My 98-year-old grandmother was in a non-responsive coma at Haven Hospice with stage 3 lung cancer…read more She had days to live, and adding to our difficulties, my husband and I needed to be out of the country in just a few days, and would probably not be back before she died. Choosing a funeral home to collect her body, embalm her, and hold her until we came back was very important to us. We researched and contacted Chestnut, Forest Meadows, and William Thomas. Forrest Meadows Funeral Home was the last funeral home we contacted and the funeral home we ended up contracting to handle Gram's funeral. Initially, we only wanted her body collected from hospice, embalmed and held until we returned, then shipped to Mississippi for burial. We ended up contracting Forest Meadows to do the whole thing, burying her in Gainesville at Forest Meadows Cemetery. You are at a huge disadvantage when you go to purchase a plot and plan a funeral. You are torn between love and guilt and lose, and so many other emotions. We were not quite as compromised as most people in this situation; my husband has known a lot of death in his lifetime, and I am an in-law granddaughter. We were not emotionally leveraged, but we still had time constraints, unlike buying a car, if you get disgusted with the sales game, you cannot put it off and come at it fresh in a few months, and also unlike buying a car there are not a lot of dealer choices. It really came down to just these two funeral homes in Gainesville. Other than that, it was just like buying a car: over priced options that are really not options, for example dressing the body for $450 - it is not like we could let her go to her funeral nekked. Overall, the whole situation is a bit unsavory, and not something you should do if you are emotionally overwhelmed, or compromised. Overall, I felt David, the sales guy, did a good job for us. He understood my husband wanted the bare basics, no up charges, and a rock bottom figure. My husband was not emotionally compromised. I believe David worked hard to deliver the lowest number he could deliver. My husband will negotiate ANYTHING, but he went kind of easy on them, at least at first. He chipped a little here and there, but he did not deal aggressively. But then, something happened that set off my husband's car dealer paranoia; they did not include the grave plaque in the final price. They were thinking originally that we were shipping her to Mississippi. When they reworked numbers for a full funeral and burial, they overlooked the plaque on the stone. My husband had told me hours earlier to look for some kind of last minute upcharge, and it happened. My husband went into aggression mode, and the sales manager came in, and they put their boy things down. My husband went to battle, eventually bringing the final number back to the number the agreed on in the first place. My husband will walk on any deal, but here is the thing, they worked with him to make it right. But it should not have happened and if they do make an error, they need to fix it without fighting the family member. Unless we deal with them again, or someone else has this experience, we will never know if this was an honest mistake. Moving on. Bruce, the Funeral Director, was super. The weather was iffy at the time of the funeral, and he moved the graveside service into the mausoleum. He did this without prompting or extra charges. Bruce rocks. The mausoleum itself has very good energy. There is love in the mausoleum that you can feel in your heart. It was all very good. I would like to give Forrest Meadows 5 stars, but when families are in grief, and emotions are running that high, everything should be flawless. No mistakes. Mistakes were made, and we can never know if they were honest mistakes or exploitation. And some of the options that seemed to have crazy pricing make you suspicious of the other items. They have 3 levels of vaults. Why would you buy any vault other than the least expensive? And the difference between each level was about one thousand dollars. Why are you buying a $3700-dollar super vault when the $1400-dollar vault does the same thing? And seriously? $1400 dollars for a concrete tub with a lid? The 3700 dollar one will resist nuclear fall out, so I understand the pricing on that one; you do not want your loved ones to be irradiated after a nuclear holocaust. I got off track. I want to give Forest Meadows 5 stars, but I just do not have enough information. My experience was not without suspicions, but overall I am very pleased with the outcome. The rock bottom price to bury someone at Forest Meadows in our experience is about $10,000. I recommend Forest Meadows - the funeral, the mausoleum, the Funeral Director, all of it - but keep your eyes open when negotiating on a final number with the sales guy, and do not let them talk/guilt you into a lot of unnecessary expense.

Not rating for their services, just interview. Apparently…read moreyou need to be a genius or Woman of the World to compete with the current Admin. Then you get condescending remarks like "You really need to think about your commute time" "Are you good enough in Excel, are you sure?" There is so much competition and interviews create enough anxiety. I just cannot stand people who judge others that they dont even have a clue about.

