Send your email  expressions of sympathy to the family of your loved one.  Please included the name of the loved one in the subject line and your name and contact information. 

Showing That We Care 
Serving generations of families for more the 20 years, Smith & Thomas Funeral Home is proud to be a trusted resource, citizen and ally, catering to the individual needs of its customers and the community.  Here are some of the ways that we show you and the community that we are "People Who Care".  


 
Survivor Benefits & Assistance
Our Funeral Directors maintain an expertise in a variety of survivor benefits and assistance for clients.  A sample of benefits and assistance programs are highlighted below.  Please talk with your funeral director about survivor benefits and assistance when making your funeral arrangements.  
Chicago Public School System Crisis Support Program  Provides financial and other emergency assistance to the families of students and staff members who experience extraordinary hardship as a result of death, fire, violence or other personal tragedies. The Crisis Support Fund also benefits the educational process because it satisfies dire personal needs that would otherwise distract students and staff from daily academic pursuits.
Crime Victims On January 1, 1984, the Illinois Violent Crime Victims Assistance Act (P.A. 83-908) (725 ILCS 240-1, et. Seq) (89 Ill. Adm. Code 1100) was enacted to provide funding statewide for victims and witness assistance centers. The Attorney General's office was charged with the administration of this act, including the responsibility of selecting qualified applicants to receive funding to victim service programs.
Social Security Survivor Benefits
Below, we have provided some answers to common questions about Social Security, including benefits and eligibility requirements. We hope that you find this information helpful; for additional information, you may visit the Social Security web site at www.ssa.gov.

The following are points regarding Social Security so that benefits may be filed properly and payments can be made promptly:

Eligibility
The deceased worker must have credit for work covered by Social Security, ranging from 1.5 to 10 years depending on his or her age at death.
Who May Receive Monthly Benefits?
A widow or widower age 60 or older (50 if disabled), or at any age if caring for an entitled child who is under 16 or disabled.
A divorced widow or widower age 60 or older (50 if disabled) if the marriage lasted 10 years, or if caring for an entitled child who is under 16 or disabled.
Children who where disable before reaching 22, as long as they remained disabled.
Dependent parent or parents 62 or older.
Lump-Sum Death Payment
A one-time payment of $255 is paid in addition to the monthly cash benefits described above. The lump-sum death payment (LSDP) is paid in the following priority order:
A surviving spouse who lived in the same household as the deceased person at the time of death.
A surviving spouse eligible for or entitled to benefits for the month of death.
A child or children eligible for or entitled to benefits for the month of death.
Applying for Benefits
You must apply in order to receive benefits. You may apply at any Social Security office, or if you wish, you may apply by telephone. Simply dial the toll-free number 1-800-772-1213 and the operator will schedule an appointment for you or arrange for the local Social Security office to take your claim by telephone.
The Veterans Administration cannot issue a headstone or marker for a spouse or child buried in a private cemetery. Twenty - year reservists are generally eligible for a headstone or grave marker.
Headstones or Markers for Memorial Plots
To memorialize an eligible veteran whose remains are not available for burial, the VA will provide a memorial headstone or marker. The headstone or marker is the same as that used to identify a grave except that the phrase In Memory precedes the inscription. The headstone or marker is available to memorialize eligible veterans or deceased service members whose remains were not recovered or identified, were buried at sea, donated to science, or cremated and scattered. The memorial marker may also be provided for placement in a cemetery other than a national cemetery.
Burial in National Cemeteries
VA Cemeteries Burial benefits in a VA national cemetery include the gravesite, a headstone or marker, opening and closing of the grave, and perpetual care. Many national cemeteries have columbaria or gravesites for cremated remains.
Veterans and service-members are eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery. An eligible veteran must have been discharged or separated from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable and have completed the required period of service. Persons entitled to retired pay as a result of 20 years creditable service with a reserve component are eligible. A 1997 law bars persons convicted of federal or state capital crimes from being buried or memorialized in one of the VA national cemeteries or in Arlington National Cemetery.

Spouses and minor children of eligible veterans and of service-members also may be buried in a national cemetery. Adult children incapable of self-support due to physical or mental disability are eligible for burial. If a surviving spouse of an eligible veteran marries a non-veteran, and remarriage was terminated by divorce or death of the non-veteran, the spouse is eligible for burial in a national cemetery.

Gravesites in national cemeteries cannot be reserved. Application must be made at the time of death. Reservations made under previous programs are honored. Cemeteries do not provide military honors. Military honors must be arranged with military units or volunteer groups.

Presidential Memorial Certificates
Presidential Memorial Certificates express the nation’s recognition of a veteran’s service. Certificates bearing the signature of the President are issued honoring deceased veterans with honorable discharges. Eligible recipients include next of kin and other loved ones. The award of a certificate to one eligible recipient does not preclude certificates to other eligible recipients. The veteran may have died at any time in the past.

Reimbursement of Burial Expenses
The Veterans Administration will pay a burial allowance up to $1500 if the veteran’s death is service-connected. In some instances, the VA will pay the cost of transporting the remains of a service - disabled veteran to the national cemetery nearest the home of the deceased that has available gravesites. In such cases, the person who bore the veteran’s burial expenses may claim reimbursement from the VA.

The Veterans Administration will pay a $300 burial and funeral expense allowance for veterans who, at time of death, were entitled to receive pension or compensation or would have been entitled to compensation but for receipt of military retirement pay. Eligibility also may be established when death occurs in a VA facility, a nursing home under VA contract or a state nursing home. Additional costs of transportation of the remains may be paid. There is no time limit for filing reimbursement claims of service-connected deaths. In other deaths, claims must be filed within two years after permanent burial or cremation.

The Veterans Administration will pay a $150 plot allowance when a veteran is not buried in a cemetery that is under U.S. government jurisdiction under the following circumstances: the veteran was discharged from active duty because of disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty; the veteran was in receipt of compensation or pension or would have been except for receiving military retirement pay; or the veteran died in a VA facility. The $150 plot allowance may be paid to the state if a veteran is buried without charge for the cost of a plot or interment in a state-owned cemetery reserved solely for veteran burials. Burial expenses paid by the deceased’s employer or a state agency will not be reimbursed.
American Red Cross of Greater Chicago Disaster Services
United Way
Catholic Cemeteries and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago assist in the burial of deceased Catholic who cannot afford a burial in one of there Catholic cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago.  In order to qualify for Charity Burial Assistance, specific guidelines are used.  Talk with our funeral directors for more information.  
Illinois Department of Human Services Pays funeral and burial expenses up to DHS standard rates after other resources are exhausted