It is peculiar. This is my 2nd cemetery write-up. They are both for different purposes though…read more The 1st one was after my mother's burial & I was moved to relate some of the aspects of the place & time. This one has to do with my ' hobby' where I spend a good deal of time in cemeteries. Weird huh? I like to volunteer for the site Find-A-Grave, doing photo requests for folks looking for gravestones of family, friends, Vets, heroes. Being in Mendocino county, there are many smaller, pioneer cemeteries, but here in the metropolis of Ukiah, we have one pretty big one, about 15,000+ souls. And it is fairly old, with the earliest graves moved here in 1875 from other places. So the 'work' is come & go, so to speak. Some weeks may have a dozen or more requests, and like this week, only 1. When there aren't many coming in, I get a kind of withdrawal! It has become an obsession. i just enjoy doing it. This Russian River District cemetery is a tranquil, well laid out space, amid giant redwood, cedar & hardwood trees. Roaming families of deer abound. The stones run from ornate with iron fences surrounding, to a wooden plank or cross that is no longer legible. Many are just the simple stone plaque inserted in the ground. The ones I find sad, and are disappointing to relay to the requestor are the unmarked graves, with no stone or marker. Also occasionally one of the folks I'm searching for was a resident of the Mendocino State Hospital when it was a mental institution until the mid 1970's. Those 1400+ folks who died while living there are buried in a very tasteful memorial plot , but not individually identified. Sometimes it is shocking news to report! The staff in the office have always been very responsive to my requests & very helpful... emailing me plot maps with locations & helping in many ways. I would literally be lost without them. I did have a personal concern awhile back. I was reading an engrossing book, "Holy Ghosts: Or How a (Not-So) Good Catholic Boy Became a Believer in Things That Go Bump in the Night " by Gary Jansen. This author had used the paranormal investigator Mary Ann Winkowski to rid his house of spirits. I found on her website a question forum & I asked her about visiting cemeteries regularly & if I was 'inviting' lost spirits to accompany me home! Yikes! I don't want that. She said & I quote " .. it won't happen. Spirits don't tend to stay at their graves. Cemeteries are for the living." Well, that made me feel a lot better!

I have family members buried here, and I visit fairly often. This cemetery is also known as the…read moreRussian River Cemetery District. The grounds staff are amazing. They do great work and are extremely friendly. They smile and wave. They try to take care of items placed on graves, which isn't necessarily their responsibility. The administrative staff member that we met was extremely accomodating. Animal life in the cemetery is abundant and actually astonishing to observe throughout the year. If you bring flowers or a plant to place at a grave site, please understand that animals are animals and usually your tasty plants or flowers will be reduced to a bundle of stems within about 24 hours. This is a hard and fast rule, and the staff will recommend artificial plants for longer-lasting tributes. I happen to enjoy finding that my choice of plant was especially tasty. But take a photo for a keepsake if the live arrangement you bring is especially meaningful to you. It's a sacred place for me, so I'll stop here and let readers discover the rest for themselves. I'm thankful for such a nice place to visit and enjoy.

I would like to share my experience with Empire Mortuary…read more Francisco is amazing, and his care and compassion for our family has been extraordinary. He helped us navigate an extremely difficult time with the utmost professionalism and dignity. Francisco went above and beyond in ways that words cannot fully describe. He approached every request and inquiry with grace and a genuine willingness to accommodate our every need. I highly recommend Empire Mortuary Services for anyone facing such a challenging time. You will be in the best hands. Best regards, Traci Williams-Barnes

Empire Mortuary's funeral director, John Matthews was very kind, helpful and professional when we…read morefirst contacted him over the phone. And after we met up in his office he continued to be kind and helpful in person. John was a valuable resource to us throughout this difficult process- advocating for my mom and I like he would for his own family.

Elvira and her team were absolutely incredible during this devastating period for our family. They…read morehelped us navigate this process, and led with love, compassion and knowledge. It was so nice to work with such a wonderful team. Thank you so very much for all of your efforts in helping us through the most difficult time of our life.

Nina was very helpful and knowledgeable. She made the whole process of arranging my mom's funeral…read moreeasy. Thanks for all your help Nina

Do not have any of your love ones brought here as what is happening with my brother who has been…read morehere two whole months of this post to get cremated Nothing is scheduled Not even death certificates have been issued Put your love ones elsewhere My poor brother

From reporting the death of my husband, to sending death certificates my experience was horrible…read more I never received notice that my husband's body was picked up, they actually told me I had not reported the death- Untrue- the charge nurse and I called it in, when we finally "found" his body they called me by the wrong name, had the wrong information for the death certificate-- the final had an error-- the county had to fix it and were unresponsive. I did rrecieve my husbands ashes- in a box that would scare the faint of heart-- shipped to my home with hazmat stickers all over it-- a friend took it away, and the death certificates- with errors 7 weeks after his death. A terrible , non responsive experience-- during a time where some compassion would have been great. No call answering, no email responses, multiple errors.