I can't thank Melissa, Richard, and Christian enough for the compassion and support they provided during one of the most difficult times in my life. From the moment we began the process of cremating my father, they were kind, professional, and incredibly helpful every step of the way. Melissa was warm and understanding, always ready to answer questions and guide me gently through the process. Richard offered thoughtful insights and made sure all the details were taken care of with care and respect. Christian was equally kind and attentive, ensuring everything was handled smoothly and with dignity. They truly made a difficult experience so much easier to bear, and I'm deeply grateful for their support. Their compassion and professionalism made all the difference. Down the road when my Mother passes we will definitely use their services again. Thank you for taking great care of my father, and our family! read more

I cannot say enough about the caring and professional service PB La Jolla Chapel provided to me. Losing a loved one is so hard. The loving and supportive team at PB La Jolla Chapel softened the blow with their patience and kindness. Everything they do there they do with elegance and skill. The facilities are beautiful and their sincere caring is on full display. What a special place. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. A number of the reviews on Yelp are old. There's a new team at the Chapel and the facility is completely remodeled - so serene and beautiful. I am so grateful to them. I could not me more pleased with how the helped me and my departed loved one. read more

Stealing from a corpse is wrong!!! Due to multiple issues with PB Mortuary and Glen Abby Cemetery ( both owned by "Dignity Memorial" I had to bury my sister twice! Aug, 26, 2024 during her burial the mechanics failed causing her casket to crash into her grave sideways. It was traumatizing! Obviously she needed to be reburied, we requested to inspect her body for any tears or damage, and to confirm her jewelry was intact. Aug. 28, 2024 we found out her 2 carat diamond ring was "missing", her cheap CZ ring was still with her. Aug 29, 2024 we reburied my sister. I asked the Dignity Memorial Cemetery Manager if he had made a police report? With a blank look on his face I was told "no". Sept. 4, 2024 I was notified by Yelp I might want to edit my prior review due to the amount of complaints towards this establishment. Sept. 5, 2024 I've now edited out the less important issues with this establishment, I was told I "might be slandering them" so I'm just posting about the theft. We confirmed and have photos of her ring prior to the closing of her casket on Aug 26, 2024 with that in mind it appears someone in this Company took the opportunity to remove her ring. I filed a police report on Aug. 31, 2024 Case#24035532, it is my hope the person who has my sister's ring is caught, prosecuted and any family who that person came into contact with are notified so that they can decide if they wish to confirm any valuables are still with their "loved ones" I do believe the Public should be aware of theft and make their decisions accordingly. read more

They did a very good job of describing their services when planning a funeral. They reviewed plans that were made for cremation and burial 20 years ago. All the details had been worked out, but I just wanted a review of the process. Their staff assured me that all the details had been arranged and no further effort was necessary to ensure a smooth process. read more

Our family cannot say enough good things about Pacific Beach La Jolla Chapel. We are so thankful for their support, kindness, and responsiveness as my grandfathers mortuary care team. Richard, Lauren, Alyssa, and the whole team provided excellent service- from the first call, you can tell they care about your loved one and the family. It was evident they have a calling to serve families during these challenging times. They answered calls and emails around the clock- and were generous with their time. They also provided so much, and were a great value. We are more than pleased to have entrusted my grandpas care to their team. Thank you so much! read more

