Hearthstone Memorial Chapel
Full-service burial care for Chicago families, from first call to graveside.
About this funeral home
Origin story
Hearthstone began in 1991 in the back half of a converted Lakeview storefront, when Ruth Alderman left a large corporate funeral group after watching families get sold packages they never wanted. She started with a hearse, a phone line, and a rule that still holds: quote the honest number first. Her daughter runs the chapel now, and the storefront is still the building — just with better heat.
Why families choose us
Families come to us because we're small enough that they aren't handed off. One director stays with a family from the first call through the burial, so nobody has to re-explain their situation to a new voice on day three. We're also direct about cost. Our general price list goes out before any selection is made, and we'll tell a family plainly when a less expensive option would serve them just as well. Much of our work comes from people who sat in our chapel for someone else's service years earlier and remembered how it felt.
Ownership
Meet the team
Ruth Alderman
Founder (1991–2018), Director Emerita
Ruth spent eleven years at a corporate funeral group before deciding she could do it better with one hearse and a rented storefront. She's licensed in Illinois since 1983 and still comes in Thursdays to review the price list and tell her daughter she's overpaying for flowers. She served on the board of a North Side hospice for nine years and taught the ethics unit at a mortuary science program for six.
Nadia Alderman-Cruz
Owner & Funeral Director in Charge
Nadia grew up folding memorial folders at the kitchen table and swore she'd do anything else — she has an economics degree and four years in commercial insurance to prove it. She came back in 2009 and took over the chapel in 2018. She handles most first calls herself and does the family's cost conversation personally, which she considers the part of the job that can't be delegated. She's fluent in Spanish and coordinates the chapel's veterans filings.
Marcus Odei
Funeral Director
Marcus came to the work sideways, after a decade as a hospital chaplain's assistant convinced him the days after a death were where families were most alone. He's the director families most often ask for by name, largely because he's comfortable sitting in silence. He handles most graveside and non-chapel services and knows the layout of nearly every cemetery in Cook County by heart.
Who they serve
Religious tradition
Community served
Language
Prices
Why prices are not listed here
Please contact vendor for pricing.
You never have to pay for a price list, and you do not have to give your name to ask for one.
Common questions
What do I do in the first hour after a death?
Less than you'd think. If the death happened at home under hospice care, call the hospice first — they'll make the pronouncement. If it happened at a hospital or care facility, the staff will handle that step. Once someone has been pronounced, call us at any hour and we'll take it from there. There's no decision you need to make tonight beyond telling us where your person is.
Do we have to embalm?
No. Illinois doesn't require embalming, and we won't present it as though it does. It's genuinely useful in some situations — a public viewing with an open casket, or a delay of several days while family travels — and unnecessary in many others. Refrigeration is available and often sufficient. We'll explain which applies to your circumstances and what each costs before you decide.
What does a burial actually cost here?
Our services for a traditional burial start at a published figure you'll see on our general price list, and the two largest variables are the casket and the cemetery. Cemetery costs — the plot, the opening and closing of the grave, and any required outer burial container — are paid to the cemetery, not to us, and can equal or exceed our fee. We'll give you a written itemized estimate before you commit to anything.
Can we hold the service somewhere other than your chapel?
Yes. We regularly work in churches, temples, community halls, and graveside settings, and we've done services in family homes and neighborhood restaurants. If the location can accommodate the gathering, we can usually make it work.
What if we can't afford a funeral?
Tell us. Cook County has an indigent burial program, some families qualify for VA or Social Security benefits, and direct burial without a formal service is a legitimate option that costs a fraction of a traditional funeral. We'd rather help you find the version you can actually afford than watch you take on debt for one you can't.
What families say
New to EndCo — be among the first. No family has written about Hearthstone Memorial Chapel here yet.
Did you work with Hearthstone Memorial Chapel?
Reviews here come from families who have actually sat with a member. If you spent time with them, a few sentences about how it went is the most useful thing the next family can read.
Service area
Address
3133 N Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60613
Virtual services
Available
Location and coverage
3133 N Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60613
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