Elmwood was established in 1854 and is definitely more of a "park-like" cemetery as opposed to the…read more"lawn-style" cemetery. It has some rolling hills and the lanes are not perfectly straight and there is a huge variety of gravemarkers and headstones. As we were here for Veteran's Day (Armistice Day or Remembrance Day for others), the military graves were easy to spot. There were bright USA and CSA flags throughout, giving Elmwood a bit of a "military" cemetery feel. Of course, South Carolina was part of the Confederacy and so there is a dedicated area for fallen Confederate soldiers. Some of the roadways are a little broken up but it's easy to walk the cemetery and appreciate those who have come before us. [Review 2195 of 2024 - 1168 in South Carolina - 23213 overall]

I came to a Historic Columbia tour here that was prefaced by an employee of the funeral home. Not…read moreonly did they give us goodie bags, but we left with thorough and practical understandings of proceedings after a death. Everyone was encouraged to think about and plan ahead no matter How awkward or uncomfortable it may be, and I really appreciated it!

God bless you Leverette, Sandy, Tecorrie and the Leevy's Staff:…read more I just want to take this time to thank you for the awesome services you rendered regarding my deceased sister. Below are some of the comments we received from those that went to her viewing: Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful; so gorgeous; they did an awesome job; they did a FANTASTIC job; great job; great embalming outcome where she resembled herself (the person said they've seen embalming outcomes where that was not the case). And to that my husband and I would like to add the following: To Leverette, we appreciate your professionalism, pleasant spirit, compassion and integrity. Don't change. To Ms. Sandy... (I call her Mama Sandy) ... you were a blessing to us from the beginning to the end...we love your lively personality! Tecorrie, you did an awesome job with the program. We didn't have a picture of my sister by herself and the way you cropped her out of what we gave you was absolutely great! Keep going forth in excellence! Also, I don't know the name of everybody that was involved with my sister's presentation, but her make-up was done beautifully...just the way we asked (very natural, because she didn't wear make-up). Thank you for sticking to our description of her. In addition to that, allowing her hands to be shown while holding the gloves was absolutely a great touch. And of course, we can't leave out our driver (the Assistant Pastor). Thank you so much for your pleasant spirit. Talking with you during the ride was great. Also, thank you to the two pleasant ladies at the front desk. They were very helpful. And also, thank you for the gentle spirit of the gentlemen who came to the house to pick up my sister's body. You were greatly appreciated. In closing, may God bless all of you (even those I may have not mentioned specifically) ... I pray God's continued blessings upon your ministry (because that's what it is)! Thank you again... Peggy and Robert

I am writing this with a heavy heart and deep disappointment after the experience my family had…read morewith Leevy Funeral Home during the passing of my son. While grief is never easy, we expected compassion, professionalism, and respect from a place entrusted with our loved one's final arrangements. Unfortunately, that was not the case--especially due to one staff member in particular: Sandy. Her behavior was not just unkind--it was completely disrespectful and out of line. At one point, after the funeral home had spent an entire day trying to reach my son's estranged wife for final payment with no response, they decided to contact a close family member instead. That family member stepped up and paid the remaining balance that same day so that the services could move forward. However, when that same family member returned the next day with a simple question, they were met with hostility. Sandy began yelling at them in front of grieving family and friends who had come to pay their respects. It was shocking and completely inappropriate. Hoping to defuse the situation, my family member pulled Sally aside to calmly explain things--but even in private, Sandy continued to be dismissive and unhelpful. What made things even worse was that although we had paid for seven copies of the death certificate--three for the estranged wife and the remaining four for our family to handle the necessary affairs--Sandy flat-out refused to provide any information. She said she would only speak to the wife and that any questions would have to go through her, despite the fact that our family member was the one who had paid and had been handling everything. So it was acceptable to communicate when payment was needed--but suddenly "against state law" when it came to answering questions or offering assistance? This level of disrespect during such a vulnerable and emotional time is absolutely unacceptable. One bad apple truly can ruin the entire experience, and Sally certainly did. We are grateful for the few staff who tried to help, but the damage done by her behavior is lasting. We will never use Leevy Funeral Home again and would recommend they provide sensitivity training to staff on how to deal with grieving family members. No family should be subjected to this kind of treatment while mourning the loss of a loved one. S. Purvis

I work with this funeral home it was pleasant they allow me to come in and wrap a casket for a…read morecustomer that I had.