Three years ago, August 2, 2010, I made the dumbest mistakes of my life. I visited El Camino Memorial, directly across the street from my church, St. Brigid's. My wife and I attended this church since 1967. The association between my church and this "funeral parlor" stretches back many years and many funerals under the auspices of this facility. At no time during this long and unofficial arrangement did I hear any complaints or an unkind word. For that reason and with a profound dose of naiveté, I approached El Camino to pre-arrange my wife's funeral and burial two weeks before she died. I was stupid enough to think that I would be better prepared to make decisions before the worst day in my life occurred: my wife's last day. My "best-laid plans" went straight down the tubes! As soon as I met Nick Valentine, the salesman, I told him that I did not want to confront a list of options, just the least expensive funeral. That didn't happen without a lot of effort. The only positive impression I have of this experience with Nick was his suit; he was dressed well. Beyond appearances, though, he was woefully unprepared to answer questions and offer advice. He was nothing but a corporate shill for El Camino whose only purpose was to lead the unwary and anxious client to agree to anything that was on his check list while ignoring a client's concerns. To cite just a few of the absurdities that came from this initial meeting: I asked for the least expensive funeral, knowing that my wife's choir members would provide the pall bearers and other assistance that the services may require. The quote I received was $35,000 for the top-of-the-line service. This was a bit high, especially because Catherine and I had agreed years ago not to "bury our children's future." With the support of a church grief counselor who accompanied me, for which I was most grateful, we made several attempts to "whittle down" the extras. During these negotiations, Nick looked visibly concerned. After almost an hour, the final price came to $750. That's a lot of whittling and a lot of painful haggling to arrive at the "bottom line" for a basic, no-frills, service. My second mistake was asking Nick to arrange my wife's burial at Holy Cross cemetery, the only Catholic facility near our home. He said he could not. El Camino would provide the cemetery plot on their property which also contained consecrated plots for Catholic burials. Nick then added, "And I'm a Catholic, too." We asked if he could please call Holy Cross to see what requirements they had for burials. Again, he refused, saying that Corporate El Camino would arrange burials only at El Camino. He did, however, with some hesitation, allow me to call Holy Cross, but that he could not dial the number for me. He passed the phone across the table and waited for me to complete my call. As I said, he was well dressed. And so, my wife is buried in Philadelphia, next to her mother. A second plot is reserved for me and will be coordinated by Featheringill (El Cajon Blvd.) who handled my wife's flight to Philadelphia and all other arrangements with courtesy, understanding and efficiency. No options were bandied about. To quote the El Camino website: "At El Camino Memorial - Pacific Beach we're here for you. Our dedicated staff members will provide you with caring, professional service. We will answer your questions and guide you through a difficult time. Please contact us for assistance." They forgot to mention: please call Al Strohlein for an endorsement. After returning from Philadelphia, I re-visited El Camino to speak with John Crapu (Nick's supervisor) about Nick's refusal to accommodate my requests. John was not the least bit empathetic and sided with Nick's responses, stressing that there was nothing he could do. He did mention that the most "basic" service would be $1000 which included a $795 casket. Two years later, after a fellow choir member heard of my experience, she urged me to reconsider visiting the facility now that it had a new on-site agent. (Nick had been "promoted" to the front office in El Cajon and John Crapu had retired.) She could not believe the treatment I had received because her own experience in handling her husband's funeral had been positive throughout. Despite the two years that had transpired since I first approached El Camino, I agreed to see if any changes had been made in their corporate presentations. And so I met Jay Fitzpatrick who, my friend assured me, had been so supportive throughout her husband's funeral. To Jay's credit, he could not believe my "story" of how I was treated initially by Nick Valentine and, later, by John Crapu. I gave Jay a detailed written account of my experience with Nick. Jay promised to "get back to me" with a response from El Camino. Two days later, Jay was also called back to headquarters and I've not heard a word since. Physicians are not the only professionals who bury their mistake read more

Pacific Beach - La Jolla Chapel - El Camino Memorial Chapel, Cass Street, Pacific Beach - Funeral Services & Cemeteries Near Me - San Diego, California

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I never thought I would be reviewing a mortuary, but this place was really nice. It was classy, not creepy. ;-) Jeff, our funeral arranger, was kind, listened to all dad's stories, and didn't try to upsell us on stuff we want. He wasn't pushy at all, in fact. This mortuary service business is expensive. So if you're going to have to pay for it, you might as well get nice classy service like you get here. read more

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I had my Mothers remains handled by this amateur outfit in December of 2017. I opted to get a finger-print necklace to wear in her memory, I think it cost 175.00, something like that. I am writing this on Feb. 10 2018 and still no word on my necklace. I have called, left messages and stopped by there and I can't get ANY ONE to give me a straight answer! Its easy, if you messed up and didn't get it made, then refund me. Unless you want aggravation with your grief, then do not go here! read more

We just had a service at PB Chapel and Mortuary last week. Meghan made a tough time much easier and we can not thank her enough for that. It was great working with such a knowledgable professional. All the staff are great, everything was perfect. Our guests complimented everything! PB Mortuary helped with the officiant, catering, parking, music, pictures, death certificate, everything. Thank you so much for making our celebration of life, a true successful celebration! read more

