Blevins was great when my mom passed last year. Jami was very knowledgeable and compassionate!read more

I lost my father to a terminal illness 3 weeks from the time of his diagnosis. During those 3…read moreweeks, I learned of the diagnosis, flew from across the country to attend to his care, provided 24 hour end of life care and made all arrangements pertaining to his subsequent demise by myself. While in absolute shock after his passing at the VA hospital in Johnson City, I numbly chose a funeral home in close proximity to his primary residence, Blevins. The funeral home came to retrieve his body within hours of his death, Mr. Seal showed appropriate affect and professionalism during the transportation. Thank you Mr. Seal. My real experience with the Blevins business began the following day when I met with Funeral Director, Robert Linkous. Mr. Linkous seemed all business as we navigated the many options that exist for end of life choices and services. His demeanor could be likened to a used car sales man who is selling any upgrades and extended warranties he can to increase the profit margin. The many options seemed crass and morbidly grotesque but I surmised that it was not for me to judge and that this was a part of the life cycle that I was not accustomed to dealing with. I deferred to his knowledge and expertise, made moderate choices and put it behind me. I happily handed over my credit card for the charges (which were numerous) to see that my loved one was well cared for. After our initial meeting, I returned to give the funeral director clothing which I wanted my loved one to wear instead of a hospital gown for his final preparations. At this, our second meeting, I heard him arguing loudly about his compensation and internal business affairs on the telephone. Embarrassed, I sat patiently waiting. Upon the calls conclusion, he had the audacity to come to me and COMPLAIN that in his business it was about "compassion". I was stunned that he was seeking affirmation from ME when I was a paying customer. I merely eked out, "I couldn't agree more" while thinking compassion would be warranted in the present situation and at the present time for ME, the paying customer who was suffering LOSS and GRIEF and didn't need to hear about his financial woes with his business and superiors. I shook the incident off and rationalized that anyone could have a bad day and be clouded by work dealings. My final meeting with the funeral director at Blevins confirmed all my latent feelings about the business and it's staff. I had tried to be positive but all things affirmed who they were at heart. When I returned to the funeral home to retrieve my father's remains, they were not immediately given to me. I was confused; I had no outstanding balance, I had made an appointment and I had shown up as expected to retrieve the remains when I was notified by Blevins that they were ready, what was the delay? A frenzied Mr. Linkous asked frantically if I had a fingerprint for my father. I did not. He searched the office, turning up papers, asking the administrative staff for a fingerprint and ran back and forth. It was a solid 20 minutes before I finally asked if the fingerprint prevented me from retrieving my father's remains (because it was in fact too late to gather one now!). Mr. Linkous explained that there is a company that makes jewelry from the fingerprint of the deceased. My jaw dropped..... I had been waiting all that time for another marketing opportunity on the part of Blevins! How RUDE and INCONSIDERATE! I was absolutely aghast by the treatment I received at Blevins. I managed to tell Mr. Linkous before leaving that at any point in our business dealings, it would have been appropriate to say, 'I am sorry for your loss'. I expected a phone call later that day with an apology for the way I was treated, but none came. Their treatment of me is only surpassed in by their repulsive unwillingness to make their mistake right in an apology. No effort to offer condolences, no apology. It would appear that this individual has lost sense of the grief and tragedy associated with losing a loved one and instead is more focused on the monetary compensation that fuels his lifestyle. I have never been more appalled in my life by the lack of compassion one human being has had for another in a moment of raw pain. I am proud that I kept my composure and acted professionally but it was heartbreaking to have to deal with such a business for such an important life decision. I will regret my choice until the day I die and am fortunately NOT left in the care of such callous people. I could go on with more examples of their failings but at the risk of embarrassing and discrediting a company I think it is best to stop.

Great to work with. Prompt and polite. Will stay with a hard to find issue until they get it…read moresolved. Rare to work with people who still has pride in their work. Thank you, Billy

Brought in my chain saw and they fixed it while I waited. Jack and Tony are the nicest guys…read more Quality and knowledge where great and can't beat the prices. Would recommend them to anyone Marcia Shaver

My mom is interred at Mt. Rose since she passed almost 5 years ago. I have chosen perpetual flower…read moreplacement for my mom with Mt. Rose since I live some distance away. Kim Moore has been the person who has helped me with this, and every quarter she notifies me of placement of my mom's flowers and always sends a picture. She frequently does the arrangement herself and is very talented. I am so impressed with her empathy and kindness, knowing that I will grieve for my mom forever and that this gives some solace. Kim is a jewel.

We visited this cemetery for my boyfriends Mother who had just passed. Her parents had purchased…read moreplots back in 1965. However everyone had passed who owned the plots and their was an issue with an extra plot which the deceased had made quite clear she did not want left between her husband and her deceased sister. After some with Chuck and the General Manager we found that their was actually 5 heirs to the extra plot in between. I was a little upset at how the GM handled the entire situation with the family. In my opinion she was rude, unhelpful and constantly making negative faces. At a time like this you should be bending over backwards to make the family feel comforted and not stressed by this type of situation. Had we not kept pushing and asking questions and coming up with our own scenarios I feel like she would have been happier to force the family to keep the space in between. When all she had to do was find the original purchase folder and find their were 5 heirs that easily could sign a letter releasing the plot. She had an attitude when we asked if she could just notarize my boyfriends paper to save some time since we aren't local. With a mean face she reminded us over and over and over that the headstone would not be laid until ALL FIVE PAPERS were signed. We got it! Have a little compassion for the husband. Then upon leaving, I felt it was horribly negligent on their part to have the grounds person digging Ms. Daisy's grave right in front of the office as her husband is walking out from this fiasco. A little respect of waiting until our "Appointment" was done and waiting for us to be gone would have been great. No one wants to see their family members grave being dug.

This cemetery holds so much history and it was a very interesting place to visit. It is a beautiful…read morelocation and was so peaceful. We walked around and looked at the headstones thinking of what the lives of those buried there must have been like. Some of the headstones were very ornate and grand. There is no parking but you can pull in and there is a dirt road that goes around the grounds. There are some places to pull off to the side. Anyone coming in was very courteous and made way for other cars coming in or leaving.

Very old 1776 old cementary that has original deteriorating tombstones that are hard to read. A…read morefew monument signs and a log cabin. Good little history stop in town.

Very accommodating, had what my mother needed and offers real good mechanical supportread more

Allegedly haunted, the East Hill Cemetery is entirely to the north of East State Street and so is…read morelocated about 80% in Tennessee and about 20% in Virginia. The cemetery was established in 1857 and therefore contains many Civil War dead with dedicated sections for Confederate soldiers and a "Slave Section" that is denoted with a historical marker. Many famous Bristolians (not sure about that word) are laid to rest here including the founder of the city of Bristol, Revolutionary War General Evan Shelby (the father of Isaac Shelby, the first Governor of Kentucky) and Colonel Abram Fulkerson who graduated from the Virginia Military Institute and fought in the Civil War. You might also want to look for the grave of Confederate hero James Keeling who received the Confederate Medal of Honor for his bravery at Strawberry Plains, Tennessee on November 8, 1861, when he single handily defended the railroad bridge against 15 soldiers intend on burning it. Keeling was shot three times, and suffered three stab wounds, but despite his wounds he still killed three of his attackers. It is an active cemetery that has current funerals, so please be respectful as you visit. It is in excellent condition and is well maintained. There are natural paths and spaces for vehicles to drive through. I opted not to drive through and found parking at the community center across the street. [Review 14955 overall, 457 of 2021, number 260 in Tennessee.]