This funeral home is so respectful and easy to work with! They helped set up a funeral trust for my…read morefather and then were so accommodating and generous when he passed. I could not say enough about how responsive and thoughtful Florence was. I truly could not have done it without her. I would highly recommend working Clayton and McGirr for any services. You will not be disappointed.

When my dear cousin Leah passed away in late September, Clayton & McGirr Funeral home was chosen by…read moremy family to facilitate the viewing, funeral, and cremation services. I flew out from California, and I really did not expect much from a funeral home. Seems to be pretty standard and almost like you're just on auto pilot during these types of experiences. That's where I feel Clayton & McGirr stands out. Katelyn went above and beyond to make my family feel welcome and as comfortable as possible during a very difficult and emotional time. Now, my family is very big. Most of my family lives on the East Coast. There are a LOT of us. However, the team ensured we all had places and rooms to sit, away from the viewing parlor if needed. We have a few rambunctious toddlers in our family (my child included!) and I was a bit nervous that they would be a bit distracting for everyone. When the parents of the toddlers kept trying to reel them back in when they were running around the hallway, Katelyn just smiled and said it was totally ok. She said she understood because she has toddlers at home too. It was a relief knowing that they allowed our toddlers (who had just gotten off red-eye flights and were refusing naps) to get all that nervous energy out. It was far too cold to let them play outside at night during the second viewing, and again the team just smiled as our kids were running around in the hallways. It was definitely reassuring. Katelyn, in particular, was so warm and friendly. I told one of my cousins, who was the one in touch with the funeral home, that I feel Katelyn could be a friend. She laughed and said, "I told Katelyn the same thing!" They keep the home clean and the parlors are clean and serene. Everything is well taken care of, and they take pride in appearance. The outside landscape is very well-manicured. There is plenty of parking. The funeral was held at a Catholic Church, and again they were very respectful when handling the casket. They kept open communication the entire time. The team really treated us like family, and that's exactly what we needed during a somber and emotionally exhausting time.

I have had the unfortunate need to use Freeman Funeral Homes twice in the past ten years and both…read moretimes the experience from beginning to end was as painless as it could have been. Staff were thorough, helpful, empathetic and compassionate. In particular Mr. Levine and the second gentleman that arrived at my home at 5:30 AM were professional, caring, and respectful with taking my mother to the funeral home as well as with my family. Natalie, Alison, and Tony were also part of this experience to make it as smooth as possible. I would highly recommend Freeman Funeral Home in Manalapan. - From Shari B in Manalapan.

From the owner: Freeman Funeral Home, located at 344 Route 9 North in Manalapan, NJ, has been serving families with…read morecompassion and professionalism since 1847. As the oldest family-owned funeral home in Monmouth and Ocean Counties, we offer a range of services, including burial and cremation, to honor your loved ones with dignity. Our experienced staff is dedicated to supporting you through every step, ensuring personalized and respectful care for all faiths. Contact us at (732) 972-8484 or visit our website at freemanfuneralhomes.com for more information.

I'm deeply grateful for the compassionate and professional care we received from the funeral home…read moreduring such a difficult time. From the very beginning, the staff treated us with kindness, patience, and respect, guiding me through every step of the process with genuine care. Everyone that I encountered was phenomenal. The precision from the wake to the entombment was done with razor sharpness. They paid close attention to every detail, ensuring that everything was handled beautifully and with dignity. Their support brought me comfort and peace of mind when I needed it most. I truly appreciate their dedication, empathy, and exceptional service. I would highly recommend this funeral home to anyone seeking caring and professional funeral services.

I'm a little late reviewing but as they say never too late. During another sad and devastating loss…read moreto our family, Holmdel Funeral home was there for us. Emotionally drained and hard to make decisions we were gently guided during this extremely tough time. The Boglioli Family and staff were truly amazing. Our family for over thirty years has trusted Holmdel funeral home when we have needed it most. Thank you for being there for us.

You know it's never good when you end up going to more funerals in a year than baby showers or…read moreweddings... I guess I'm just getting older! They have a large parking lot (which is a nice change, not all funeral homes in NJ have this much space for parking), and a relatively small footprint of a building. The space is smaller as the ceilings are lower and not as elevated as some of the newer funeral homes I've been to so a bit tight seating in rows behind the couches upfront for the family. The staff here was quick and efficient in getting us inside and seated, going through the viewing. They have audio/video support for videos and memory slideshows, microphone, and while they accidentally interrupted the speakers before they were all done, they did a quick closing and helped wrap up the signing of the guest book and were in no rush to send guests going.