I want to thank the owner and staff of Bostic-Tompkins…read moreFuneral Home for their caring spirit and professional mannerism during the loss of our mother, Eneather Cowan. We appreciate your patience and guidance during our time of bereavement. Nothing can erase the life of a loved one; however, we really appreciate the leadership and kindness that was shown to our family by Bostic-Tompkins Funeral Home. Our experience was a great one!

Celestial Memorial Gardens is a beautiful cemetery located in West Columbia, South Carolina. Our…read morestaff genuinely cares about assisting families in every aspect. Celestial honors military, emergency personnel (police, fire, first responders) and even offers a free space for them. Pre- need arrangements are definitely recommended to save money and give peace of mind to families. We are well respected in the communities we serve and are a member of The West Columbia Chamber Of Commerce. We strive to provide the best possible service to all! Please reach out to me directly with any questions, to help you pre-arrange your burial needs or in your time of need. We are completely committed to serving our families' with compassion, integrity and respect.

Everyone here is compassionate, caring and helpful. The…read morecemetery is well established, kept up and beautiful. The families definitely come first! The Annual Candlelight Remembrance is the most beautiful thing I have seen. This cemetery is well respected in the community, They also honor veterans and first responders. Call now to find out more information!

I am so impressed with how helpful Eric and his team were during the preparation and burial of my…read moredear mom. Everything fell into place with planning and coordinating everything. I highly recommend Shives Funeral home during your loss.

I have never seen a hearse sent to a residential neighborhood till today to pick up a body. How…read moreinsensitive to family and neighbors.... sat in the driveway for quite a long time. Shives Funeral Home should know better. Sad in N.E. Columbia

In case you aren't grieving enough, make sure to use Dunbar Funeral Home and they can help push you…read moreover the edge. Once they get you to spend your money, you are out of luck here. I don't even know where to start. Maybe I can start with the water and mold damage that they pretend like they don't know about that greets you in the building. Make sure to take note of that. We could not get any response from our "Funeral Director". They were supposed to be looking into things for my fathers service, but never did, never called us back, actually never did anything. They were gone for all the days leading up to the service. We would always get the run around when we called. We were supposed to have an open casket, that couldn't happen because when my brothers saw my dad, they swore that they had mixed up his body with a different person. That is how TERRIBLE a job they did! They did not even ask for a picture when they were getting him ready. ABSURD! It was so bad that we had to look for identifying parts to know it was him. He looked far worse than when he passed away. It was so bad that my brothers would not let me see my father after Dunbar had gotten a hold of him. They knew I would be traumatized for the rest of my life. (the main person said she had done him, but turns out that was a lie and it was a student) The day of my fathers service, the music cut off twice (causing awkward pauses at the service) due to their fault. They left so fast from the funeral home to the cemetary that half of the processional had no idea where to go and then tried to call the funeral home to see where everyone was going and no one would answer. Then to top it off, the pictures of my dad, etc that were at the visitation and were suppsed to be set up for the funeral as they promised, were not only not at the funeral, but I went there a couple of days later and found them just sitting in a side room after they said they had given all of the items back to us. Not only did they not put them up for the funeral, but they didn't even have the decency to return them to us. I asked to speak to the person that manages Dunbar and asked for him to call my family to no avail. They don't care. They just want your money. The pain that Dunbar Funeral Home has caused me and my family will never be able to be repaired. My fathers death was unexpected and I was not able to have closure because the mess they made of his body and funeral. I only give 1 star because i needed to write this review but they deserve nothing!! Believe me there is so much more to say but I will save it for my future writings on their business practices.

