My family and I have been extremely disappointed with our experience at this cemetery. Over two and a half years ago, after my mother passed away, I paid in full for her funeral services, cemetery plot, and grave marker. To this day, her marker has still not been installed. It also took countless phone calls, emails, and attempts to meet with Andrew, the person who handled our order, just to get grass placed on my mother's grave. Every time I tried to meet with him, he was unavailable. About a year ago, he finally replied to my email and assured me that everything would be taken care of. Unfortunately, that promise was never kept. No family should have to spend years chasing a cemetery to fulfill services that were already paid for. This has added unnecessary stress and heartache during an already difficult time. I cannot recommend this cemetery based on my experience. If you choose to use their services, make sure you get everything in writing and be prepared to follow up repeatedly. It is heartbreaking to visit my mother's grave after all this time and still see that the marker we paid for has never been installed read more

The grounds are well-kept. I find the office staff professional and helpful. They go out of their way to offer kind and comforting services. The office manager is top-notch and her guiding hand is evident when working with the office people. I had an experience recently on a weekend where I was having trouble locating the markers of two relatives. It turned out the map of that Section had a corner piece redeveloped and had added higher Lot numbers. Not only did the office person on duty help me locate the renumbered section, but one of the grounds crew members saw me out there later and stopped to ask if I had found it OK. They're all pretty friendly and helpful at Ridgewood. read more

Ridgewood Memorial Park was there for our family - over exceeding expectations to give our mom the proper service & respect that she so deserved. Can NOT be more Grateful for the following staff: Andrew- For answering all my frantic questions immediately. GEORGIA- for all your compassion and calm -allowing me to vent. For making sure that mom's day went as smoothly as possible. Brian-Michele and Dan -for allowing me to express & explain my concerns. DAN- for your commitment to making the grounds perfect & creating a 'park-like ' setting . Hugo-Angel-Jose - for your hard work in the hot sun & working with Dan. Your commitment to make sure that every thing was just right from beginning to end did not go unnoticed. It was a very painful day, but the people mentioned above are dedicated & passionate about their jobs and what a difference that makes when your life has been turned upside down ... Heartfelt thanks to each of you - Sue and family read more

If I could take my father's remain out of this place I would. I overlooked, the poor service with lettering on my father tomb, the shabby work when that lettering fell iff his tomb, the poor response in customer service for a variety of different small requests. But, in December they called and said my mom had a credit, the balance was paid and they would be sending it along. In January they took out another payment. When I contacted them and asked them to simply credity it back to my mtoher's account they said they would. It is now June and the money was never credited. They send it to an old credit card account owned by my daughter. After countless phonecalls and emails, they left me holding the bag in trying to get this money back from the credit card company to my mother. They are nothinbg if not incompetent. I would not recommend this business to anyone I know, nor would I do further business with them. read more

I am very unhappy with their services. I need to have a burial of my husbands remains as well as a memorial service. Three weeks ago was first phone call. Spoke to a man and presented my questions. said he would call me back beginning of the next week. No call came. After 21/2 weeks called again. This time I got a recordedmessage. I left my information. To date no call back. This is not how you do business. read more

It makes me sad to write this reivew as Ridgewood has served my family well for decades - until now. My mother passed away in February, we held her funeral service in Ohio then she was transported to Ridgewood for burial. I live in Arizona so attended the funeral service but didn't have enough time off to attend the burial. My husband and I flew out to Chicago in late September to visit and see her gravestone, which we had prepaid back in February and I was told they would level my dad's (next to her) and try to match the granite, etc. I never did get an art proof but figured maybe they just did the exact same design as my dad's. Went to the gravesite and surprise surprise, no headstone. After leaving a voicemail message, several emails and speaking to Andrew on the phone when I called again, who I had set it up with, he said he would look into it and get back to me. Twice. No call back yet and it's been 2 weeks since we visited. This is not the kind of service we are used to at Ridgewood. I don't know what changed but it's extremely disappointing. The whole purpose of that Chicago trip was to visit my mom's grave and I can't express enough how bad it felt to get there and she has no marker whatsoever. read more

I came at 4:30pm to put some flowers at my parents grave, my mom passed away Nov 1st and this weekend is her birthday. I told the lady that I just need 5 mins to put some flowers and that I drove from the City and I'm from out of town. She said " no" because I would have to let in dozens of people, I was the only one by the gate. She didn't care and didn't want to help me. How sad, Terrible service. The google showed closing at 5pm too. read more

The grave site in question , my mothers has been corrected and hopefully properly. I'm happy and so are my sisters.

