,and respectful voice of help.whats the hardest is I'm 2000 miles away and had to get mom and sister back to me for final rest .Ann was as so helpful even the social worker at the hospital said she also Sense the warmth with talking to her about the process for mom and sister.and I knew I made a good choice mom and patty would've been pleased with there handling.they are home and all I had to do answer question fill out online forms,and she and her staff did the rest .thanks you Ann momma and patty is home and at peace knowing I will do what I always done take care of them. Blessings to you and staff Deacon chuck

I feel terrible that I have not gotten around sooner to share my past experiences with you…read more Bob has been taking care of my family's losses for many many years and the love and care that he and his team have given to my family is nothing less then amazing. Every thing they do it truly from the heart. If I could give Bob and hit team a 10, I would! They make a terrible situation easier to go thru. Thank you so much for all you did for all my family members.

Ridge Funeral Home

Ridge Funeral Home

(9 reviews)

Garfield Ridge

The Macedo Familly is so appreciative of ALL of the staff at Ridge Funeral Home. I attended 2…read morefunerals here and have witnessed their amazingness as a guest and now as family. Since my father was in hospice I was in contact with JoJo and her assistance and guidance have been invaluable. Our Funeral Director Carmen was so patient, professional and loving. The way she explained everything, especially, to our mother, was so touching. Andy and Rudy were great. I hope no one has to go through this but if they do, there is no better place than Ridge Funeral Home

Okay, it may seem a little strange to be reviewing a funeral home but unfortunately I had to attend…read morea wake yesterday so here is my review on Ridge Funeral Home. The place is a two story funeral home and is very homey. When you walk in you just get a very peaceful warm feeling. The first floor is for viewing and the viewing room itself is very large and comfortable. They have a little area right off the front door for coffee and cookies and also a coat room. The second floor looks more like a house...you would never know you are actually in a funeral home. There is a living room with a fireplace, a seating area that leads to a full kitchen with a table. There's also a room for the small ones to go and hang out set up with toys, books and games. The home was all decked out in holiday ornaments and even a tree and was just very peaceful. It really gave you a sense of calm. It was definitely a sad day but the surroundings somehow helped with the stress of it all.

Dalcamo Funeral Home - Hearse provided by Dalcamo.

Dalcamo Funeral Home

(10 reviews)

Pros: - Location…read moreproximity to the city - Good size parking lot - Immediate scheduling availability for an unexpected death - Nice room ambiance with privacy -TV provided for photo slideshow Cons: - No speaker system, not even a basic one. That means if you have more than 30 people and need to stand more than 20 feet away from the speaker, you won't be able to hear anything. - Visitation hours were set for 3pm to 8pm. However, the night of, the staff said the food area downstairs is closing at 7pm and no food is allowed upstairs. We were so confused and scrambled to put the food away while there was another hour of visitation left. Many helpers went without refreshments because of that. What? - The morning of the service, we set out the refreshments again since we had so much left over. Without communicating to us, they packed everything up and said we were not allowed to use that area anymore. - Our sister was 42. She didn't have white hair when we said goodbye to her on Monday. When we saw her at the funeral home on Friday (four days later), her hair had prominent white patches, making her look much older than she was. We asked the staff if they could please help turn the hair black (use mascara? dye? paint?) and he ARGUED with us, saying it is what it is. At the end, he said he'll see what he could do and it only improved minimally. - White gloves were NOT provided for pallbearers. They also had to actually lift the 400lb+ casket down a few steps. - The person leading the pallbearers down the hallway at the cemetery was practically speed-walking. The pallbearers were told to "keep up." What the heck? - At the cemetery, we wanted to spend a few minutes saying goodbye to our sister but we were told to quickly walk by the coffin and exit to our cars. Our entire group had less than five minutes inside the cemetery. We didn't get to put flowers on her coffin let alone spending a private moment with her. Conclusion: We felt rushed every step of the way. The general impression we had was that the staffs at Dalcamo wanted to get the job over with. If you can't empathize with our grief, maybe don't work in this industry anymore. One of the staff was wearing a pretty orange-peach top like it's just another day at the office. Complete disrespect and disastrous communication, ruining all the most important moments for us. Plus it was the most expensive place that nickeled and dined us. Will not work with them again.

