SereniCare is the most incredible funeral home we could have found during my dad's recent passing…read more Words cannot fully describe Kurt, Cate, and their team; they are truly angels on earth. Their care brought immeasurable healing and support during the greatest loss our family has faced.
A couple of weeks before my dad's passing, as his condition declined, I researched funeral homes to plan ahead. Many promising places did not answer or could not speak with me for at least a week. Cate answered immediately, guided my questions, and, at a moment when pre‑grief was unraveling my nervous system, my life, and my heart, she made a heartbreaking time clear, straightforward, and gently held.
My dad was one of the most incredible human beings on earth. He endured late‑stage brain cancer and fought with honor and dignity for 20 years. In the end, the cancer took the entirety of half his face. His passing, though anticipated, came more suddenly than expected and was profoundly traumatic for our family. One of our final promises to him was to repair his face so he could take his complete and healthy self to heaven. It was ultimately the most important vow of our lives to him.
Kurt, Cate, my dad's original prosthetist Paul Tanner from Huntsman Cancer, and Gene, the funeral director and reconstruction lead, performed a miracle. They reconstructed my dad's face for the viewing and made him whole again. The healing this brought to my mom and me is beyond words. We know my dad could see it, and we know he would have been ecstatic. The reconstruction provided so much healing as we prepared him for heaven and restored him to looking like himself again. The peace it gave all of us is immeasurable.
Our family is Chinese, with formal traditions at the time of passing: timing before transport, cremation formalities, and practices such as cremating joss papers and specific items with the body. SereniCare honored every detail with patience, grace, and reverence, while still delivering flawless reconstruction. We also asked for his urn to be engraved in Mandarin. Sarah and Cate went above and beyond to ensure his name and the exact font were perfect, allowing us to honor him in his native language. Though he built his life in the United States, it mattered that we honored his culture and traditions. SereniCare respected it all perfectly.
When SereniCare came to our home, they were unfailingly respectful. They waited patiently and gave us the time and space to grieve and say goodbye, never rushing us, and supporting us through the deepest grief. They were patient as we changed the timing several times because we were not ready to let him go, and they accommodated us repeatedly, making goodbye as gentle, supportive, and human as possible. We are beyond grateful for their grace.
From the first call with Cate and Kurt, to the tender intake, the phenomenal reconstruction, the urn selection and customization, the viewing, the thoughtful accommodations for our family, and the aftercare to ensure everything was handled, every detail was immaculate.
Most importantly, we felt so respected, cared for, comforted and supported during the absolute most difficult time of our lives where we didn't have any other extended family or network. This was so powerful given it truly helped to make the entire process feel less isolating and alone for my mom and I with losing a husband and a father with no other family around. It meant so much to us to not only be so respected and taken care of, but to have Cate and Kurt be willing to hold space for us in this process. There is just nothing that can describe the gravity of how much that meant.
To Cate, Kurt, Sarah, Gene, Paul, and the extended SereniCare team: thank you for being angels on earth and for the humanity you bring to your work. What you do makes a universal difference in the lives you touch and there are no words to express the ultimate value you bring and how blessed we feel to have found SereniCare to take care of my dad. We are eternally grateful, and there is no funeral home I could recommend more highly than SereniCare.