I made an appointment online with the city view Funeral Home. Wanted to chat with a director to get some ideas of what's available what's involved in planning for my husband and myself. Gary, who I spoke with was very cordial and to the point. Mostly about numbers cost, etc. My focus was the whole experience/planning and what's involved what's offered and yes, what the costs were. Gary was very helpful and gave me a planning pamphlet to review. Their costs involved seem reasonable, but I'm just getting started on this topic of preplanning for my husband and myself. The business is right in Salem off of Commercial near the graveyard. read more

I usually don't write reviews, but I must write this one. My mother died last year and I am still waiting for the date of her death to be etched on her tombstone. I stopped in the office and they said they would get it done by memorial day and still nothing. It is now August. It was something we paid for upfront and still we must wait. Also, when my mother was alive, we put some items on my father's grave shortly before Christmas and when we went back the items were gone. My mother felt that we couldn't have anything on my father's grave. One of the items was a potted mini Christmas tree. It wasn't like they needed to mow the lawn in December. I just told her we would just have to set up a memorial in our own back yard. They take the items off the graves and pile them in a huge clump in back of the Mausoleum. They also left off the temporary wooden cover and I assume they planned to come back with more soil. There was about a 6" hole that was letting the rain get into the grave. I put the wooden cover back on to prevent more water getting in. I talked to the guy in the office and he said he would talk to the people who takes care of that. He said it was normal for water to get in. I felt that was insensitive since we just buried my mother. That is all I need is the image of her floating around in her casket. They are not very good with the details. read more

I have never written a review of a funeral home, much less advised people to stay away from one. Our experience having a family member recently interred at City View Cemetery was beyond terrible - it was appalling. To say the owner Rick lacks communication skills is an understatement. My emails and phone calls were routinely unanswered which laid the onus on me to make sure arrangements were in motion - I live on the east coast. I repeatedly emailed simple, routine requests such as quotes for burial options, paperwork that my elderly father needed to sign, a proof of the marker (which when I finally received was backward - date of death first followed by date of birth). It's almost like this was their first funeral. Rick assured me in April that a marker only takes 4-6 WEEKS to secure so I would able to order it in time for a June service. He actually added that that because my brother's marker was smaller than the average size his would only take a MONTH. When I arrived in June I was told by another employee it routinely takes 4-6 MONTHS for a marker to be produced. No apology that I had been misinformed by THE OWNER. Twice I had a local family member go to City View in person to gather information I couldn't get out of Rick. He never offered an apology except to tell me how "busy" he was. In May, Rick and I discussed over the phone that the date of my brother's interment in June and we set a date and time. When I arrived in Oregon I called to confirm as I had no faith that this had been scheduled and could not get a written confirmation from Rick (or an invoice which I requested THREE times). I spoke to someone I believe was named Kevin on June 3 and not surprising he had to call me back because he couldn't find any information concerning the scheduled placement. I have no doubt that if I hadn't called and we had just showed up there would have been no preparations made. And to make matters worse when we did show up, we were told by Kevin (again, this person never introduced himself to us or even offered condolences - I think his name was Kevin) that markers take 4-6 MONTHS and we were asked to fill out additional paperwork before my father was asked to write a check - right before he buried his son. What is wrong with these people? The lack of professionalism and compassion was truly shocking. When we left the grave site, I asked the man who oversaw the placement if we would be notified once the marker was received and he replied that he thought they could that for us. What? Wouldn't it just be routine to let a customer know that their love one's maker has arrived? All I could wonder was why these two brothers are in this business since they clearly don't care. Their actions don't relay any sense of empathy or sensitivity to a grieving family. And I do have a point of comparison - when my mother died, the services provided by Golden Funeral Service was what a grieving family should expect: professionalism, compassion, competency - they went out of their way to make it easier for us - not harder. We didn't have to monitor their employees to make sure they were doing their jobs. All I can think of are those poor people going to City View Funeral Home and Cemetery at one of the lowest points in their lives and the sloppy and inattentive treatment they can expect. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. read more

I don't often provide poor reviews, typically my response is to just take my business elsewhere. I had called to inquire about interring the cremains of my sister with those of our mother. The lack of response to my inquiries is the primary issue. By phone, I was promised an email message with a grave site photo and interment/memorial stone estimate, which never arrived (even though I spelled out my email address twice). I thought to contact the management to advise of my poor communications experience, but quickly discovered that I had actually been conversing with an owner! I cannot speculate upon the reasons why my experience was bad. But my goal is to share, so that others can make an informed decision. read more

I'be paid to have two headstones cleaned at CityView. I paid to move my father's casket into our big 3-4 family plot. I paid to have my mom buried in that plot with my Dad. I paid for a very nice, large, upright headstone with lily pads & swans on it for my mom & dad. I just called because my husband & I are in our seventies & it's getting hard to walk all over the place trying to find these two headstones down the hill from my big family plot. We are driving down from Central WA on Saturday, Feb 18. Five-six hour drive. I was told thsmese two graves were in section M, near the corner. "What corner, I asked? The corner where the main road runs down the hill? Can you be more specific? You must have that information there if I've paid you to clean the headstones." The answer: "We have lots of roads & corners...down the hill, NW corner." I lost our grave map when we moved a few years ago. If they'd given that to me before, can't they do that again? Can't they look it up? If they've cleaned the headstones, surely they know the exact location? I was told to get there before 5 pm & they'd give me a piece of paper... if we're delayed due to weathe, they'll leave it outside. Can't you just scan whatever is in the paper & email it now? How about a picture & you can text it to me & I'll enlarge it. At this point, two stars is generous. I'm so disgusted. These graves are for a young teenage girl, my mom's only sibling, who died from pneumonia because the penicillin went to the troops in WWII. The other grave is for my mom's mom who died of diabetes after the war--insulin was hard to come by. City View, you are dealing with memories of loved one, you are entrusted with their memories & the gravesites & headstones that honor them. This isn't Walmart or Target or McDonald's. Shame on you! Just talked to Kevin at a different phone number. He is the person I've always dealt with & he is very kind & accommodating. So I will redo with five stars if I can figure it out & if I cannot, just call 503-363-8652 to get help. Kevin is great. This other person at 971-239-1853 just couldn't be bothered... Thank you, Kevin! You were there for me when mom died, I moved Dad, I bought their beautiful headstone & you helped me get these other two headstones cleaned. I appreciate you very, very much... read more

Rick was exceptionally kind and compassionate Through the entire process when my father unexpectedly passed away. They have so many options for saying goodbye to your loved one. They were able to create a goodbye that honored every single one of my wishes for my dad and I am deeply grateful for Rick and his staff. read more

Finding a place to help with plans when losing a loved one is such a hard, painful process. City view funeral home, from the moment I first spoke to Julia on the phone about making arrangements for my dads service, I knew I made the right choice in having them care for my dad. Colin helped us plan everything, with professionalism and compassion, the most important things when wanting the best care for your loved ones. Their prices are very reasonable too, and they don't charge for hidden extra like some of the other places I called. The service was beautiful, and I can't thank Julia, Collin, and Chris enough for helping me plan a beautiful service for such a special man, my dad. I highly recommend this family run business to take for your Loved ones goodbye. read more

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