This year, will be the 19th anniversary since my father had deceased in 2001, of October. Also, my mother's best friend rests in peace just the lot over from my father's. The grounds keepers do a great job, after every holiday, dead flowers, decorations, and the littering, that some disrespectful visitors leave behind. Throughout the years, they have maintained the landscaping and conditions well. Unfortunately, there are times [which yes, they don't have full control] of flooding, as an example. I have been wondering if there was by any chance a possibility to ask for leveling of my father's resting place. Also, help upon how to properly restore the gravestone from being utterly dirty. Overall, I truly do enjoy the location during the spring, summer, and fall. Winter as well, though sometimes it's difficult to locate and unbury my father's gravesite stone. I highly recommend here, as it's not overly crowded. The sunrise, sunset is phenomenal to stare upon, while picnicking, or even having a visit, chatting up with my loved ones here. read more

This is a terrible place to have a loved one buried. If you love those you've lost, do not have them buried here. My mother died in 2004 and shortly after her passing, the well system went out (which they aren't replacing). Trees and shrubs have died, the grounds aren't cared for and the staff are rude and lack empathy. My father died in 2020 and I paid for a $7,000 bench which they continued to say "wasn't available yet due to COVID" for months after it was supposed to be installed. I finally called and complained to the Corporate office and magically, "the bench arrived the next day". Sadly, the bench base was not the size I ordered and still hasn't been fixed. During all of 2021, we expressed formal, informal, and verbal concerns about the plot where my father is buried. The ground was sunk with giant fissures and cracks, big enough to stick your hand in with dead brown and yellow grass underneath a terrible quality dead seed blankets that they never bothered to remove. We had to cut it out of the ground ourselves with desk scissors I had in my car. After another Corporate call, they finally leveled the ground and added another seed blanket... this one only slightly better than the last. Luckily, we are fortunate to have family that brings cartons of water and a watering can to nurture new seed and grass. Ridgewood requires all decorations to come down for fall cleanup. The day BEFORE cleanup, we came and removed our little flowers and pumpkins but of course left the religious candle holder that is allowed to remain 365 days a year. The day AFTER the groundskeepers cleaned up the park, magically our 15 year old candle holder that my father had purchased for my Mom was GONE. After 15 years and coincidentally at the same time a brand new ( less than 6 months hired) groundskeeping team cleaned up the park. I filed a complaint and the staff were annoyed and short and said "per the policy, it's not our problem and we aren't responsible". No empathy, no "I'm sorry this happened" no accountability for a brand new team doing groundskeeping cleanup. We have family that go every single day to ensure no other horrible and disrespectful things happen to my parents. My parents were wonderful people and this place treats those we wish to remember like garbage. If I could afford to have my parent's remains moved, I would in a heartbeat. DO NOT have your loved ones suffer the same disrespectful fate. Do not bury them here. The staff have been rude and treat my family and myself like just some obnoxious task list. They sigh at us on the phone and talk down to us. We are highly educated, well-spoken individuals who have spent thousands of dollars at Ridgewood and they treat us terribly. If you look on yelp where reviews are public and not edited by the company, it only has 2.5 stars... not 4+. On their website, it shows satisfied high-rated reviews, but you can't actually add a review. I am determined to get my experience out there to the public so others aren't traumatized and suffer prolonged grief like myself and my family are. read more

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My family plots are all here - I've recently made a few purchases. Georgia was very professional and pleasant. We highly recommend her for any of your family services and needs. read more

I had requested to have my mother's and grandparents' headstones raised. Georgia in the office was extremely helpful. Not only was she very efficient, she promised to call me back, and followed through. The job was done in days. Georgia is caring and approachable and provides excellent customer service. She was a pleasure to work with. Thank you, Laurie Taylor read more

Well, this places makes the worst thing ever pretty bearable. Marcia Woods has been doing this with my family for 17 years- its incredible to see how much she cares for every family. My family lost my grandmother and she was so kind to my grandfather the entire time- its was remarkable. I really do recommend this place if you're thinking about it. read more

It was such a pleasure to work with Kathleen Bedrio! She's friendly, out-going, very customer-oriented and especially compassionate! She's such an asset to the company. read more

Horrible place to bury a loved one. Its been two year and my mom's grave still does not have grass. We complained numerous times and hear oh I'm so sorry, we will get this taken care of immediately. I guess my definition of immediate and theirs differ. It took a year to clean the roses from the funeral off the sight and still no grass. They can cut down trees ten feet away and not see that a grave still needs grass. Paying way to much money for a burial. Maybe they should send refunds for lack of work completion. read more

