When my father passed away last year, I was dreading making the funeral arrangements. What started as an unnecessarily complicated and confusing process caused by others, turned out to be a comforting experience thanks to Kenn.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND:
My dad was supposed to be buried in the Muslim section of the Elm Lawn cemetery. The plots in that section are assigned by the Albanian-American Mosque Foundation in Berkeley, Ill.--not Elm Lawn Cemetery. However, when my dad died, I was told that by a manager at the Mosque that the Muslim section was totally "reserved." When my mother died years earlier, I tried to reserve the spot next to hers for my father through the mosque foundation but they told me at the time that they don't allow reservations. That wouldn't be fair, they said.
The Berkeley mosque decided to change that policy so they could reserve graves for their own large and extended family and friends ... and it did so without notifying ALL mosque members that they opened up reservations. (The plots were not all full, mind you ... just RESERVED for many people who likely would not die for another 30 to 50 years, maybe more; some of the reserved plots were for little kids who have very long lives ahead of them.)
As a result, even though we had family members buried at Elm Lawn, we were told by a mosque official that my dad would have to go to a cemetery in Lemont, Ill., to get a reduced-rate plot that is included with membership in the mosque. So I was distraught when I called the Elm Lawn Cemetery office just to see if there was anything they could do for us.
THAT'S WHEN KENN K. SAVED THE DAY!!!
I spoke with Kenn and to my surprise, he told us that they actually did have some plots available in the Muslim section. I had to pay $4K for the plot but I was relieved that we didn't have to separate my dad from his family members.
Dealing with Kenn K. was an absolute pleasure. I am not one who trusts people easily but with Kenn, I immediately felt at ease. Anyone can see that Kenn is honest, respectful, sincere and truly caring. He treated us like family. He's a wonderful person who goes the extra mile. I later ended up ordering a grave marker. He was wonderfully supportive during that whole process as well.
In early March of this year, the day the grave marker came in, Kenn had it placed in the ground and sent me a picture of it by email with a lovely encouraging note that made me smile. From start to finish, Kenn made the process as pleasant as it could possibly be. Others at the office were very nice as well. If you find yourself in need of Elm Lawn Cemetery's services, don't hesitate to call Kenn. He is a great comfort, and you will be in great hands!!!
