Athens Rural Cemetery was an unplanned GEM!…read more It is beside the 1826-incorporated Reformed Church of Athens. After eating a fast breakfast in Athens, like the adventurer I am - I came across this little field alongside the local Reformed Church. I highly recommend a brief stop. The entrance is magnificent in that old scrawled metal 1870 style. There are stone columns on either side with a big metal sign atop it, that reads: ATHENS RURAL CEMETERY. Inside are various sizes of stone pillars and markers. The field is plain. Looking toward the Athens city one has a glimpse through the forest of the trees and Hudson. This is not just a solemn place, but very cool for a quick family excursion. It's very big, with one large field that stretches out several blocks in size. There are fascinating ornamented pillars and Stone mausoleums on the street side and a 2nd cemetery up at the end of North Street. Review: 5

Joe and Chris are great people they help people through rough and trying times such as the passing…read moreof family members. I have known Joe for many years and consider him a good friend and a great person

From the owner: Birches-Roy Funeral Home offers both Traditional and Cremation Services as well as out of town…read moreservice. We also offer pre-need planning and assistance. Joseph Roy and his staff bring a wealth of experience and compassionate attention to your every need. They will be happy to provide you with planning assistance in our funeral home or in the comfort of your own home. Basic Services of Funeral Director and Staff The services of our staff available and ready to serve 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Registered and licensed funeral director to consult with the family and arrange the funeral or memorial service according to the family's wishes. Licensed funeral director and assistant for transfer of patient from place of death to funeral home. Obtaining the signature of the attending physician or medical examiner on the required certificate, filing same certificate with health authorities where death occurred. Procuring burial permit and filing with cemetery Obtaining certified copies of death certificate as necessary Necessary arrangements with clergy, church and cemetery. Contact and arrangements with military for military funeral if needed Composing and submitting newspaper notice Assistance in obtaining social security benefits and/or veterans benefits when eligible and securing veteran's flag when required Funeral Directors and Staff to conduct Funeral Ceremonies Licensed Funeral Directors and staff to arrange, conduct and supervise funeral ceremony memorial service

I was truly impressed by how helpful and respectful Mike and his associates were in bringing about…read morethe rather complex funeral wishes my mom had requested. Everything was dealt with in the most stress-free and straightforward way, making what could have been a terrible experience into something that everyone that knew my mom agreed was exactly what she would have wanted! I also appreciated being able to plan most of it before she actually passed so there weren't any surprise fees. I highly recommend them.

From the owner: Privately owned since 1864. Providing funeral arrangements for burial or cremation. Caring for your…read morefamily at a time when no less will do.

Upon the sudden passing of my Daughter, certainly one of the most terrible events that a parent can…read moreexperience, myself and my family were comforted and thoughtfully guided by Bruce, Clare and Eleanor Troy. Before the services, during and even long afterwards they have provided nothing short of exceptional compassion and professionalism. Perhaps some folks are prepared and know what needs to be done at such a sad and confusing time, unfortunately, we were not expecting nor ready for this. Everyone at this family run business was so comforting and made the process so much easier to bear. Even though the funeral home in Red Hook was in the midst of partial emergency construction repairs and we had a terrible winter storm that day, the entire services went perfectly smooth for us and all the other visitors. They made the room repairs nearly invisible and it was tastefully decorated. Clare quickly created a beautiful video tribute and prayer cards from the photos we provided her just days before the service. I highly recommend this Funeral Home to others and I'd like to thank them again for helping us get through the entire process and all the details they so seamlessly had taken care of .

I rarely need to visit the undertaker - but here's a hidden gem that almost everyone in my town has…read moredealt with at some point in their life for their loved ones. We got warmly greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Troy at the door when my mom asked to attend a meeting with the undertaker a day or so after the death of my 91-year-old grandmother (died on October 1st). He worked with us, and although we were filling him in with where we stood because another relative was helping us pay for the funeral and would be attending from out-of-state, our relative was getting very picky as to the price - but when my relative was complaining about outsourcing the job to another rather scammy Catskill undertaker, Mr. Troy explained the situation and that he knew exactly which undertaker it was and the funeral stayed here by the end. Mr. Troy thinks of almost everything. From placing an obituary on his site of the "dearly departed" to sending obituary notices to newspapers and even having his secretary help us with the life insurance paperwork to send out for the life insurance money/check, they helped handle it all. He distributed paperwork, helping us figure out all the changes that needed to take place as a result, and tried to help us figure out a budgetable amount for the expenses. During a meeting a day or so after my grandmother died, he mentioned how he still had caskets of people who died in the 1960s/1970s in his house that the rightful owner still hadn't come back to pay for and claim, and I laughed internally at that thought. (Maybe someday the rightful owner will finally claim and put those people at peace.) And this place is consistent. Way back in 2015, my father had died leaving my mother with my grandmother and two twin brothers to help care for each other - and this business really helped out then too. Though I couldn't make it to the initial undertaker meeting (my mom did), I could tell this business did care to listen and take care of actions that needed to be done back then. I was working for a local job - but the job had special specifications as to grievance pay - but the obituary had to be worded just right, and had to have a link to an online copy of the obituary. He set the same page (which he does to all his "clients") and after some back and forth on how it needed to be worded, money came to me after I gave them the printout of the obituary. I remember my mother mentioning how he'd be able to send obituaries to newspapers where possible, and we never really had much trouble with him planning all parts of the services. I know my mom was chicken-scratching some notes about her mother in February of this year (when she had nothing else to do), and although Mr. Troy tried to read her notes, he did a fantastic job of putting 2-and-2 together to come up with a great obituary response. I myself couldn't attend the funeral for my grandmother after a late issue arose preventing me from attending, and even though they were forecasting rain that day, you could tell rain was imminent and I was trying to make the money (my grandmother always said "make the money when the sun shines" but I missed the clues that day and tried to make money then too (sorry, if your reading this in heaven grandma (in german, we used the simpler form "oma")). Burnett and White is my favorite undertaker. I can't think of any other place that I'd be willing to deal with if something was to happen to this place - that would work just as well as this business. Although there are a couple of other undertakers within Red Hook, Rhinebeck and Kingston, this place has worked wonders.

I have used the services of Simple Choices twice now over the last 7 years. Each time, Roy and his…read morestaff have been professional and compassionate. I felt at ease from first contact that my loved one (and I !) would be treated with care and respect. I appreciated the prompt response from the moment I reached out. Without hesitation, I would recommend Simple Choices for end of life arrangements.

I'm a year late writing this review, but it was recently the first anniversary of the death in our…read morefamily and it reminded me that we intended to share our glowing review of Simple Choices but didn't get to it in the months immediately after. At the time, I called around to at least 4-6 different places in the Albany area to understand the cremation options available, at a very stressful time obviously. Roy was BY FAR the most compassionate, patient, responsive, and clear about what to expect. Seriously, you just don't want to deal with the impersonal or callous attitudes that came across in my first phone call with some of the other places that offer cremation services. There wasn't even the smallest hint of anything other than the ideal level of genuine helpfulness from Roy. On top of that the prices were extremely fair, and the environment and decor in the Simple Choices funeral home is very comforting. Looking back, it also feels good to have supported a business & team that is committed to doing the right thing for people at their worst times. They live out ALL the values stated on their website. Oh, and I should also mention just in case anyone's looking for this detail in a review - our family isn't Christian, and Roy was nothing but pure kindness and understanding on adjusting the decor in the funeral home for our small family viewing. Roy & team, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for your excellence at serving us at such a difficult time. If we could leave you a 6 star review we would!