We/Yoon family are very pleased work with Ridgewood staffs. And special thanks to Ms. Kathleen Bedrio who works diligently with us all the time. She is very knowledgeable, flexible and passion on her job. She is a good listener and understands family wishes or requests right away. Her overall performance to us is outstanding. I would like to give her score 10/10 if anybody asked. I wish all of you have wonderful holidays Thank you James Yoon read more

My wife has 6 family members buried there. When my Mom passed we also buried her there.BAD MISTAKE!Their lawn care does not exist. More like weed care.You would be hard pressed to find grass. They do have a good landscape company.Where are they?The trees look like the Addams Family's back yard. At least 40% dead or dying.They claim Corporate not funding enough to maintain. My question is why is Memorial Gardens in Skokie and Rosehill in Chicago are in much better condition as they are owned by same parent company???? Since 1994 when you think they have reached rock bottom they prove you wrong. I would not bury a animal there!! read more

Very helpful and kind...forwarded a photo of my step-grandfather's headstone within a few hours of my request.

Many thanks to Kathleen Bedrio for all her help both before and after my husband's death. She was terrific.

Recently we had a memorial service for my mother-in-law. Kathleen was so helpful and very patient in guiding us when we had so many questions. She was there from the start of plans through the actual graveside service. She even recalled some of the fun memories of Helen in her note to us after the service. That told us we were just a client but she cared about our process. Thank you Kathleen for making this process much easier. read more

I've had a long history with this cemetery. My grandfather and my father are both buried here so I come here frequently. This cemetery is beautiful and kept really clean. It's really peaceful with a huge pond with turtles and swans. The huge white building (I don't know what it's called) where you choose the headstones and urns for your loved ones is very spacious and professional. The staff is nice - there is a couple people that are stiff and not warm toward you at all (most likely trying to be too professional). I've never had a problem with this place except one - they are very slow with their orders and disorganized. They lost paperwork for my father's headstone and I had to reorder AGAIN and wait even longer. One thing that would better this place would be the hours- longer hours would help because my schedule does not match up with their hours. Overall, this place is very serene and I would definitely recommend this cemetery for your loved one. read more

My family has a plot at this cemetary so we used it to bury my mother. The cemetary is very beautiful and peaceful. I don't have a problem with the cemetary itself, but I do have a problem with the lack of communication when it comes to ordering headstones or anything else for the grave site. I had sent in my final drawing / approval for the headstone months before the final payment was made. I was told that once it was paid in full, it would take 4-6 weeks for the headstone to be made / installed. SOMEHOW... after frequent visits to the cemetary itself and into the office to speak to the staff, it was brought to my attention that the drawing was never received... 6 months later. I don't know why this wasn't brought to my attention when the headstone was paid for? It has now been 2 months since I signed off again on the drawing -- still no headstone!! For the type of business this is, there should be more efficient communication and follow up. I understand people being busy, but have a check list or something once you receive payment so you can make sure everything is in order before your customer leaves. read more

Do not expect a warm, fuzzy experience when buying a plot here. You are purchasing a piece of real estate and the proceedings are as cold as during any business transaction. Had my family not been buried here I would not have chosen this cemetery for my husband. We had no choice but to bury him during the weekend so the labor costs were at least 150% higher than during the week. For example, I inquired about the use of the chapel (instead of gravesite service) as our funeral was in December. The cost on Saturday was very close to $1,000. I had to refuse this service as I was getting low on funds. I would recommend looking through Craigslist and purchasing a plot from an owner. Check out other cemeteries before you commit. Don't simply ask the for the cost of the plot, also ask for the other costs before you set up an appointment. Our funeral director said it was a corporate owned cemetery and so costs would probably be higher. He is right. The grounds are lovely and well maintained. read more

Destroyed my wife's grave and tombstone for another burial with no consideration and just left it. Without consideration and disregard, just ran it over with a truck destroying the headstone and grave. My wife's grave wasn't the only one that was destroyed on 8/20. Think of this was your loved ones grave? I was not only heartbroken to see this when I went to water my wife's flowers but felt shamed by Ridgewood Cemetery for pretending to be caring and honoring by contract to take care of your loved one's. Words cannot express seeing my wife desecrated like she was not even a person. No apologies either by Ridgewood Management!! I'll leave it up to you to decide to bury your loved one's at Ridgewood Cemetery. read more

