They picked up my father's body then quit and made us have another funeral home pick him up. They…read moredecided not to work with us after we mentioned concerns from the recent news of being returned remains that were not your loved ones and seemed uncomfortable that my mom wanted to witness the cremation. Laura Stark was highly unprofessional and rude and the experience was very traumatic. Do not use this place!

When my husband died in May, we found Purely Cremations to be the most economical choice, although…read morethey told me the fees had recently changed, and they did not honor the price that was on their website, even though I had a printed copy showing that was the advertised price. I feel they should have honored the price shown on their website. There were also a couple of additional fees that were not charged initially, and they charged me when I went to pick up the ashes. What choice did I have but to pay it at that point? Otherwise, they were professional and helpful, but I would recommend checking the obituary after it is posted to be sure it is complete. The end of my husband's obituary was missing when they posted it on the website; however, the correction was made quickly after I called to notify them.

I don't usually write bad reviews, but when a person or business fails as thoroughly as this one…read morehas, I feel that other people need to know, especially considering that there is no second chance to get things right when honoring your loved one after they die. I'll start with my wife's grandfather's funeral. They were supplied with the clothes he was to be buried in. They were also supplied with a certain watch that he always wore. When the funeral was over, they were to remove the watch and get it to my wife. Well, they never put it on him. My wife called after the service. At first they couldn't even find it. She had to wait for them to find it and then go to the funeral home and get it. Also, they were to take a fingerprint and give it to her, so that she could have a locket made with his print on it. They never took his print, so that keepsake cannot happen. Now, my wife's father has passed away. I was there when they came to get his body. The two elderly guys that showed up could not place my very lightweight father in law on the lowered gurney by themselves. Then when they raised it and went to put it into the hearse, the gurney legs are built to fold as they put it in, but they wouldn't. BAM, they tried to ram it in, with my father in law on it. BAM, BAM, they tried two more times. Finally one of us mentioned that the legs of the gurney were not fully extended. "Oh yeah, maybe that's the problem," they said. They raised it fully and it folded right in. The back of the hearse has anchor points to secure the gurney to keep it from sliding around back there, but they didn't secure it, they just slid him in and shut the door, so he could slide all over the place back there. I wouldn't say they were intentionally careless with his body, but they were inept enough that we were very angry, but we didn't say anything. Two days later, we went to a meeting at the funeral home where the details of the services were addressed. My father in law had two married daughters, and four grandchildren. The director took notes for at least 45 minutes, in order to draft an obituary. We were very thorough, repeating things several times to him. When he brought it back, my father in law's birth and death dates were wrong, I was married to my sister in law, her husband wasn't even mentioned, my wife was single, and all the kids were mixed up. We pointed out the errors, and he went and typed up another draft. Now it came back with different errors. So my brother in law took it to make a correct edit himself, and an obit will have to be published later. It was decided to cremate my father in law. My wife definitely wanted fingerprints to make lockets for herself and her sister. Remembering that they dropped the ball on her grandfather's funeral, we called three times to make sure they were done. All we wanted was a confirmation, something like "yes they are done, I am looking at them right now and you can come get them." Instead, when my wife called the last time, the lady was really rude, stating that we were pestering her and she "knew how to do her job." When my wife explained that last time this was overlooked even though the instructions were in their files, the lady's response was "well, that wasn't me." Except that it WAS her. That funeral was about a year ago, and we remember it well. Then when we were given the prints, they were literally just ten black ink smudges on paper. Fingerprints are not difficult to take; this is a fairly common request these days, and yet only ONE PARTIAL print was usable, and barely at that. So, cremation. They sell their services in packages. It was decided to delay the service, to be held at my father in law's church. Florin's package included having staff at the church to "set up a nice little table with the urn, a picture of him, and some flowers." We don't need them to do that. We are perfectly capable of doing that ourselves. Once our loved one is cremated, Florin's services were no longer required. However, since that "service" is a part of the "package," they will bill the same. My wife bought flowers from Florin, to set the urn in. She asked for a special substitution to be made in the flower arrangement. They said yes, they would do that. But when we got the arrangement, the request had not been honored. And these flower arrangements are expensive. Bottom line is, if you want your loved one and yourself to be treated with dignity and respect, if you want competent people handling your loved one's service with diligence and accuracy; if you want your final memories to be satisfying, don't call Florin.

This place is amazing!!!! Heather & the rest of the staff at St. Joseph Monument Works made the…read moreprocess of ordering & designing, both my brothers(42 years ago) & my dad's(1 year ago) very easy for my family at a very hard time in our lives. Not to mention their artist is amazing!! She was able to accommodate everything we needed, from any picture, some being different than her every day pictures, the attention to detail far exceeded our expectations!!

From the owner: Fine Art In Stone - Since 1923…read more St. Joe Monument Works is a full-service retail cemetery and civic memorial company located just west of interstate 94 on Napier Avenue in Benton Harbor, Michigan. We feature a large indoor showroom, as well as an outdoor display. Our skilled designers guide each family we serve through the process of selecting and personalizing a lasting tribute for their loved one. The range of possibilities is limitless. Memorials can be traditional or contemporary, featuring carved designs or custom diamond-point etchings. They may reflect a person's deep faith or a favorite hobby, the beauty of nature or a life's work. Once the completed design has been approved, the memorial is carved and lettered in our shop. We take pride in our craftsmanship, knowing that each memorial we erect is an enduring symbol of a treasured life, and fine art in stone.

Great to deal with. Cost effective and caring. Took care of everything that needed to be done and…read morehelped us through it all

I did take care of everything as they said they would and they are definitely by far the most…read morereasonable price cremation service in their area. Maybe part comes from: fire to paint they were extremely communicative, checking in with us and taking calls multiple times a day. From the day they received their pay communication halted, and they were very slow to respond and didn't give us the information as it came up, such as when the remains had actually been cremated.