During one of the hardest times in our lives, the staff at Austin Layne was so passionate about…read moreensuring we had everything we needed. They are so caring, and comforting. I feel like I have gained a new family with the Austin Layne staff! Ms Gail is hands down made for her position! She is so loving and caring, will give hugs when needed! Marcus was always available and caring. Marcus C. streamed the event and was so receptive, helpful and always available during the service. Death is not something I would wish on anyone, but if you find yourself in this position, I high recommend you go to Austin Layne, and I am HUGE on customer service. Thanks again to the staff of Austin Layne!

During these trying types of Covid 19, imagine planning a funeral service for a loved one…read more My aunts' visitation and funeral were held at the Renaissance chapel. Services were fine; no complaints there. But the entrance doors were kept open ---on 90 degree day in STL. I'm guessing it was an attempt to keep visitors from touching the door handles to prevent Covid spread? As a result, the chapel where services were held was, as Nelly says, " hot in herrrr". Mr Austin Layne sir, please install ceiling fans or at least accommodate your guests by turning the air conditioning down!

I attended a visitation for a friend's loved one here. They have multiple different rooms and a…read morefriendly employee to greet you as you come in and direct you to the appropriate room. The room was set up well and included space between all seating. They had a nice setup area with photos of the loved one and a cool "card tree" where people could place cards for the family. They had a nice ladies lounge restroom area with a seating area in the front in case you need to take a private break and just rest for a few minutes. I also learned from my friend that there was an area just for the family where they could step away from the public and they could bring in food as well.

From the owner: *Serving the Florissant and Surrounding St. Louis Area With Caring Professional Service…read more*Celebrating 60 Years Of Service *Family Owned And Operated *Beautiful, Convenient Location

We had a sympathy plant delivered to McClendon Mortuary and Cremation for services on Thursday June…read more18,2020. However the plant was not in the location of the service nor given to the family. The next day I confirmed floral was delivered by florist; however when I called McClendon Mortuary to ask if they could check to see if Floral was missed, the gentleman was very rude, unhelpful, condescending and blatantly refused help saying they are not responsible for florals that are not prepared by their funeral home. I continued to ask for assistance in locating the floral since we clearly had proof of delivery (time of delivery and photo of plant inside McClendon Funeral home Flower Room). But the man refused. He did not offer me any assistance or customer service whatsoever. I have notified the family of the floral and will seek their help in finding the floral. However I feel to ask the grieving family to resolve a dispute with a company that is in business to service the needs of grieving families is utterly ridiculous. I will never use or recommend this Funeral Home to anyone.

Our experience with McClendon Mortuary was AWESOME!!! David McClendon Jr. and the other staff…read moremembers were very helpful, kind, patient, respectful, professional and knowledgeable. My brother-in-law passed away in Houston, Texas. We needed to bring his remains back to St. Louis. David McClendon Jr. communicated with the funeral home in Houston and helped us with finalizing transportation arrangements from Houston to St. Louis. He talked to us daily for a week making sure that we were aware of everything that needed to be done while we were in Texas and preparing us for the arrangements that needed to be made in St. Louis. Their expertise and attention to every detail helped make the viewing and service an organized and beautiful occasion. I feel that my brother-in-law's homegoing service was perfect because McClendon Mortuary & Crematory went above and beyond to help us. I would like to thank the staff for their guidance and patience with us. I highly recommend McClendon Mortuary & Crematory.

The Transgender Memorial Garden is a sacred space for queer and trans folks in Saint Louis and…read morebeyond. It's actually the first of its kind in the US. It's a garden to honor the lives of transgender people who have been lost to violence and discrimination. It also exists to celebrate the lives ad vibrancy of the community. It was dreamt up by a local activist, Jordan Braxton, who also happens to be an iconic drag performer (Dieta Pepsi). Sayer Johnson, of the Metro Trans Umbrella Group looks after the garden and sees to its maintenance. You can contact them if you have a group to volunteer who wants to help out with the garden. It's common to drive by it on Saturday mornings and see groups working on it. It's lovely. I remember the first time I had been was before I was out as a trans person. A group of queer activists and allies gathered after the evening of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. It was one of the most impactful and memorable moments of my 20's. Folks were obviously scared and grieving, but we were together. It was a hard and beautiful night. For me that galvanizes what the garden means to me. It's sacred and beautiful, but also a reminder that hate and discrimination still exist. If you haven't been, or didn't know it was right here in the backyard of the Grove, you should visit sometime.

We cannot thank Baucom Life Celebration enough for their kindness during the loss of our…read moreson/brother. From our first meeting, Mr Baucom was incredibly patient, caring, and professional. They handled everything with such grace, allowing our family to focus on grieving rather than stress. The facility was beautiful and well-maintained. Walking into the facility, the beautiful scent gave you a sense of calm. I can also say, whoever handled the dressing as prepping of our loved one, did an outstanding job. I highly recommend their services."

