Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, River Hills is one of several Chicagoland Memorial Parks that are owned by a local, actively involved family. From the leadership to the employees, our goal is to provide as pleasant an experience as possible during a difficult time. Our focus is guiding a mourning family through the necessary steps of making the final resting place arrangements for a loved one.

Yes, we have staff to assist with all questions regarding River Hills, from locating specific graves to transferring the rights of interment to family members. We also have Family Service Counselors available to assist you with making all burial arrangements for immediate need and future needs, including determining the specific section of River Hills for the interment, finalizing pricing and completing the transaction.

There are two interment categories, Traditional Burial or Cremation:

TRADITIONAL
We offer four basic options for traditional burials:

• Full body, with casket, placed in an individual grave (most common)
• Double Depth Lawn Crypt burial, where two people, usually family members, are buried in the same grave space in a specially designed, pre-installed concrete vault. The vaults are placed on a specially prepared base of gravel with a French drainage system beneath that provides exceptional protection from the elements. 
• Full body, with casket, placed in a granite Private Estate, a very distinct and beautiful option for a family seeking a lasting legacy.
• Full body, with casket, placed in an above-ground crypt in our Chapel Mausoleum.

CREMATION

We offer four options for cremation interment:

• Buried in a traditional in-ground individual grave.
• Placed above ground in a Columbarium Niche in our Chapel Mausoleum.
• Placed above ground in one of our gardens in a Granite Bench.
• Buried in the same grave space as a family member (requires permission).

Yes, we currently have many available in all of our Memorial Garden Sections.

Yes, it is. Making final arrangements after a loved one has passed can be overwhelming. The stress of arrangements with the funeral home, as well as choosing and paying for the burial spaces, the burial vaults, and the memorial plaques can be eliminated when these arrangements are pre-made.

In our experience with families, they say one of the kindest things that has been done is when the arrangements at River Hills have been pre-arranged and paid for.

Finally, paying for these services now eliminates future price increases; once paid for when the services are needed, there is no cost to the family. We have families who took care of these arrangements 40 years ago and the family members always comment on how kind and thoughtful that was.

Yes, use of the Double Depth Garden Crypt section allows two full-body burials in one grave space. In other gardens, the following can be buried in one grave space with the payment of a “Second Rite” and lot owner or family approval:

• One vault containing one casket with an additional urn placed inside.
• Two cremation urns.
• A traditional burial and one cremation urn. 

Yes we do. We offer crypts and niches in our beautiful granite Chapel Mausoleum.  The Mausoleum features exterior and interior entombment crypts for full-body caskets and indoor niches for cremation urns. Indoor crypts and niches can be visited during business hours and are a pleasant environment for loved ones to pay their respects in any weather.

Urns for ground burial must be sealed. Some urns are made just for ground burial.  Consult with your funeral director or River Hills before purchasing an urn if you are choosing ground burial. River Hills has urns available for purchase. Check with River Hills before purchasing an urn vault especially if this is the second burial in the grave because of space constraints.

The urn must be sealed. The interior of the niches are 12 inches by 12 inches. Approval is needed for urns placed in Glass Front Niches.

A Mausoleum is stand stand-alone building that serves as an above-ground alternative to ground burial. River Hills' Chapel Mausoleum houses both crypts, which have room for one or two regular-sized sealer caskets, and niches for cremation urns.

Prices vary based on grave type and location in the Memorial Garden. We work hard to make our prices competitive and to provide a range of options for the interment of your loved ones. Prices for the Mausoleum Niches and Crypts range in price depending on their location. Please call (630) 879-7400 or visit our Administrative Office for current pricing.

There are additional cemetery charges for opening and closing the graves, niches and crypts. These charges can be paid for in advance or at the time of need. These fees will vary by site and by the day and time the service is performed; Saturday and Sunday burials are extra. Please call (630) 879-7400 for pricing.

Standard burial times are Monday – Friday, 9am – 3pm and are included in the price.  If a Saturday or Sunday burial is desired, there is an additional, separate cost for each day. 

No additional fees or yearly assessments are required to be paid by the families for the maintenance of the grounds. When a purchase is made, 15% of that purchase price goes into a perpetual care fund and that money is used for all grounds maintenance. The cemetery is audited by the state to be sure we are in compliance with the State of Illinois Care Act.

River Hills is a lawn level, memorial park featuring bronze memorial plaques that are flush with the ground providing an uninterrupted view of the landscape. Memorials are available in individual, companion, infant, and double interment designs each with a variety of customizable options and features.

• The memorial for a single grave may not exceed 32 inches.
• The memorial for companion graves may not exceed 60 inches.

All services for immediate need burials must be paid for before burial.

River Hills Memorial Park encourages families to make arrangements before the event of death. As such, our family focus provides special financing terms, including 0% financing. Please contact River Hills at (630) 879-7400 for details.