Hickey Memorial Chapels

T he year 1928 was quite an eventful year for the Hickey family. That year, our grandparents, James T. Hickey and Lillian nee Burns (whose father, James E. Burns, established the Burns Funeral Home in Hammond, Indiana, in 1908), gave birth to our father, Robert J. Hickey. It was also the same year that James and Lillian began their lifelong career in funeral service.

The Oak Forest Undertaking Company eventually became Hickey Funeral Home and later moved catacorner from its location near the southwest corner of what we know today as 159th and Cicero Avenue. The original building remained in that location until 2001. In 1937, our grandfather opened the funeral home in Blue Island. In 1948, the Oak Forest location was sold and he purchased the Heinen Funeral Home in Chicago that was sold back to a son-in-law of the Heinen's in the early 1950's.

In 1977, we purchased the Baskerville Chapel in New Lenox after Mr. and Mrs. John Baskerville decided to retire to California. Additions to this chapel were made in 1981, however, in an effort to better serve increasing needs of the New Lenox community, we are seriously considering building an entirely new facility in the same general area rather than trying to expand the existing building.

Since taking over the operations of the Blue Island Chapel in December of 1996 (which operated as the Vandenberg Funeral Home from 1980-96), we have done some extensive renovations, including exterior and interior remodeling, improved parking, new handicapped-accessible restrooms, new furnishings, carpeting, and a wheelchair lift and entrance.With a history dating back to 2-digit telephone numbers (for instance, Tinley Park #56 or Blue Island #14) and to a time when "undertakers" didn't see the need and believed the telephone to be a fad that would surely pass, we have provided families with caring and compassionate services in their time of need.

Our long history has produced many stories, which we listen to with pride and sometimes even a little embarrassment. We've included some our favorites below. The number of people in the community who never received an ambulance bill - a common practice of our father (and probably the reason we're no longer in the ambulance business).

Robert Hickey was an elected official who wasn't a "politician;" he served as a village trustee for 16 years. During normal brisk door-to-door campaigns, Bob would often be found far behind, sitting on a porch with an elderly widow or anyone else who "just needed someone to talk to," much to the dismay of the other candidates and campaign workers.

The explanation once given by a friend for this behavior was simply, "That's Bob Hickey and you couldn't drag him away, that's who he is."Bob was usually re-elected and spent most of his four terms as the only opposition member on the Village board, despite his opponents powerful political stronghold and the local media they controlled (which they used to attempt to discredit or humiliate him).

Almost anyone who knew Bob, regardless of any political obligations, never questioned his integrity.