I had the chance to visit Indy's Floral Park Cemetery on the near-westside of Indy earlier today as…read moreI was taking a trip west to snag a Yelp restaurant review. Floral Park falls under the Washington Park Cemetery Association. It has a funeral home on-site and has been in existence since 1910. Floral Park offers burial and cremation services. They have a Flanner Buchanan funeral center and an event center with two large event room and additional rooms available for community use. They also have catering options. The cemetery itself is much larger than I realized. Famous, or in at least one case notorious, people buried at Floral Park include blues musician Leroy Carr, Hall of Fame Pro Baseball Player Oscar McKinley Charleston, race car driver James R. Packard, race car driver Chuck Rodee, and notorious killer Steven Judy (who was executed for the killings of 23-year-old Terry Lee Chasteen and her 3 kids). There are approximately 90,000 burials at Floral Park. Indianapolis's first cemetery, Greenlawn Cemetery, is actually located within these grounds and is marked with a large black stone. It was established around 1821. While it's doubtful that the remaining graves actually are the full graveyard, you can tell by those present that they are remarkably old. At the time it was approximately 7 acres and still contains both Union and Confederate soldiers from the Civil War. Former Governor James Whitcomb was originally buried at Greenlawn before being exhumed 40 years later and moved to Crown Hill Cemetery. Interestingly, at one point a good portion of Greenlawn was closed and developed into Federal League Ballpark. I was honestly amazed at the size of Floral Park. While it's certainly not as large as Crown Hill, it's quite amazing. You can tell it's an older cemetery and it does appear some renovation work is going on. The grounds are generally well kept and you could see quite a few visitors on this beautiful Saturday. Everyone I met, and I was surprised how many people actually spoke, was friendly and I met a beautiful 16-year-old pit bull. There's some difficulty in actually tracking in the cemetery, though you can apparently get a map in the office. I found, for example, that the Find A Grave website labeled things in a way differently than things are labeled at Floral Park and while the website might label things with section numbers it seemed like Floral Park used actual names for most of their sections. As is true for many larger cemeteries, there are different sections including a rather sad section known as "Babyland." Judy's grave was somewhat set apart, probably wise considering the nature of his crimes. There also seemed to be an extraordinarily large section that had quite a few graves with children and families. Floral Park Cemetery doesn't have quite the awe-inspiring aura of a place like Crown Hill, but it feels very much like it's a cemetery that radiates the heart and soul of Indy. I was honestly amazed how many people were actively visiting and how many graves were clearly well remembered and loved. I watched as one older woman walked delicately in the Babyland section. You can't help but wonder about their story and pray for them.

Floral park is a very big cemetery. Groundsmen is very nice and polite also very hard workers. I…read moresee they put boards on ground to drive over them never seen that before. I asked for help to find a location of my family's grave and Jason which is a groundsman stopped what he was doing and helped me and noticed my memorial was sinking so he asked my permission if he can fix it. So he did it and it looks amazing.

Such a great presentation about Dia De Muertos by Flanner & Buchanan in partnership with Arte…read moreMexicano en Indiana and Indiana Historical Society Eugene and Marilyn Glick History Center. The Mariachi Band was great. We learned a few things we did not know about Day of the Dead. The young ladies and young man did a great job describing traditions while other ladies made an Altar or Danced. Now if only Flanner and Buchanan would open up Crown Hill and have a celebration like they do at Hollywood Forever for Dia De los Muertos.

Miranda French was incredibly helpful in making arrangements for my Granny's funeral.read more

Truly an amazing place! Thank you so much for taking care of Layton and all of the life that…read morecame with it .... You guys are truly the best in the business we mean that from the bottom of our hearts !!

Look, if Ken N. reviewed it and Nicole S. reviewed it - who am I to not share my five star…read moreexperience with Carlisle-Branson? Upon entering, the main hall wasn't open and we were gently greeted with instructions to wear a mask and to take a seat in the adjacent lounge. Shortly after, the hall opened and we were directed to the guest book and given a memorial program. Everyone we encountered was so warm and kind. The facility was clean and comfortable. Most of the parking is at the bottom of a hill, but there are a few regular and handicapped spaces near the entrance. The steps and ramp were cleared of the small snow we had, plus had ice melt laid as additional protection. #VH

I went to Stevens Mortuary for the viewing of a close relative. Our family was cognizant of the…read morerestrictions in the wake of COVID-19. Even their own signage noted small groups of 10 or less were allowed. We abided as we took turns going in for the viewing and were understanding of the fact that only 10 would be able to attend the funeral. However, our large family gathered in the parking lot. A couple of times, the mortuary staff would come outside and ask us not to be in large groups. So, we gathered in small clusters of less than 10. Eventually, the staff came out and ordered anybody who had been inside to "leave the property." The loss of a loved one is difficult enough, not to mention how the grief is exacerbated by the CDC restrictions. We were visiting with relatives who had traveled from both coasts and others we seldom see. Honoring the small groups outside was not acceptable to this mortuary. Mortuaries are to be understanding of the grieving process, but the Nazi-like tactics of this mortuary didn't come close to that. I would NEVER have any family arrangements made at this location. They were more concerned about parking lot appearances than they were about catering to our family's needs. I would not ever give them one cent of my money or any of my family's future business. Shallowness and a lack of empathy are their way of doing business.

I ordered a headstone for my sister. My parents and I designed it with the help of Rachel at Thomas…read moreMonuments. From the order in June to final delivery in October, Rachel was always most helpful and did what she promised and returned calls. The headstone is beautiful! With the recent passing of my father, I will be getting his headstone at Thomas Monuments as well. The service and quality were unbeatable and that is why I will use them again.

Could not have imagined getting better service and kindness in such a sad time. They were…read moreabsolutely great to deal with even after many calls and emails from my end to make sure things were rite and the way I wanted it. They also worked with our cemetery seamlessly and helped take a lot of the stress out of it for us

I am so glad that Lauck & Veldhof is one of the few remaining family-owned funeral homes in the…read moreIndianapolis area. Jeff handled the services and cremation of both of my parents, and he is very professional and compassionate. The funeral home is beautiful, and he takes great pride in being a good neighbor. I would trust him with the care of any of my family members, including myself. Thanks, Jeff, for your service to our community.

Words cannot adequately express our deep gratitude to Jeff and his staff at Lauck & Veldhof Funeral…read moreHome. Throughout the entire process, Jeff was the consummate professional, guiding us with compassion, grace, and support. Every aspect of the funeral exceeded our expectations. Thank you, Jeff, for making this important moment a beautiful, stress-free, and memorable send-off for our mother.

We contacted Pinna Monuments for a headstone after being ripped off by another company. They were…read moreeasy to work with on design (long-distance, via emails) and very responsive throughout the process. There were a couple hiccups along the way and I'm happy to say that Pinna handled things and made it right. I'd absolutely use them again.

We can't rate Pinna Monuments high enough. Jim Pinna gave us his personal and full attention from…read moreordering the stone to the engraving work. We even met the gentleman who did the engraving work. He did an excellent job. Jim had great communication with us throughout the entire process. The end result was exactly what we originally envisioned and we couldn't be happier. Don't hesitate doing business with Mr. Pinna. He will not disappoint.