OUR HISTORY
Douglas Klein, Proprietor of Chicagoland Cremation Options®, has been a licensed funeral professional, memorial arranger, embalmer, and crematory operator for the last 27 years. He had a unique opportunity to service his own client base. In all of his years of experience as a licensed professional working for other firms, he witnessed neglect, price gouging, and apathy to their client families. The creation of Chicagoland Cremation Options® would allow him to provide a dignified, affordable, and ethical cremation service to a growing demographic of families who are choosing cremation as a simple and economic option.
Douglas and his family worked hard to grow the client base through his vast experience, compassion, understanding, and care. They developed a mission for the company rooted in our name: Chicagoland Cremation Options® (being that many families didn’t have an understanding beyond the traditional mortuary, funeral home, societies, and cemetery corporate systems).
- Chicagoland - Chicago has always been his home, growing up in the Hickory Hills, Palos Park neighborhoods in Chicago’s southwest suburbs and maturing in the Bridgeport and Edison Norwood Park neighborhoods of Chicago. It has been our honor to serve our five northern Illinois counties with our small family business and crematory. We are familiar with the diversity of the city’s neighborhoods and suburbs, and gladly serve Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties.
- Cremation - With our onsite crematory facility, arrangement office, private family viewing room, and temperature controlled climate for the repository of a loved one, we are able to serve the needs of our client families under one roof. Your loved one remains in our care throughout the entire process and we have autonomy of the continuum of care. Our cremations are not outsourced to third party vendors, and we don’t have a faceless corporate board and shareholders who aren’t involved or accountable in a family’s tender time.
- Options - We understand that each family situation is unique. We can easily adapt to a family’s culture, religion, and tradition. We can provide a simple and affordable experience through a direct (or non-ceremonial) cremation, a private family goodbye, a witnessing and family facilitating a cremation, a memorial (celebration of life), and even a full service visitation (wake) prior to the cremation. We have a large network of funeral homes that we partner with to serve families that desire to honor their loved one through these memorial, celebration of life, and visitation or wake ceremonies.
As our family firm grew over the years, we have served multiple generations of families from all socio-economic, religious, and cultural backgrounds. We are humbled and honored to have received hundreds of kind, heartfelt expressions of appreciation. It is truly our life’s work to guide a family through the loss of their loved one with a dignified, affordable, ethical, and easy manner. Through the level of service and care families receive at Chicagoland Cremation Options®, we have carefully expanded our team to include those that share the values of our mission. We recruited experienced professionals from within the industry that also felt other companies were lacking in their ability to meet the needs of bereaved families. Lifelong friends from outside the cremation/funeral industry that bring a unique perspective and share in Douglas’s vision for a high level of service to humanity have joined the team, too.
We take the time to get to know our client families and we’ve been honored by the many kind people that have felt compelled to share their testimonials and post reviews. We take the initiative to update our families through the paperwork process to ultimately schedule the cremation. That sense of concern and care is felt and valued by the families we serve.
We pride ourselves on taking the time to listen to a family’s needs and educate them about the options/memorialization available for cremation to honor their loved one.
OUR STAFF
Douglas Klein
Douglas Klein is the Owner and Operator of Chicagoland Cremation Options® (CCO). He has been working in the death care industry for 25 years. After many years of taking on additional responsibilities, learning the business inside and out, and having a passion for undertaking families sacred obligations when they lose their loved ones; Doug decided to open his own cremation company. He aims to provide clear, direct cremation services in an empathetic and dignified manner.
As proprietor and funeral director, he is extremely involved in every facet of CCO; including arrangements, transportation, preparation of loved ones, and working with vendors in the Chicagoland area to keep operations running smoothly.
Doug is 45 years old, and his wife, Mary, has also built her career in the cremation industry. They are proud caretakers of two Akita dogs, Murray & Marlowe, and a ginger Maine Coon cat, Brü.
Heather Klein
Heather Klein, Office Administrator and certified crematory operator, has been working alongside her brother Doug since Chicagoland Cremation Option was founded. Heather is dedicated to building CCO’s reputation for transparency, proficiency and empathy towards the families they serve.
Heather resides in the South Suburbs, where she is committed to raising her family along with their three rescue animals. Heather enjoys music, theatre and spending time with her family and friends.
Christy Contreras
Christy Contreras is the Bookkeeper, Payroll Administrator, and an integral part of the operational team at Chicagoland Cremation Options®. Christy feels fortunate to be able to help and comfort families in their time of need.
Christy earned her Associates in Accounting and spent the past 3 years bookkeeping for small businesses. She previously worked in Customer Service for Southwest Airlines for seven years.
Christy is dedicated to her family. She's been married for twenty years and stayed home to raise her children, ages 18, 17 and 13. She also is a pet mom to 2 dogs and 3 cats. She is very active with her children’s sports teams and loves to coach Girls Softball. Her other interests include spending time at her family's lake cabin in Northern Wisconsin, volunteering at the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, the National Animal Welfare Society, and teaching Religious Education at St. Anthony's Parish.
Damaris Ceron
Damaris Ceron is the Office Manager at Chicagoland Cremation Options®. Prior to joining the team at Chicagoland Cremation Options®, she was an early childhood educator. When her youngest child started High School, she went back to work part-time at a funeral home as an office administrator and found a calling in helping bereaved families.
Damaris is dedicated to her family. She's been married for over twenty years and stayed home to raise her children, ages 27, 24 and 23. She also is a pet mom to 3 rescue pitbulls. She enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Mary Kate Cooney
With over two decades of experience in the funeral industry, I am dedicated to providing compassionate and personalized services for families in their time of need. When I'm not assisting others, you can find me embracing the joys of motherhood with my three amazing children. Coming from a vibrant and close-knit family, I understand the importance of cherishing every moment together. As a seasoned cosmetologist, I have an eye for beauty and attention to detail that extends beyond the funeral home. My fur babies Francy and Patsy bring endless joy to my life as we explore the world together. From Chicago's Wrigleyville to serene Park Ridge, I've found solace in different corners of the world - including my beloved house in Ireland. A passionate traveler and food enthusiast, I love exploring new cuisines and sharing my experiences through restaurant reviews.
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OUR MISSION
At Chicagoland Cremation Options®, we are committed to listening, educating and guiding our families through the cremation process. Based on decades of experience and our innate ability to understand and accommodate each individuals’ unique needs we provide the most suitable and reflective cremation options at an affordable cost.