Marsha has gone above and beyond to help my family and I have a dignified funeral for my beloved Father. The General Manager Julie is also very delightful to deal with. Everyone in the office is upbeat and welcoming and I wish I knew all of there names to mention them as well. I will recommend Marsha and Ridgewood Memorial Park to all of my friends and family. Great job ladies. Thank you, VJ read more

My father was entombed on 3-10-12 and Ridgewood still has not engraved his name, dates, or installed the army emblem and flower holder. Its been 2 months! Of course they want their money upfront but they are terrible at fulfilling their end of the contract! Contacting my lawyer on 5-7-12. Also, there are several in the next block of entombments from my dad that we just noticed have not been engraved and they have the funeral home cards taped to the marble walls that state the individuals were entombed in 2010 and 2011 but still have not been engraved! read more

Both of my parents are buried here. The grounds are nice and well-kept. It is a quiet, peaceful place for remembering and reflecting. However, the staff and support are lacking. They essentially hold you hostage to use their services for headstones and are not timely or responsive to designing and installing the headstone. I really wish they would communicate more effectively, but they seem more interested in collecting your money than providing service. read more

I have been going out to Ridgewood Cemetary since I was a little girl. My little brother and sister, grandparents, uncle and now my parents are all buried there. As an adult I buried my dad and in 2014, I buried my mother. Since that time, her grave has been unsightly and neglected. The caretakers never sodded the area at the foot of my mother's grave properly even though I've submitted several work orders. Long story short, I was out in May of 2017 and asked to have the grave taken care of as it is a mess with drying grass and in some areas no grass. Work order made. I was out in May of 2018 still no improvement, new work order made. Talked to the Manager of Ridgewood and he said that it had rained so badly they had too much other work to do with the down trees. No satisfaction to me. New work order. Back in Aug 2018, the graves of my parents are disappearing under the WEEDS that are growing, my grandparents have black spots on their headstones from something???? Never was like this before. I was told that the water pipes out where the grave sites are presently no longer usable. Too old and too expensive to repair. Why after all these years, like 70, is the place going to the dogs? The word Dignity means "a state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect. A sense of pride in ones self." I don't think the CEO's or the higher ups know what this word means or they wouldn't use it. They are not showing any DIGNITY to those that have paid to be buried there. read more

My aunt was laid to rest here in early August. She was a veteran and was to receive a grave marker for her service. We worked with Charity during our needs. She told us she would take care of everything and send the paperwork to the Veterans Admin and call us when the marker arrived, adding it would only be a few weeks for this to come in. Having not heard from her mid-October I called and was told Charity no longer works there. I was now working with Marcia. She told me Ridgewood NEVER handles ordering the marker for clients. So, she pretty much called me a liar when I told her Charity did. We went back and forth, her telling this cannot be true because they don't do that and me saying then why did I get a postcard from the VA saying it was ordered? I would not even know how to order it. We ended the call with her saying the General Manager Howard Paterson would call me back to discuss the matter. Here it is mid-November and I never received a call from him. He must really care! Still no grave marker either!! I am very unhappy with the service. In a difficult time they should be trying to make this easier. read more

My father has been buried at Ridgewood Memorial Park (Des Plaines, IL) for a year and a half now. I have made COUNTLESS trips to the cemetery this entire time to ask why my dad's plot still does not have sod, and why all the plots are full of weeds, and un-mowed. Each time, I was ASSURED it would be taken care of. I spoke to Howard Paterson, General Manager a week and a half ago. I made him drive out with me to the plots to see why I was so upset. He and the groundskeeper personally assured me this would be taken care of right away. He even left me a voicemail to tell me he will make sure it is sodded. I just got back from there. Howard was not there today. IT WAS NOT SODDED!!!!! Then I look up, and across the street, they were busy sodding another plot. Really???? DO I HAVE TO PERSONALLY LAY THE SOD DOWN MYSELF to get the job done?? Jimmy the groundskeeper was there today (another groundskeeper). He met me at the sight. He drove over to the guy laying sod, and hopefully this will be done. So does it take a groundskeeper over the GENERAL MANAGER to get the job done? I left another message with Howard and ranted quite a bit. Needless to say, I am VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THE MANAGEMENT AND GROUNDSKEEPING OF RIDGEWOOD MEMORIAL PARK. I would NEVER recommend it to nobody, and will be very vocal on the internet about the disorganization, lack of help, care, and respect. read more