Planning a funeral for a loved one is never easy. However, the entire staff at Waitt guided me…read moreevery step of the way with constant professionalism and kindness. They were easy to talk to, helped us in our decision making and worked to optimize our budget. They had beautiful touches, such as a 11x14 portrait displayed in the foyer, that no other offered. I will cherish that portrait. Coffee and cookies were offered to those paying their respects. These are small touches that mean a lot. David, Danny, Adriana, Morgan, Debbie, Peter, to name a few, were supportive and easy to work with. I know dad would have been proud of the send off. thank you to Waitt for honoring him.

Cathy and Kathy were like having close family members helping me out with a lot of responsibilities…read morefor my mom that I wouldn't have known what to start with. And I can't thank them enough for everything they've done for my mom and me. And her obituary photo with me was from when a close friend who is a physical rehabilitation professional as well as the lead singer of a Heavy Metal band in Minnesota made sure that she worked with physical rehabilitation professionals here in New Jersey. And she absolutely loved the personalized autographed poster from the band congratulating her on doing her exercises needed to be independent and back in her own apartment for another three years before her passing.

Upon receiving notice that my brother in law passed away in another state I was panicking and…read moredidn't know what to do. I called the funeral home as I've been there for a ton of services for friends in years past. It was a semi rare situation and I need all the help I could get. Kathy answered right away the day before Christmas Eve and got right on everything. She worked very hard and made magic happen with all the specifics involved getting everything done. She couldn't promise me everything I so desperately wanted done as it was a lot but she delivered and I'll be forever grateful for helping me through every step of the way.

The compassionate care and service that was provided when my Beloved fiancé passed away was a great…read morecomfort to me-well, as great of a comfort as can come in such a tragic time.

From the owner: We offer assistance in selecting your final resting place. St. Gabriel's Chapel Mausoleums is a…read morefull service-minded cemetery offering compassion and caring to all. The cemetery and historical church were established in 1878. Our mission is to provide

Let's say you were to die in Central Monmouth or Northern Ocean Counties. You're WASP-y, but…read moreperhaps religiously unaffiliated; preservation-minded, and fascinated by the Revolutionary War and its history. You are most assuredly not Catholic or Jewish, because, well, you know how it is. What is a dead soul to do? Lay up at Old Tennent Cemetery - my Father did, and I haven't heard a peep out the bastard in 15 years. He must be very satisfied, because that son-of-a-bitch would complain if his air were too highly oxygenated. It seems so long ago that he was laid to rest; that's probably because I've only been back three times in fifteen years. Twice, really - the third time was because I had to pee. But the place hasn't changed much since the early 1700's, so really, what am I missing? There's a church soaked with the blood of American and British soldiers, back from the days when it served as a field hospital during the Battle of Monmouth. It also has an expansive wrought iron fence to keep the encroaching riff-raff out, but don't get too comfortable, Dad: there will in all eventuality be a massive McMansion straddling your carcass. If you're going to roll over, you'd better do it now while there is less weight to fight. I have a plot here, but I plan on being cremated, so I hereby dedicate that sovereign space to legal underage drinking and the rampant inhalation of marijuana smoke. Someone, please plant a tree in my memory, sit here in solitude while reading a great book, play some amazing music, and don't get locked up while doing it.

From the owner: Cemetery Grounds are open to the public 24 hours every day.read more

Robert and his staff at the Evergreen Memorial Funeral Home did an exceptional job with my…read moregrandmother's funeral this past weekend. After visiting three other funeral homes, we were sold on the professionalism of Robert and his willingness to provide us with the most honorable and respectful service. Facilities: Although we did not have a viewing at the funeral home, I would highly suggest that you consider Evergreen as one of your top choices when considering funeral pre-planning. Once you enter into the clean and modern facility, you will be in awe at the attention to detail that the facility has. There are no stairs and there is plenty of parking. A picture of Robert's late father adorns the foyer. Respect towards family is evident from the first moment you enter Evergreen. Shop around and you will see what I mean with the quality of the facilities. Staff: Robert and his staff are all highly professional in the manner in which they prepared our grandmother, all the way through the ceremony at the cemetery. Robert does the embalming for the facility, for which he did an excellent job. Communication: Every time we tried to meet with Robert to finalize the details of the funeral, he was readily available at OUR leisure. I think this is a very important trait as a funeral home, as we were out running errands in preparation for the burial and did not think to make appointments. In short, whenever we were ready, he was ready. Robert was in contact with our parish priest and was early in arriving to the church for the funeral ceremony. Cost: Even though the facility is barely 5 years old, the final cost of the services rendered by Evergreen were extremely competitive with the three other funeral homes that we visited. Overall: Robert did everything in his power to ensure that our grandmother was given a respectful and honorable funeral. We thank Robert and wish him continued success.