I've actually attended services at this funeral home several times over the years, and they've…read morealways done a satisfactory job from my guest point of view.  Parking is easy, as long as you're not last-minute, and as usual, the organization of the funeral procession to the cemetery went without a hitch today.  They smoothly handled a pretty large gathering today, maybe 200 folks.  Today was the first time though that I personally realized their long-time competitor Bowman Funeral Home is now closed (and I don't know as of when), so Dalcamo is now the only funeral home located in Chinatown for what that's worth.

Mount Auburn Funeral Home & Cemetery - Unfortunately, after heavy rains, this is what a portion of the Chinese section of the cemetery can look like.

Mount Auburn Funeral Home & Cemetery

(20 reviews)

Many Chicagoland Cantonese Chinese are buried here and the Chinese section is a large part of the…read morecemetery but by no means the only one.   Most of the Chinese are here because the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of Chicago in Chinatown has for many years leased land from Mount Auburn Cemetery and then re-leases burial plots to Chinese families.  The first Chinese burial here was in 1922. Buried here are my own father and both paternal grandparents as well as numerous in-law relatives.   So coming here for an annual remembrance visit or another burial is just a natural part of life for us and always has been.    My limited dealings with staff here has been fine.  The Chinese section has a small pagoda-like altar that you won't find in any other cemetery.  The grounds are kept clean.  There's nothing you can do if there's been a recent big rain, as the grounds will be soaked and there will be muddy puddles here and there.  It's not an ornate or picturesque cemetery by any means and it's located in the blue collar town of Stickney (not a knock but just saying).  It's also right under nearby Midway's flight paths, so low flying planes during any visit should not surprise you.  Much like Wrigley Field, no matter the apparent weather everywhere else, it's always colder and windy here and feels 10-15F colder for some reason.  It's just the nature of a visit here.   Overall though, they have done the job for us over the years.  Thank you.

There were no cemeteries that permitted burials of Chinese decedents many years ago until the…read moresisters that owned Mount Auburn decided to sell a large section of their cemetery to the Chinese. It is in this large section of Mount Auburn in which a vast majority of Chicagoland Chinese are buried. The section sold to the Chinese is managed by the Ong Leong Association in Chicago's Chinatown. Burials plots and gravestones must be purchased through the Ong Leong Association. Four generations of my family are buried in Mount Auburn. The Ong Leong built an altar monument for the Chinese who can burn offerings to the departed in the next life. There are many Chinese who celebrate their deceased on the one remembrance day.

Peter Troost Monument-Resurrection Office

Peter Troost Monument-Resurrection Office

(5 reviews)

I am very pleased with the monument I ordered from the Peter Troost Monument location in Justice…read more Jolanta Plewa was wonderful to work with. I went to buy a monument for my brother's grave in a somber mood ready to purchase anything to get the uncomfortable task checked off the list of things I had to plan for his burial. Jolanta informed me that she could help me design a custom monument at no extra charge. She kindly and patiently walked me through the design process and helped me create a monument that really honored my brother in a unique and personal way. The process was very comforting in a way I never imagined it could be. I just viewed the monument after it was installed at the gravesite last week. It is beautiful and leaves me with a sense of peace. Thank you Jolanta

Jolanta Plewa at the Justice, IL location is AMAZING. My mom passed away in February. I began…read morelooking for a headstone in April. This company's prices are reasonable. There are many designs to choose from, and Jolanta was helpful from start to finish. I went with a custom design. It typically takes 6 months, but with Covid, we experienced delays. Jolanta was very informative throughout the process. She helped me design the headstone as well. Then my mom's husband passed away after we designed it. I asked if he could be added and she helped me redesign it. Life happens, and she accommodated all requests. The final product turned out beautiful. I hope I don't have to see her anytime soon, but I highly recommend Jolanta at Peter Troost during such a difficult time. You will not be disappointed. My mother stands out just as we planned. Thank you, Jolanta!

Monumental Art Works - funeralservices - Updated May 2026

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