How Do I Choose a Funeral Home?

Not all Funeral Homes are created equal - Know the difference

Not all Funeral Homes are created equal - Know the difference

If you are planning a funeral, you have many decisions to make. You may feel overwhelmed or confused.  It is important to select a Funeral provider you can trust to help navigate you through the processes and care for your family in your time of need.  So how do you choose when there are several in town?  The following are some things to consider:

Are they Locally Owned and Operated? 

Most people don't realize that many funeral homes these days are no longer locally owned and owner operated; they may still carry a Family name which has been well known in the community, but over the years ownership has often changed. 

Corporate Funeral Homes:  Some funeral homes are owned by national corporations such Service Corporation International (SCI)/Dignity Memorial, or Carriage Services, and just as with any National Conglomerate, corporately owned funeral homes do not have the freedom of flexibility locally owned and operated funeral homes enjoy, which increases cost and limits their ability to work with families.

Investment Funeral Homes:  These are funeral homes such as the Caring Funeral Group, which are not corporately owned, but have been purchased by individuals who do not reside in the area, they have merely purchased several funeral homes for investment purposes only.  These locations often have an on-site manager, but the actual owners are not involved in the day-to-day operations.

Locally Owned and Owner Operated Funeral Homes:  Locations such as Creighton Memorial Chapel are proud to be owned and operated by individuals who are not only current members of the local community, but were often born and raised in the community in which they serve.  This allows them to not only understand their community and its unique characteristics, but also the needs and trends. Additionally, having the owners directly involved in the day-to-day operations allows families to receive the best in personalized care and attention, if you can imagine it, our owners and staff can bring your imagination to life creating unparallelled services.

Do they have a Crematory?

Do they have a Crematory? 

Many folks don't realize that not all funeral homes have their own crematory; our crematory is located at our affiliate facility in Visalia and is the first of its type to have ever been installed in the United States.  It is very advanced with the latest State of the Art design and technology that allows for minimal fuel usage thus protecting the environment. It is the true art of cremation.  The location and quality of our crematory also allows us to provide witness cremation services for either religious purposes or simply piece of mind.

To learn more about our cremation facility CLICK HERE.

Cost. Do you really want the cheapest option? 

The old saying "You get what you pay for" applies to funeral service as well.  

Longevity in the funeral business is important! We feel that just standing behind a name doesn’t truly express the services that are offered by a family owned and operated funeral chapel. History has shown that six funeral establishments in Fresno/Tulare Counties alone have closed their doors in the last ten years. Why you ask? We feel most of these establishments have tried to create a “Race to the Bottom” which is to say, they undercut all of their competitors in the area to see who could have the lowest price around. You need to know if you do prearrange with these low budget locations and they go out of business, who will honor your prepaid wishes? Although price is important, as with any business there has to be enough to cover costs and still have a reserve for those slow times. We feel that at Creighton Memorial Chapel we have been able to provide a beautiful state of the art facility which has served several hundreds of families over the last ten years. We are not the cheapest nor the most expensive, and no matter what, we are here to serve all families regardless of social class or financial means.