If you're looking for a funereal Home for a love one; this would be the place. Robert (the funeral…read moredirector)is very understanding and will go over and beyond to make it less stressful for the family making the funeral arrangements. My mother passed away in April (not from Coronavirus) Robert was great and so polite. He understood how difficult it was for me and my family and what I was going through. Robert made sure everything went smoothly. My mom looked beautiful the day she was laid to rest.

I don't know if this is unusual, but my wife was unable to attend a recent funeral and was promised…read moreit would be streamed live, it was not. She cried, Then, she was promised it was taped and she could see it. They said, no, afterwards.So no tape. Nothing. You all can decide if this is unusual but my wife cried. No closure. No goodbyes. They apologized. I posted this just in case this happens again and Freeman says oops. Sorry. She told me not to give them a bad rating but F them, They failed and made my wife cry. The funeral was for Kelly Anne M. God bless her and her loved ones.

My family has used Freemans for over 100 years, and maybe since they were founded as we have been…read morein the area since before the Civil War when Freehold was a one horse town surrounded by farms. In some cases, the family member was almost indigent. It was always passed down that this was the place to help our loved ones make the final journey. There were three in the last 12 years including both parents. The professionalism, compassion and advice were irreplaceable. Friends along the years have also used them as well and were comforted with their services. This is one of the best businesses I have ever dealt with which in a way is sad because you don't want to need them for a long time. If it is apparent a loved one's end of journey is imminent, I give them a call for advice that has been helpful to prepare for the first steps after death. I see that someone had an unfavorable experience. It looks like that was during the height of COVID lockdown when a lot of things were challenging. I am confident that they learned from unique experiences during this time and adapted

I am posting this so that perhaps cemetery management makes the necessary changes. On 10/26/23 my…read moremother passed away and on 10/30/23 she was laid to rest in the grave that my father was laid to rest back in 1999 at Holy Cross Cemetery. My sister contacted the Cemetery to have Christmas wreaths placed at the grave of our parents and another one at our nephews grave also located at Holy Cross Cemetery. On Saturday 12/23/23 my sister and her daughter when to the cemetery. When they got to the grave of our parents the wreath was place on the decaying flowers that were never cleaned up since my mother was laid to rest two months ago. When they went to the grave of our nephew there was no wreath. The cost to have the cemetery place a wreath is $55.00 / wreath. My sister emailed the cemetery because the office on the cemetery grounds was closed on Saturday 12/23/23. Naturally, there was no response on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day but, you would expect a response on Tuesday 12/26/23. The Cemetery never responded. My sister call the Cemetery and a woman answered. My sister explained that the wreath placed at our parents grave was laid on top of dead flowers. She told my sister that they only clean twice a year and because my mother passed at the end of October the next cleaning is May. She also explained to my sister that the family should clean the dead flowers between cemetery cleanups. Then my sister explained that there was no wreath placed at our nephews grave. My sister was told that that was an oversight and they would refund $55.00. My questions: 1- If no one went to the Cemetery how would you know that the wreath you paid for wasn't provided? 2- If the family is responsible to clean up the grave sites between cemetery biannual cleanups, what's stopping me from raking the debris off my loved ones grave an onto someone else's grave? What's stopping me from placing the debris in a bag and taking it to the cemetery management office so they can store the debris until they do their biannual cleanup? 3- Why does the cemetery police have time to remove items from grave sites that they feel aren't appropriate? The cemetery police have time to remove Items like ballon's, teddy bear, etc. from grave sites but, they don't have time to clean dead flowers? I included a picture of the $55,00 wreath that the cemetery placed at our parents grave just so you can see what Holy Cross Cemetery feels is acceptable.

My grandparents are buried here. I didn't know them very well. I maybe spoke to them a handful of…read moretimes as a child even though they lived nearby. They were super old and senile. The funerals were nice. But I didn't feel any grief. Their house in East Brunswick was sold. Maybe demolished. These people are gone from the Earth without a trace. I'll let you in on a secret: I fear death, and the deaths of those I love. Death is the ultimate tragedy... a life of suffering is tough, but in most cases we can make things better. Death you can't fix. I won't romanticize death or martyrdom and drape them in metaphor. Death is real, it's brutal, it's tragic. You should be sad -- you should be afraid.