I have nothing but good to say about Donna at the Nautilus Society on Hawthorne. My mother died very suddenly and unexpectedly, with no prepaid plan in place. Being from out of town I had no idea where to start -- so I read some reviews and saw that Nautilus was well liked and not too far from her house, so eeny-meeny-miny, I picked them. I am so glad I did.
At this very sad, stressful, disorienting time, Donna was a terrific person to have on my side. Not for one second did she ever try to take advantage of my emotional state to upsell anything. She was absolutely honest and straightforward about all costs. Knowing that I was under some time pressure (having travelled from outside the US to carry out my duties as executrix) she went out of her way to overcome delays in getting death certificates from the Coroner's office. She stayed in touch. She knew exactly what paperwork was needed to transport cremains by air, and made sure I had all of it. She made sure I knew what the process was, throughout. And through all of this very businesslike, professional, and competent activity she was also a feeling human being who showed appropriate, genuine sympathy.
My mother never believed in fancy funerals; they gave her the willies! She wanted to be cremated with no fuss or ceremonies, and to have her ashes scattered privately in a garden somewhere. Thanks to Donna I was able to carry out my mother's last wishes without having to struggle against any sleazy sales pitches at a time when my spirits were at an all-time low. Donna was compassionate without being gooey, and professional, realistic and efficient without being heartless. It is a fine line to walk and imho she got it just right. Nautilus Society was very much the right place for me to go -- no BS, no offensive marketing games, but a decent, caring, respectful place where Donna genuinely did her best to make such a difficult time easier for me.
Nothing can really prepare you for the loss of a loved parent. No time will ever be the right time. I thought I was kind of prepared, but I was kidding myself. But it helps, when the bad moment comes, to have good people around you who can guide you through the maze of responsibilities and requirements -- which seem so overwhelming and hard to cope with at the time, when you are all shook up by grief and loss.
I felt that Donna works hard to be that guide, to make things happen the way her clients need them to happen, and she's willing to put in extra effort to meet the bereaved person's needs both emotional and practical. I have heard many nightmare stories about funeral homes and it was such a relief to find one that was honest, human, respectful, and kept things simple -- just the way my Mum wanted it. read more