My mother's memorial on March 20, 2026 was completely destroyed all because of the overzealous,…read morerude, and wildly incompetent security guard who treated my family and guests like they were gangsters! The security guard groped my Elder family members, spoke to people in a condescending way, and rambled through women's purses as if they had weapons of mass destruction! I brought the vile behavior of the guard to the attention of the owner, Mr. Kelvin Baucom, the day before the memorial because I went there to pick up my mother's remains and urn. He told me the guard's reckless behavior was a "training issue." Mind you, she was rude with me, just one person. That is relevant because the next day, the day of the memorial, the SAME guard who groped me was there and for my mother's memoriial. In other words, if she was horrible with me, one person, the previous day, WHY in the world would Mr. Baucom allow her to work during my mother's memorial with a large group of people? I asked him this, and, I swear to you, he said, "That's a good question." Really? How about giving me a good answer? He didn't! I went to visit Mr. Baucom two times this week. The first was to ask if he had done two things that I recommended so patrons in the future would not be humiliated. One recommendation was a metal detector and the second was that he terminate the rude guard. He was happy to attempt to appease me by showing me he purchased a handheld metal detector, but when I asked if he terminated the guard - mind you, a SLEW of people wrote reviews on Google saying the same thing - he brushed me off and said, "It's an internal issue that we dealt with." He refused to tell me if the guard was trained, corrected, or even if he had a conversation with her. I mentioned to him SEVERAL times that my family just wanted him to assure us that he would use another guard. So, I made it VERY clear that termination was certainly acceptable AND warranted, at the very least, just use another guard since he contracts with a security firm. It is very important to add that Mr. Baucom ASKED me to give him recommendations! Why ask for my family's recommendation when you apparently had no intention of responding to our most significant recommendation? Mr. Baucom EASILY could have made that happen, so it was NOT a financial issue because the security firm simply would send someone else in the future. I don't know why Mr. Baucom is protecting someone who is having a negative impact on his financial bottom line. Whatever the reason, my family and I never received ANY semblance of compassion and empathy for how we felt about the guard's behavior. To blow us off with an "It's an internal issue" was and is hurtful, insulting, and, of course, a horrific business practice. Remember, Mr. Baucom, people have choices and you are not the only funeral home in St. Louis. You must do better with your customers and show SOME level of compassion because if it were not for your customers, you would not be in business. So, since he refused to offer a modicum of ANY empathy, I decided to draw some signs and protest outside the building just down the street. And guess what he did?! Even though I was in a public space at the corner of St. Cyr and Lewis & Clark, Mr. Baucom called the police on me! Read that again! I was PEACEFULLY protesting and NOT on his property but he called the police on me. Fortunately, Jennings Police officers did not do anything to stop me and reminded me I was within the rule of law. So, yesterday, when I asked Mr. Baucom why he called the police on me, he feebly played coy and NEVER took responsibility, only saying "Someone may have called" and after I pressed him on it, he said he did it because I threatened him! I sat there with a straight face and lied about that. Even more clueless, after a barrage of gaffes, he had the unmitigated gall to ask me if I would remove my review from Google and write a favorable review because, in his words, "Your review is making us look bad" to which I responded, "Sir, I am not doing anything to make your business look bad. You and your security guard have done that, NOT me!" The moral of the story is, AVOID this establishment if you TRULY care about having your loved ones funeral done by a respectful staff. Mr. Baucom should be embarrassed for NEVER taking responsibility for lying about me being a threat. It is very obvious his business practices are, at best, questionable. The facilities there are very nice, clean, etc., but Mr. Baucom and the security guard? HORRIBLE! I stand by EVERY word I have typed! Regretful that I ever walked into Baucom's, Dr. Becton

This hell hole of a cemetery should be taken to the highest level of the law and fined to pay every…read morefamily they served. I called them to buried my father in 2012. At that time, they told me the cemetery was close to compacity. Till this day, they continue to take family's loved one and pretend to burry them. The same day as my father's funeral, I went back to check my father's plot. No sign of a fresh plot in the area they marked on the map. I called the funeral director to help me search. When he arrived, there was a Pitbull loose during business hours... I called the office and popped up on several occasions... nothing I filed an compliant with Missouri Attorney General office. If you had the same experience do the same and lets file a huge lawsuit! If your looking for a cemetery for your loved one... keep researching this one is not it!

My family has 2 plots at Friedens Cemetery, have owed since 1922. This Cemetery phone number goes…read moreto an office in Ohio. They are impossible to contact. Their recording say office hrs are from 10 to 2 Monday thru Friday. I spoke with them 1 time and they said they would call me back on my concerns. That was 6 wks ago. They have not answered the phone since that time and have not returned my call.

One of our favorite cemeteries in the St. Louis area. It's well taken care of and houses many of…read moreSt. Louis important city founders. It's even beautiful in the winter but the summer brings out it's TRUE beauty.

We went here yesterday to practice using my new camera. It was beautiful. The entrance to the…read morecemetery is gorgeous. It was a little more confusing that Bellefontaine which is well laid out for the tourist. At any rate, we finally got a groove and drove around. You'll find Tennessee Williams here (close to the road for easy location) as well as several other local movers & shakers. The cofounder of St. Louis has a beautiful plot with stairs leading up to the burial site.