My father passed away July 13, 2023. He was 92. My dad used to paint at Richard's Funeral Home…read moreyears ago with his brother. From the moment I got the call from Brian, I could hear sincerity in his voice of him remembering my dad. It was heart-warming to know that they would take care of my dad and do the best they could for a beautiful send off. Upon walking in to the wake and seeing my dad in his casket, I was tearful and felt so blessed to see how good and pristine my dad looked, better than he had looked in years! That made the whole night easier. The room was set up so beautifully. The whole team at Richard's are so sweet and soft spoken and accommodating. My whole family used Richard's Funeral home and never anywhere else and now I understand why. I'm very thankful for their kindness and attentiveness. 5 stars plus!

I am sure this review will be removed as that is what The owner of this page will do…read more I-had the worst experience ,..and I will make sure it is known. Starting from then coming to my home to pick up my mother. The 2 people who came,...could not handle my mother. They almost dropped her !...not once...not twice,..but 3 times !! If it were not for my husbands help,..they would have ! He hurt his knee and shoulder in the process,....upset us both,...and upset the neighbors who saw the outside part ! And most of all....disrespected my Mother. My mother was slightly larger then average . Not obese at all. When I told Mr Richards what happened ...he first said.. " Usually the police give us a heads up to the size/ weight ". Seriously ??? Then he said " I knew I shouldn't have sent them, but I was tied up " SERIOUSLY ??? How dare he. The disrespect here to my mother and us was just outrageous. But we are emotionally numb,.....shocked by a death that happened suddenly, and I couldn't even respond to my disgust and emotional trauma this caused us. At this point,...the thought of my Mothers body in their hands was almost unbearable . When my brother and I went the next day to make the arrangements ,...we were surprised that our Mothers request was cremation . All we wanted was to get her out of Richards funeral home and honor her. My brother was here from Colorado, and Bryan Richards was telling us that we could not get her cremated until the following week ( it was Monday as we sat in his office ) He looked at me,.....and said.." But I can have your mother buried by Wednesday ". How ? By selling us a casket,...going against my mothers wishes of cremation and have her buried. That...could all be done in 2 days . My brother spoke up and said...We are not going against our Mothers wishes . Thankfully he was able to take control as I was 100% emotional unable to. He took advantage of our emotional state to try and sell us ! I realize it is a business,....but it should be done with integrity and respect first and foremost ,...and it wasn't. Not even close. He tried/wanted us to buy a casket.....have a viewing ,...and have a short service dictated by him as to how long the minister could even speak. All for profit....not for respect of what my mother wanted . My brother took charge and asked for the crematory phone number. All of a sudden Mr Richards could call them,....and guess what. It could be done in a 24 hour turnaround . Then he told us the cemetery would not bury ashes until the spring as it would be dug by hand. So we said,..ok then we will pay for the machine to dig the hole. Mr Richards told us that the cemetery was run by a strict board and they wouldn't do it . We made some plans and it was all going to be done at the funeral home with limited people due to the pandemic . And thought we would have to wait until spring to honor her burial in her family plot. We left Richards funeral home absolutely broken and more depressed . Nothing felt good . We then went home and called The Pompton Reformed church in Pompton lakes as it was my Mothers church . I left a message with Pastor John, and within an hour or so,....He called me back. He told us he would talk with the cemetery, and try to get it done for us. He told us we could have the service in-the church with the burial after. When I hung up the phone....the sense of relief that this would be something beautiful for our mother was overwhelming. My brother and I both cried in happiness for this being something beautiful for our Mother. And it was..... Father John is an amazing Pastor and human being. He met with us for the first time, and we spoke for almost 2 hours. He and everyone at the church made everything as easy and peaceful for us as possible . Her service was that Saturday and it was beautiful . Something many will remember for sure. Mr Richards,...you should be ashamed of yourself . I am sorry for you that you lost your ability to see people as human beings ,..not just a dollar sign. That is something you will have to answer to someday. FYI....We paid Richards funeral home about $ 2500 to have my mother picked up from our home ( disrespectfully), ..."stored' in what I was told ( by the woman that came to my home )was an un heated room ( not refrigerated ) then brought her to the crematory 2 days later. We had nothing else done ...no embalming...nothing.

Communication horrible and then threaten bc of emergency that would not be able to bury my loved…read moreone??? CEMENTARY SAID THATS RIDICULOUS.

Grandfather was buried here in 2007. Two things stand out that make me not even want to give them…read moretwo stars: -They took on a very circuitous route (local roads) when we could have taken the highway and been there in 15 minutes for the actual burial. Due to this, half of our funeral procession got lost and didn't even go to the burial and straight to the reception after. This is not reason #1 of #2 why I was annoyed, though. -At the actual funeral, they had the nerve to approach my father (whose father we were burying) with a bill. Beyond unacceptable. We had been going to this funeral home for years apparently, but that alone is enough for me to ever want to go there again. They also turned the lights out on us when we were outside talking after the wake was over the night before, which was very childish too. Could have just came out and told us it was time to leave. We were paying them thousands of dollars for a nice setup, and that is the treatment we got? Obnoxious.

