Preserving the Past Small museum with a treasure of…read moreinteresting artifacts from funeral services practiced many years ago. Many items, like the ledger recording the funeral of notorious outlaw, Jesse James, were still intact and preserved.

Heaton Bowman Smith Funeral Home has such a caring, friendly staff. They walk you through the…read moreprocess and don't try to push extra things ..they just help you have the most meaningful memorial and service you can afford. I recommend them highly.

The service here is top-notch. It's kind of an old-school type of business - very personal and…read morethorough. We left feeling very confident that we were getting a stone that we will love and with a complete understanding of the time it will take to get the stone installed. Highly recommend.

Roger welcomed me recently on a rather miserably hot August afternoon. He was frank and upfront…read moreregarding supply chain disruptions in the industry and the patience necessary regarding the setting of stones. I could sense his frustration in not being able to serve his customers in a more timely manner. He comes from a family that has cared for and served St. Joseph for 100 years. He cares about meeting your needs. I was so relieved to get the help needed in making this important step and the thoughtful suggestions provided. Thank you, Roger Van Vickle.

The volunteer at the Glore Psychiatric Museum certainly had my number, because he directed us…read morestraight to Mount Mora Cemetary, also in St Joseph, MO. In a word: astonishing. This is easily one of the most resplendent graveyards I've seen, definitely in the Midwest. Mausoleum Row took my breath away. The Townsend structure is Egyptian inspired, with two sphinxes at the entrance. There is one Gothic structure framing a sarcophagus (above ground, stone burial receptacle.) I might even count that as more stunning than the mausolea! It's easy to think you've seen it all on Mausoleum Row, but a leisurely exploration of the full grounds killed several hours for me without my noticing the time. There are a lot of graves from the 1800's, some with wind eroded epitaphs. Wish I'd brought a pencil and paper for rubbings! There are some lovely symbols on the markers. Lots of hands with a finger pointing upward to heaven, some nice clasped hands, weeping women, a few lambs for the babies, of course lots of Masonic symbols, anchors and veterans graves. There is a DIED IN THE WORLD WAR grave. Is there a lesbian grave? Two hearts are connected on one monument, to mark the deaths of a "sister" and "friend," both females, with the same date of death in 1901. Whoever the family was, how moving it is that they took such care with this memorial! What of the same death date? Wow. The neighboring downtown of St Joseph seems to close up on Sundays, but the drive there showed us some great old houses and buildings, not a small number of them abandoned. Especially in gorgeous October, I deeply recommend a trip to Mount Mora. And hey, perusing graves is FREE OF CHARGE. Someday I'll make a donation to the cemetary, as it sounds like the upkeep is getting to be difficult, and I would love to know that this hidden treasure will be around for many hundreds more years..

Awesome place to visit. Tourist or local alike. Gate open during daylight hours only.read more

This is a very interesting cemetary. If you enter through the back way, it looks like a side street…read morethrough a quiet neighborhood, easily missed. The headstones back there are old and mostly forgotten. They're tipping over, surrounded by weeds and long grass. However, on through the front gates and it's a totally different story! Surrounded by an upper middle class neighborhood, there are acres of rolling, grassy hills and monuments. They're are better taken care of by not by much. Some moved through there but titall forgot to weed wack. It looks a peaceful, serene park with lots of history and several families that are buried together. There are many, many different kinds of trees and lots of areas which look as though they have many visitors on a regular basis. Lots of fresh silk flowers and American flags decorate the grounds.

A smallish, well kept Jewish cemetery with ample parking and a small chapel. All the headstones…read moreface the same way, some from the late 1800's. Surrounded by a older, well maintained neighborhood.

The guy that runs this funeral home is the rudest, most arrogant individual I have EVER met. Their…read moreprices are outrageous, they made my relative look like a wax doll, (it took four hours for the other place to SCRAPE the crap off of his face) and they were totally unhelpful. I wouldn't have my dog's funeral at this place!!!!!

Beautiful. Scenic. Peaceful. Missing my grandparents today, I'm glad they are in such a lovely spot.read more