From the first day I called Deana at the Heritage Funeral Home in Matthews, after they had left me…read morea beautiful message confirming that my husband had been transferred to their care, to our memorial service yesterday with Robin and her team attending to every detail with empathy and anticipation of every request, I felt so grateful that we had chosen them for my husband's final journey. My sons and I were clueless, and they guided us through every decision, every idea, often taking last minute requests with no hesitation and giving us time we needed to agonize over details. The service yesterday was flawless, the preparation, pictures, flowers, and military honors all orchestrated by our team and the day could not have been more beautiful. When my time comes, my sons both know where to go, and who to deal with, and they will be in good hands.

Karen and Kat were absolutely wonderful. They understood our culture and religion and helped guide…read moreus through the entire process with care and compassion. The ceremony was clean, warm, and peaceful not cold or unsettling like some other funeral homes. Planning a funeral is never easy, but they made it much more manageable by clearly explaining all the rules and regulations. Everything was well-organized and thoughtfully handled from beginning to end. The location and cemetery were also beautiful. We're truly grateful for their support during such a difficult time.

I've been putting off this review for way too long, but better late than never?…read more Morbidly put, this is where both my parents lie (RIP, Dad 2010 and Mom, 2015). My parents told me once that they drove by it, and immediately decided that this was where they wanted to rest in peace. If I recall correctly, they went ahead and bought the piece of land there years in advance (5-10 years prior to?). As it goes, when their time came, we bought a plaque/slab (not sure what you call it) with both of their names on a beautiful piece of land, along with a sitting bench, titled "Lee Family" under a tree, filled with chimes...and I visit this lovely place to mourn a few times a year. Every time I visit, I hear the chimes...and it feels as if they're greeting me. :( Also, I am SO glad we decided to get the bench. I've actually brought food there to eat under the tree...and it actually felt peaceful. From my recollection (though hazy due to the trauma of both occasions), the service by their staff was really good. I guess my only reservation is that there have been a few occasions when I felt that the upkeep/maintenance could have been better. For instance, it doesn't appear that they do any sweeping or dusting of these plaques. As you may see from the most recent pic, my parents' plaque almost look brown with all the dustiness that gathered over the months. I mean, it's actually a shiny, black marbled plaque, but you'd never know it! Guess I need to bring Windex to scrub off the dirt next time? This place is a bit pricey, but overall, I guess it was worth it. Though a bit of a drive for me, it's always a nice, pleasant place to visit (despite the morbidity of it all)...and surprisingly, not spooky at all.

We had a gentleman, Mr. Paul Martin-Fernandez, come to our home to discuss what services Forest…read moreLawn East Cemetery had to offer. We were so impressed by his presentation and demeanor. The booklet he left with us was an excellent source of information that covered everything one might need to consider for future plans. Paul was an ideal representative. Not pushy, so polite and sincere. We would highly recommend not only Mr. Martin-Fernandez, but Forest Lawn East Funeral Home. Henry & Ethel Allison

Very friendly staff and does not do pushy sales . Phil is understanding . Very affordable.read more

From the owner: Our Pre-Planning Services make it easy for you to get your express wishes down in writing, ensuring…read morethat you have the kind of memorial service you truly desire and that your friends and loved ones can have total peace of mind that they are adhering to your wishes. We host Burial Services that convey both the solemnity of the occasion, but also the joy that comes from celebrating the life of a dear loved one. We are happy to attend to all aspects of the service, and we invite our guests to linger as long as they wish, fully enjoying a special and intimate time with friends and family. For those who choose it, we also offer Cremation Services; cremation can be a meaningful way in which many families mark the death of a loved one. We offer services tailored to honor those who are military service members and veterans, as well.

I highly recommend Pet Passages. They treated us and my dog Pebbles with love and respect. They…read moreguided us through the procedure with compassion, empathy and kindness. There special touches with the paw prints and nose prints just melted our hearts. They were quick to responded back and affordable. Pet Passages exceeded our expectations during this difficult time. We couldn't of had a better experience. Thank you for giving me and my family peace of mind and kindness in the hardest moment in our lives. Your pets are in truly caring hands when going to Pet Passages. Judy and Mike Stines

If I could give more than 5 stars, I would. Unfortunately, after 10.5 years together, I had to…read moremake the tough call to part ways with my best friend, Bruno, on 5/1/23. Fortunately, I happened to connect with Sam, from Pet Passages, after working with Dr. LaVergne (from Home With You) in the process. Sam coordinated directly with Dr LaVergne on the appropriate timing to show up to my house, shortly after Bruno had been euthanized, and Sam entered the scene as an extremely compassionate and professional person. He downplayed the 'transactional' nature of the job and focused primarily on putting my mind at ease and treating Bruno's body with dignity. When he came to the house, he had a purple blanket with him, and explained to me that purple was the color of royalty, and that's how Bruno would be treated by the folks at Pet Passages. We wrapped Bruno in the purple blanket and he allowed me to help carry him out to the transport van. A minor detail, but the van itself was clean, professionally marked, and climate controlled--just the small things that put me at ease during all of this. Within 48 hours Sam brought Bruno home to me, in a custom wooden urn/box (see the photos)--he hand-delivered the box, and again was extremely professional and compassionate. All in all, working with Sam during such a tough time was a blessing and I'll forever be appreciative for his exceptional handling and care of Bruno.