Very professional and sensitive staff. They are very accommodating and pay close attention to…read moredetail. I highly recommend the team here. They are very experienced and have a respectful attitude towards the families they serve.

We used them for my moms funeral and Jennifer could not be more helpful, compassionate. We were…read morepleased with the complete service. It is and was a tough time that was handled professionally. Thank you Jennifer

I don't know for how long they've been in business, but it seems as if it has been forever, at…read moreleast to my memory. I grew up in the area and I can't remember a time when they didn't exist. The housing development standing behind their establishment now used to be a large empty field way back when. My grade school (Packanack) is just a stone's throw away, across Ratzer Rd. The Catholic Church my oldest friend had to attend as a kid is also directly across the street (when I briefly flirted with the idea of converting to Catholicism but had trouble with the idea of confessing my deepest transgressions and sins to a celibate priest I didn't know, I asked my friend what he used to confess to when he went to confession, and he said, "I made stuff up."). My 1st job at 13 was delivering Wayne Today newspapers up Ratzer Rd. in the opposite direction from Vander May (I was a scrawny nerd trying to maneuver my ramshackle bicycle up the heavily traveled roadway with a heavy canvas bag of newspapers on my shoulder in all kinds of bad weather). Still, I've only been inside Vander May twice, and never had to arrange a funeral for one of my relatives here. When my oldest friend's mother died...a kind, sweet woman I had known all my life practically...her wake/funeral was held here. I hadn't had much experience with funeral homes at that point, but everything proceeded as it's supposed to, in a professional and respectful way. My main memory of that day is seeing my friend's mother in death, and maybe for the first time confronting the reality of mortality. People you grew up around and came to love weren't going to be here forever, no matter how much you wanted to deny that bitter fact, or retreat from it. Years later, my friend's father passed, and his wake/funeral was also held at Vander May. I was older, my mother was dying torturously of cancer, and this was the man who had once referred to me as "his 3rd son," so maybe it hit me harder than it might have under different circumstances, but at his wake, I had to leave abruptly, as I started crying like a little kid. I rode up Ratzer Rd., past my old school, past where he had lived and raised his family, with tears streaming down. He was a unique man, in my experience--- very tough, a man who had been hardened by life, but maintained a good heart and spirit in spite of all that. He once owned 3 bars in Paterson, and knew a wide variety of people: actors, politicians, policemen, mobsters. His opinions of them weren't always what you would expect-- he didn't like Lou Costello, was supportive of crooked political boss Joe Bozzo, and thought mob boss Willie Moretti was a good guy (in his younger years, he palled around with Moretti's nephew, and once told me that Moretti had built a dollhouse for his daughter that was "as big as the room we're sitting in right now."). He also knew FBI agent Joe Pistone aka Donnie Brasco, who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family in NYC and was the subject of a movie starring Johnny Depp. In fact, Pistone arranged for my friend's father and his friend (my friend's godfather-- real godfather, not Mario Puzo's version) to have bit parts in the movie. (My friend's father grew impatient with the movie making process and didn't stick around, but my friend's godfather remained, and you can see him briefly in the scene where Depp and Mike Madsen walk through a room where flunkies are counting gambling proceeds.) Because of the emotional turmoil I was going through at the time with my mother's situation and the death of my friend's father, I was in a bit of a daze, but I do remember that...once again...everything was handled in a professional and compassionate manner. I remember my friend giving the eulogy for his father, something I would never have had the grit or strength to do. There's ample parking, and my last memory of Vander May is walking out to my car as we were to proceed to the cemetery. I remember seeing a familiar looking guy with sunglasses standing in the parking lot, and later, I asked my friend, "Was that guy in the parking lot who I thought it was?" "Yeah," my friend answered, "It was Pistone. He came to pay his respects." I guess the bottom line is that if you're in business for as long as Vander May has been, you're obviously doing something right, whether you're running a store, a restaurant, or a funeral home. I would imagine that successfully running a funeral home can be uniquely daunting. In addition to conducting the nuts-and-bolts business aspects of it, you have to deal sensitively, compassionately and professionally with a wide variety of people facing the often unexpected, tragic loss of loved ones, the harsh reality and finality of death, the accompanying emotions of grief and despair, pain and trauma, good memories and bad ones. My experiences with Vander May haven't been direct in the sense that I've had to arrange funerals here myself for loved ones, but I wouldn't hesitate in recommending them to anyone.

