I know, what am I thinking writing a review for a cemetery? Well let me tell you why I did write a…read morereview for a cemetery. This particular cemetery has historical significance for the Johnstown area. Let me get this out there before I move forward with my review. Growing up in this area you kind of grow up with a fascination with floods. How they can destroy so much in so little time and be gone shortly after that. Johnstown has been affected by several floods over time with the most memorable one being the Great Johnstown Flood of 1889. This one particular flood basically leveled Johnstown and every little town upstream between the dam and the city. After all the carnage, clean up ensued. The biggest hurdle was identifying all that perished in the flood. That's where Grandview Cemetery comes into play. Grandview Cemetery is the setting for the Plot of the Unknown. This plot holds the remains of the 777 people that could not be identified. It is a simple plot with unmarked headstones in several rows, at the head of that is a statue in memorial of the fallen of that day. There are many other headstones in the cemetery of people that lost their lives that day. People that were lucky enough to have been identified on that fateful day. Other memorials are located within as well, mostly to men and women that served in the military. This is a very peaceful place just to come. While here I saw many people walking the paths or jogging. It is quite the sprawling area.

Over the course of a year and a half, I was involved in planning 3 separate family funerals - my…read moreuncle, my grandmother, and my great aunt. Mr. Harris (Bill) and his staff could not have been more professional, compassionate, or respectful of our family during our period of grief. Bill and his staff made everything run as smoothly as possible, patiently explaining all of the steps for the funeral and interment, walking the family through the major decision points, and outlining other things needed after someone passes that we wouldn't have thought of otherwise - like getting extra copies of the death certificates for life insurance, legal, and financial paperwork. For my grandmother's funeral, he helped coordinate a car service, which took a large amount of stress off of the family on an otherwise devastating day. Bill also offered a projector for us to share a photo slideshow I created, and they added music appropriate for the day. For my great aunt's funeral, the florist dropped the ball and delivered the arrangements to the wrong funeral home, but Bill and his staff did all of the calling and coordinating for us to ensure that new flowers arrived prior to the start of the visitation. It seemed like the whole staff tried to make things as easy as possible on the grieving family, which is appreciated in such a difficult time. The facility also offers a private area for the immediate family, which we needed when it became too emotional for us to speak with visiting guests. Finally, I feel that credit needs to be given to the preparation and dedication given to our dearly departed; Bill was able to present them in a way that honored our memories of each of them. Bill paid attention to small details and made sure personal affects for the viewing were returned to the family. As much as I'd like to never have to plan a funeral again, I know that if/when I do, Bill and his team will be there to offer comfort and support as they always do.

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If you have never been to Johnstown, Pa. it is at the top of the Allegheny mountains with an…read moreelevation of 1273 ft. The surrounding mountain peaks are towns which all lead down into the famous valley that you have all read about. Richland is on one of these mountain tops and the town where I grew up. Well I don't know about growing up, but I spent my childhood there. I am still awed to this day that no matter where you drive in and around town the majestic mountains take your breath away. My Mom is now lying on one of the mountain peaks with these same majestic views. The cemetery is gorgeous and well maintained. My "father" lies in the veterans circle at the top of the hill. When my brother lost his life at the age of thirty two, Mom had bought a double headstone and plot. She now lies next to him and her sister and brother in law are resting not far away. My Mom lost her life due to unnatural causes and nothing had gone right since. When one is mourning and trying to make heads or tails of everything that is suddenly happening, you try to focus on the here and now. I drove by the cemetery on my way into town and noticed a small hole dug two stones over from my mothers plot. There was none dug by her tombstone. I went to her house, called the cemetery and they said they would relay my message to whomever. The day my Mom was to be buried they still planned on using this same hole. We held our little service while a truck stayed close by waiting for us to get done so they could dig the right hole for where my mother was to be buried. This was a rush around deal, my brother drove down to the office and thank heavens someone was there. We stayed around to make sure that a new hole was dug for my mom to be placed at rest, right next to my brother. As for me, I don't care, bury me in my pajamas in the back yard with my long passed on dogs and cats. As for my Mom, she needed to have her final wishes obeyed. Imagine the horror of the folks who owned the plots where my Mom would have been buried! It is still a beautiful cemetery with gorgeous grounds and Mausoleums.

Just because you have so many of the area's population that own lots in the cemetery and even more…read morethat will purchase there because their relatives are there doesn't give the office the right to disrespect customers. It's understandable that paperwork needed for burials on lots is needed. It can be time consuming for all involved. That being said, my sister had all paperwork done; paid the exorbitant fee to open the grave for a cremation burial three weeks in advance of the day scheduled; scheduled the day (and time) a week prior; and to our amazement, the hole was not dug when we arrived. We had to go to the office and Roger said he was sorry it wasn't ready. My sister and our family then had to wait for the hole to be dug. Several of us had made arrangements to take off work, leave work for a while, travel from out of the Johnstown area; and Roger just said sorry. I know that mistakes happen, but it would have been professional for Roger to come to the grave site in person and talk to my sister. I really don't think it's too much out of the realm of business to at least offer her a percentage refund apology. No way. Roger feels that since it was done on the day, that is enough. So, in essence, Roger is saying that should he decide to dig that hold at 6 pm, we would just have to wait. Shame on him. Burials are a very trying time.