Thank you! Thank you! Chestnut family and entire staff for a wonderful Celebration of Life service…read morefor my father. You were all so wonderful and we felt the love of Christ through everything you did for us. You went above and beyond. Special thanks to Marie, Rev Pressley and Dr Graham. It was perfect. Words cannot express my appreciation. Bless you all

Was supposed to meet up with a guy named Chris to make funeral arrangements that a friend of his…read morerecommended for my Veteran brother. He never showed up. Joe secretary Sid he was still out would be back shortly. Waited 1/2 hr. No phone calls or texts. He called around 5:30 after his friend called to see why he never contacted me. He then texted apologized and said he was under the weather and decided to go in and wanted to meet with me. Sorry too late. I hope this is not how you treat others. Will never go back there again.

The staff at Williams-Thomas put you at ease the moment you first talk with them and/or meet them…read morein person. They are patient, kind, professional, knowledgeable, extremely competitively priced and able to accommodate almost any request you can think of having. They were amazing to work with, prompt, able to meet our scheduling needs and handle everything including catering for a reception on premise, saving us a huge burden of hosting a reception elsewhere ourselves. Every person we met made us feel more like family than a customer. They are all stellar and the best at what they do. Thank you all for your support and help in the loss of both of our parents.

Vonda ​was wonderful very sweet. My only concern is which is very concerning and very sad my…read morehusband's wedding ring was sent to them and somehow it was not retrieved from their location. Very upsetting.

from my first phone call to all my questions answered, the entire staff on both locations Ocala and…read moreGainsville made this difficult task easy, precise and dignified. The whole world should act like they did respecting our loved ones last wishes. I am grateful for your services! Thank you to all who helped through this difficult time. Angela W.

I would give 0 stars if it was an option. My daughter and her partner lost their infant son a year…read moreago. Crevasse in Gainesville handled the cremation and was supposed to send the baby's remains to Ocala to be picked up, which they were. Now on the year anniversary when they feel ready to have a memorial they find the envelope is empty that was supposed to contain their son's ashes. Then to make them feel worse they were made to feel like they were not looking correctly and it must be their fault. Why would you want them to be missing? I was given the owners name and she called and said to call her back. I did repeatedly six times and no response not even a sympathetic one. Nothing.... How callous is that for a company in this line of work? I would think it they should have reached out to them and at the very least expressed condolences and sympathy.

D. Williams Mortuary Services is Compassionate, Caring, Family Oriented business serving with a…read more"Spirit of Excellence. The owner and her staff deliver professional services that are rendered with dignity and understanding for all cultures. The establishment is clean and inviting offering you a peace of mind during such a difficult time.

My family chose this establishment because its black owned, so we were looking forward to top-notch…read moreservice, and unfortunately, that is not what we had gotten. My family was scheduled to see our loved one's body at 3pm the day before the service; his remains were not ready, the owner along with her staff, were going in and out to finish his preparation, and we were not able to see him until about 5pm. The process of burying a loved one is already hard enough and for a funeral service, there should be a level of compassion for the family, and a display professionalism at all times. We were supposed to have the service in their chapel, only to find out we were having the service outside the day of, in their parking lot. It was about 90 degrees plus, and of course his remains were not able to be outside during the service. When it was time to close the casket, his remains were rolled outside, and that part of the service was able to be done, in the parking lot. We were told on that day that a memorial video, along with pictures were to be sent to the family, and we still have yet to get those. We found out about a "memorial video," via Facebook, and it was more of an advertisement for her business, and not a memorial video for the family. I would not recommend D. Williams Mortuary Services to friends nor loved ones.

My father passed away and it was my first time needing to make final arrangements for anyone…read more Thanks to Richard I had all the information and proper expectations needed to make the right decisions. His interactions were thoughtful, informative, and responsive! I felt great about him handling the cremation because of his professionalism and knowledge. The burial is out of state, where he was able to nicely package and ship my father's ashes and death certificate(s) in an expeditious manner. No one ever wants to think about who they will use to cremate their loved one, until the time actually comes. Richard and A Direct Cremations is a great choice that I highly recommend if in the unfortunate need in the central Florida area.