Go here for a funeral for your loved one! Charlie and the staff did an amazing job working with me…read morethrough this difficult process. The constant graceful communication and patience despite all my questions at all hours of the night and many requests was greatly appreciated. I was worried that I wouldn't have sufficient photos collages and they went above and beyond even surprising me with custom creations that I will likely frame or use again at an annual memorial celebration. The attention to detail and quality helped to facilitate a beautiful tribute to my father. While the overall process felt like an intense wedding to plan, Charlie directed the process with grace and tact each step of the way providing me with some comfort and reassurance as I wanted perfection for this final walk down the aisle with my dad. The Cemetary and church were also coordinated by Charlie and he made this easy as there were multiple moving pieces. The morning of I was a little upset because some of the posters I printed were too large and weren't laying right but Gareth went to the rescue and was able to trim the edge and posted it on a hard board so it would be perfect. I loved the photo handouts for all guests and the laminated cards and laminated obituary. They offered quality touches that I haven't seen at Vander Platt which is where I was trying to originally go. Everything happens for a good reason. I'm happy I landed here for my dads funeral/wake. They give you a checklist and make everything easy for you...there are SO many decisions to make. Even the donation cards were a nice touch. They provided me with an extra glass bowl so I could supply gum for guests and accommodated my every need and question. I loved the program and directions that were provided to the guests. Also, they packaged up everything extra in a neat bag with a bow and provide an unlimited number of custom thank you cards. This place is top notch and I'm SO GLAD I put my trust in Charlie and the staff at Vander May! Thank you for a beautiful day to remember my dad!

The team at Wannamaker and Carlough took great care of my mom. They were very professional and…read morehelped us through every single step. Coordination between the church and cemetery was all taken care of, as well as death certificates etc. The facility is very comfortable, clean, welcoming. They did a great job which helped us through a really tough time. I am very grateful to Mike and his whole team. Thank you.

My mom prepaid for her funeral in 2006 ( 18 years prior to her passing). Her payment was supposedly…read moreput into an interest bearing account and statement had been sent to her every year. Up until 2019, perhaps COVID impacted the statements , I have no idea. But I do know that once my mom passed this horrible excuse of a funeral home changed her signed prepaid contract and presented me with a bill for more money, trying to provide services that were never wanted or requested, and to make matters worse actually were charging for 2 separate cremations! One at Garden state and one at Ferncroft. The Funeral Director Marty is the rudest inhuman unprofessional person I have ever had the displeasure of speaking with and literally kept repeating himself saying " uyou want me to do this for free" OMG this is my mother he was talking about who had literally just died , and by the way she prepaid for her funeral nobody was asking him to do anything for free. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take my advice and DO NOT TAKE YOUR business here, and if you have a pre -paid service try to get your money back and go elsewhere! BTW we never received 1 penny of interest on the money she pre paid 18 years ago and had to involve an attorney to get this unscrupulous business to do the job they were paid for ! Horrible disgusting unprofessional disgraceful business.

Feeney Funeral Home performed such a beautiful service for a dear friend of mine. They paid such…read moreclose attention to every detail and turned such an upsetting time for all of us into a moment that we can remember fondly. It was a true celebration of her life. I loved the special flip card keepsake with all of her photos. Very unique just like her.

Feeney's made the worst days of my life more than bearable. I couldn't imagine anyone doing a…read morebetter job than they did, and I now know why they came so highly recommended. My mother passed away suddenly a couple of weeks ago. Myself, my sister, nor my father never had the misfortune of having to make funeral arrangements before. On top of being emotional, we felt helpless and confused; thankfully Feeney's made the process as painless and easy as possible for us. We met with Dave, the director, and were given simple worksheets to help us brainstorm how we wanted to memorialize my mother. He talked us through several options, helped us write her obituary for "The Record," and aided us in solidifying all our plans. When it came time for the wake, I could not believe how much Feeney's went above and beyond for us. We never spoke of any extras, so I was not expecting more than a simple prayer card and sign in book. In addition to that, they also provided a large signature board, a blown up photo of my mother fit for hanging on the wall, a large photo collage display, a brochure full of pictures and a mind-blowing origami style card that folded 4 times over revealing different photos, as well as the poem we chose for the prayer card. This card was a beautiful, wonderfully unexpected touch. Throughout both the ceremonies the staff were so courteous, always asking us how everything was and if we needed anything. Everyone was extremely helpful. The day after the wake, we decided to have a short celebration of my mother's life. It began with a very touching and well put together montage of photos converted into a DVD which we were able to keep. Norma, the celebrist (non-religious) speaker, did a great job with the eulogy from the simple timeline that we emailed her - she even stopped to play one of my mom's favorite songs. Losing a loved one is an extremely emotional and trying experience, and Feeney's not only made the process as easy as possible for us, but went the extra mile to make sure our last memories were beautiful and pleasant. I never thought I'd be writing a review for a funeral home, but this one made such an impact on me that I want to publicly praise it. I hold Feeney's in high regard and absolutely reccommend their services.