From the owner: Celebrating each life like no other…read more Each one of us is unique with our own story to tell. As North America's largest provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services, Dignity Memorial professionals excel at helping families create meaningful tributes that truly celebrate the lives of the individuals they represent.With an extensive network of more than 2,000 locations throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, Dignity Memorial providers offer families personalized services and advanced-planning options to meet any need. From the simple to the extraordinary, your Dignity Memorial professionals are here to see that your special story is told.

Our family member (my stepson) had a very unfortunate accident while on vacation in Myrtle Beach…read more None of us are from SC and know nothing about the area. He had to be transported to Columbia for organ donation and we had to rely on reviews to choose who to use. Luckily for me I looked at Google reviews. Greg at Thompson funeral homes in Columbia went above and beyond to make this as simple and pain free for us as he could. Losing any one is hard, the hardest thing you will ever go through. Losing your father when you just turned 18 and are the designated next of kin responsible for signing forms etc it beyond. Greg made this seamless for us. We will be forever grateful for his professionalism, can do attitude and never leaving us in the dark.

Had my dad's funeral service here and I am so grateful to all the staff here. Brittany Clarke is…read moresimply wonderful. When you need compassion-they the ones to turn too. Our family is so blessed to have had you all during our time of sorrow. Thank you from the bottom of our heart. If I could give 100 stars I certainly would. God bless you all there.

None; don't expect any compassion unless u have pockets of $$$$ or have something they want, not…read moreneed help for a loved one

Worst cemetery ever. Maintenance crew has no respect for Grace's or personal property left at the…read moregrave site. Absolutely destroyed items at my son's grave with lawnmower. No response from the groundskeeper. Now I come to find this happens alot. I'm absolutely disgusted

Here we go... The…read morecase of three different obituaries for one memorial for my son. SMH J.P Holley Funeral Home, 9010 Farrow Rd, 803-764-0888. My son's homegoing services were held on June 18th, 2024. There was an astonishing amount of love and support shown, so much so that we ran out of 100-plus obituaries. As a result, I didn't end up with one. I contacted Kym with J.P Holley and requested additional copies, advising that I was willing to pay for them. Kym offered the additional copies at no cost. I received them this past Friday. Sunday morning, I sat to open the obituary and noticed the texture was different. As I began to read it, I immediately noticed that several names were missing, including Justin's grandparents' names along with their wives and Justin's cousins. I immediately emailed Kym and texted Zachery(J.P Holley), clearly stating that a follow-up on Monday would be fine. I contacted my mom and several others to compare the obituaries and confirm the inconsistencies. Representatives from J.P Holley were supposed to reach out to Justin's grandparents and verbally apologize for omitting their names. How the five names were removed is still unclear. Kym offered to redo the obituary for a third time, which seems pointless since the homegoing services have passed. She also offered to mail them to individuals, which would require me to collect names and addresses after already paying in full for my son's memorial. Kym didn't call back yesterday as promised, and Zachery didn't call me back today as promised. However, I did receive a call from Travis, Chief Operating Director, and the conversation went nowhere. He didn't offer a full refund for the obituaries as I requested. Additionally, the online obituary on J.P Holley's website was different from the original passed out at my son's memorial and the reprints. So, there were three different obituaries, and they refuse to refund my money. I was initially pleased with the graphics until realizing there are 3 different obituaries with different verbiage and photos. SMH It's been almost a month since my son passed, and dealing with this is painful. I did view the final obituary but didn't realize the five names were removed without my permission. I take accountability for not catching it earlier. However, our final email to them showed ALL of the names and someone on that end removed them. Travis offered "SOME" of my money back. SMH. They were referred to and Gods knows. I wouldn't want to contact any funeral home. However, in the event that I may have too again in the future. I can assure you it want be J.P Holley!!! Messy funeral home business.

The staff provided exceptional service and professionalism. There were a few minor kinks that were…read morequickly resolved with compassion and care. My family and I felt respected and valued. They also took great care of my sister's hair and makeup, and they helped my family give her a proper home going service on a tight schedule. Shout out to Felicia for going above and beyond to provide personal touches. I highly recommend them.