If I could give less than 1 star I would. This place got EVERYTHING wrong. My brother passed away…read moreon June 13, 2025. This funeral home was selected by his adult son. I do not know the details of the contract between them. My understanding was that my brother was to be cremated and there would be a procession driving from the funeral home to the cemetery where a U.S. Marine Corps Honor Guard was to be there to honor his remains, provide a 21 gun salute and Taps. The person driving the hearse with my brother exited the highway procession because he RAN OUT OF GAS!!!???? Half the people in the procession followed the hearse and the rest continued to the cemetery. RAN OUT OF GAS??? Really??? So, when we get to the cemetery, the administrator for the cemetery tells us the Marines are not there for the Honor Guard. WTF??? My brother retired from the Marines and requested a USMC funeral and deserved to have one. Come to find out, AE Grier never contacted the Marines to be present. The cemetery administrator there asked if I would accept an ARMY honor guard because they happened to be there for another funeral. I declined as ANY MARINE would. I too am a Marine Corps Veteran, and so is my other brother who was at the funeral. ANY Marine would have refused an ARMY send off. After we left the cemetery, we went back to the funeral home. I was very upset because like many other people at the cemetery, I was expecting my brother to have his USMC funeral because he EARNED that after 23 years in the Marines. A lot of us came from not just out of town, but from out of state for this. I CAN NEVER GET THAT MOMENT BACK THANKS TO AE GRIER AND THE INCOMPETENT HANDLING OF THIS MILITARY FUNERAL. I don't know if they refunded my nephews for the services they did NOT provide, but for me it's not about the money, it's about the memory of my brother's funeral as a big SCREW UP by AE Grier. The woman at the funeral home told me and I quote " We dropped the ball on this one." WOW!!!! Was that supposed to make me feel better???? Long story, but the point is, maybe look at other funeral homes. How would you feel with "We dropped the ball" on services for YOUR loved one? The Marines provided an Honor Guard service 2 weeks later for his sons and their mother, but No one there initially will have that memory.

If I could rate lover I would…read more.. No Support from the funeral staff, what we ended up with was a do-it-yourself celebration of life service at their chapel I paid for a service, and I thought we were going to be under the care of a Director, which turned out to be a chaotic day for the family. We were not engaged in a timely or orderly manner to enter the chapel in an orderly manner. The place was not only disorganized in terms of communicating with family. We were pretty much left to handle things on our own. Our family had hired an assistant, thank god we did !! Who ended up serving as the IT person IT person and helped in many other areas due to the lack of support from this funeral home for the service because they lacked the ability to accommodate the family with a competent person to handle their antiquated system, We were passed around to different staff members from the beginning. The last gentleman put on a suit for the viewing, but then presented himself in the parking lot to inform us that we were being passed on to someone else and stated he had other work to do. We were stunned, and we were then at that time informed that we would have to transport the flowers to our home ourselves. He basically said "there are a lot of flowers in there, and we only provide a vehicle for that when we are going to the cemetery". They need to understand that times are changing and they need to keep up with the times. With that issue, we were out in the parking lot, scrambling to find people to haul flowers. Between a family and a few strangers, we got the flowers hauled. It was chaotic and embarrassing for us. And we had family members who had traveled from out of town to miss part of the repass. At the end of the service, the funeral home representative misrepresented the presentation of a blanket that was created by our graphic artist as a gift to the family, stating it was from the funeral home. If you are in need consider another funeral home

Not impressed…read more.. Recommend: No. My mother in law's passing (dec 2022) decreed to use this facility, but all said and done, there are a number of unprofessional actions I was not appreciative of. Most specifically, both the Register of Deeds office in addition to Hartsell Funeral home, (whom was paid for this service), failed, collectively, to both inspect the death certificates ordered and HFH, failed to provide a correction. Again, HFH was PAID to accomplish this task but took zero responsibility ensuring the certificates were professionally legible. At a loss of the processes' resolution, they would not pacify correcting the misprinted death certificates and instead we had to visit the Albemarle Registry of Deeds to get corrected documents. Not impressed with this action. To: Harstell Funeral Home Director: I highly encourage you to consider the above commentary and improve on your services. My family members in this area have already sought out alternative funeral service locations due to this and other less than admirable demeanors.

From the owner: Hartsell Funeral Home takes great pride in caring for our families and has made a commitment to…read moreprovide you with a beautiful, lasting tribute to your loved one. Celebrating Life is our top priority. Our team will serve your family with professionalism, honesty, integrity and compassion. We are a family owned and operated funeral home and crematory with five generations of service to our community. What began as a cabinet and coffin-making trade during the Civil War, has evolved into four full-service funeral homes in Cabarrus and Stanly Counties, as well as a cemetery in Norwood and pet services. Everyone’s needs are different, and for that reason, families can entrust their loved one’s wishes to our staff.