The people at Direct Cremations made a difficult situation better. They were compassionate,…read more efficient and provided a variety of options to choose from.

It's important that we remember those who came before us and the Evergreen Cemetery in Gainesville…read moreallows that to happen. The cemetery was established in 1856 and includes the final resting places of many of Gainesville's most notable figures including Florida's first female physician and the inventor of Gatorade. It is a neatly laid out cemetery and thanks to their interactive app (download from a QR code displayed at one of the information booths), I was able to easily find those I wanted to see. The cell phone tour turns this peaceful burial ground into an outdoor museum. Dr. Sarah Lucretia Robb became Florida's first female physician after earning her medical degree in Germany, where she studied because U.S. medical schools wouldn't admit women. She practiced medicine in Gainesville, Florida, serving as a horse-and-buggy doctor, delivering babies, and running a clinic with overnight beds for patients. Her former home now serves as the headquarters of the Alachua County Medical Society. Gainesville is the home of the Florida Gators and the University of Florida is not far away. Dr. Robert Cade was an American physician and research scientist who led the team that invented Gatorade in 1965 to help University of Florida football players combat dehydration. His groundbreaking formula, which replenished electrolytes and fluids, revolutionized sports hydration and became a global phenomenon, earning billions for Pepsi (who eventually bought the rights) and millions in royalties for the University. Historical marker number F-805 was erected in 2014 by the Evergreen Cemetery Association of Gainesville, Inc. and the Florida Department of State. It reads, "Evergreen Cemetery, known locally as "This Wondrous Place," began with the burial of a baby girl in 1856. The infant, Elizabeth Thomas, was the daughter of wealthy cotton merchant James T. Thomas and his wife, Elizabeth Jane Hall Thomas. The baby was laid to rest by a young cedar tree on family land. Eight months later, her mother was buried alongside her. Their double grave is marked with a simple headstone carved by a noted stonemason from Charleston, W.A. White. In 1866, Thomas sold his 720-acre parcel, reserving roughly one acre around the burial for a graveyard. The Evergreen Cemetery Association operated the cemetery, beginning in 1890, until it was purchased by the City of Gainesville in 1944. The cemetery now includes 53 acres, and is the final resting place of more than 10,000 people. Some the persons interred here are Gainesville founder James B. Bailey, anthropologist William R. Maples, ecologists Archie and Marjorie Carr, Florida's first female physician Sarah L. Robb, Major General Albert H. Blanding, U.S. Commissioner of Education John J. Tigert, and Gatorade inventor Robert Cade. Veterans of nearly every American conflict since the 1830s are also buried here." [Review 354 of 2025 - 2006 in Florida - 23916 overall]

People have occasionally asked me why I like graveyards, some have asked if I thought it was…read morecreepy, and my response is that I can see beyond the surface (no pun intended), that I see this not only as a resting place for the dead, but as a testament to the lives lived by those who lay in eternal rest here. Evergreen Cemetery in Gainesville, Florida is such a place. It speaks not only of the people who reside in eternal slumber upon these grounds, but it remembers and charts the birth of this area. This cemetery traces its history to 1856 when James T. Thomas, a wealthy area merchant, and his wife, Elizabeth Jane Hall Thomas, laid to rest their infant daughter, Elizabeth Jane Thomas. In a sad testament to the mortality rate of children back then, there is a section of the graveyard called Babyland, where infant children are laid to rest. Another area of this necropolis holds a statue to remember soldiers who died from an outbreak of yellow fever. Within these grounds lies countless stories, tales of joy and sadness, of triumph and loss. Resting here are the spirits of those who walked their time upon this earth and who have moved beyond this realm to the next. I am both humbled and inspired to be amongst their company, to hear their stories whispered upon the wind.

Roberts did a great professional job handling my husband's preparation and tranfer to another…read morestate. They were very nice and considerate to work with. Thank you Jack.

This is our second time using Robert's of Ocala Funerals and Cremations. When my father passed…read morerecently, it was a relief knowing I could call them and they would take care of all the arrangements and our wishes! We had the pleasure of connecting with Marie again, as our funeral director, who has the most caring and thoughtful dispostion. She makes the process quick, easy and affordable. I would highly recommed this business when in need. Everyone I have met here are caring and accommodating during this time of grief!