One of the worst days of our lives happened last month when my Mother passed away. So we ended up using the Pacific Beach Chapel as our Mortuary. As they are in close proximity to St. Brigid Catholic Church where we are members. Lee Hulburt at the church mentioned that the Chapel is very easy to work with and has served families of their Parish in the past. I want to say that from the moment we met Mr. Halley funeral arranger he handled everything for my Mother with just the highest level of compassion we could imagine. He was very understanding and has just a wonderful presence about what he does. I truly believe that God is guiding him in his ways. The man is just who your business needs representing your firm. Every step of the way he was informing us of all the options that we did not think of. From flower selection to the cards and even the catering we selected was outstanding. Also I will never forget at El Camino for the graveside he recommended we do a flower tribute. This was just so heart felt, we are still taking about that special moment we had that day. One recommendation we would want to stress is that we were offered the chance to use motor escorts by the Chapel as part of the procession from church to the cemetery. We opted at that time to not use them, and we do regret that as we wish we had chosen them. Please stress this to the people that have a funeral procession as this is very important so all of your family will stay together. My Uncle got lost and did not make it to the cemetery until the service was all most over. Our family has had such loss of life in these past years and we have had some not so wonderful experiences in the past. From the bottom of our hearts we just can't thank the Chapel enough for all they did to send my Mother off with the most dignified way we could imagine. God Bless Susanne read more

I am so grateful that we chose the Pacific Beach-La Jolla Chapel to handle the arrangements for our loved one. I made a few calls to various places to gather information prior to the death, and my conversation with Dawn stood out for her kindness, patience, and clarity. Everything went smoothly. Dawn went above and beyond all expectations when the coronavirus complicated travel arrangements and family members were not able to be physically present. She gave the gifts of respect and compassion and competence when they were needed the most. When you are trying to choose a person you can trust, please know that you can rely on Dawn to take care of business while holding your heart and feelings gently. read more

Dealing with the passing of anyone is not easy. Dealing with the arrangements for someone's passing it's probably one of the hardest things in the world to do. Luckily, my sister and I found Pacific beach crematory. Jeff was our go to man for everything! From the second we arrived, until the service was over, Jeff made each and every step bearable. When we first walked in he greeted us and gave his heart felt condolences for the loss of our father. He walked us through each step with grace and empathy. My sister and I both felt confident in our decision to go with Pacific beach La Jolla chapel with Jeff as our consultant and we were not disappointed. We spent almost 2 hours in his office making arrangements for our fathers funeral. Jeff was very accommodating, and took his time to explain everything to us. We left his office with the feeling of a weight was lifted off of our shoulders. Jeff took care of everything, and made sure to let us know each step of the way. He made it a lot easier to deal with such a hard situation. It takes someone with great skills to deal with such a tender Situation with such grace. We truly appreciate from the bottom of our hearts everything that Jeff did for us, and our father. Truly a blessing. read more

My mom passed away 9 days ago as of me writing this review. Her body has not been cremated yet because we're still waiting on a death certificate and cremation permit. These were apparently delayed because they faxed the doctor but the doctor never received the fax. It's 2020 - maybe abandon fax machines at this point and upgrade to more reliable technology. When I call and speak with Dawn to get an update, she likes to remind me that sometimes in life, "Things are out of our control..." This morning, she reminded me that last week was the Thanksgiving holiday, which doesn't explain why they weren't able to make any progress the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before the holiday. In fact, the only task she's actually accomplished over the past 9 days was to collect my money - which was more than double the price we paid when my dad passed away, and his cremation/death certificates were completed in 3 days. I suppose if you don't mind waiting several weeks, go ahead and use this place. Otherwise, go somewhere else. I am stuck waiting for them to do their job. read more

Please read this before attempting to do business here. My experience with the funeral director Shawn was beyond terrible, especially since My mother had passed away hours before. First- the parent company is SCI- Dignity which my parents had their burial plans pre-paid; as well as, a travel insurance if they pass outside of their home location. My parents were visiting their grandchildren when my mom passed. I called the insurance only to receive a call that Shawn was refusing to pick up my mother's body at the hospital. Instead of grieving I sent the next dozen hours on phones trying to get my mother's body picked up to be sent to Florida. When it came down to it, Shawn wanted more money than his parent company agrees to on the contract which should have been kept a internal issue. After 14 hours and several high up involvements my mother's body was picked up. My second experience with this location and Shawn was when I spoke to him on Monday from Florida. He agreed to fedex overnight the death certificate to the funeral home in Florida (which is part of the same parent company). He never did this, instead he sent USMail the next day. I did not get them until Thursday afternoon. This gave me 1 day to get my mother's accounts in order. Shawn has no business working in this industry. It is a terrible time for families and his incompetence made the situation worse than ever. Please save yourself additional heartache and go elsewhere! read more

I just want to say thank you to Jeff at Pacific Beach Chapel. He was kind, thoughtful, meticulous and flexible to our needs. It was nicely done and I sincerely appreciated his service. read more

words cannot express my appreciation for the professionism, concern and support, at el camino pacific beach mortuary, in the loss of my husband, david palmquist, i was very impressed with the help we received from jeffrey halley, with his help and advice, all the funeral arrangments, , every detail was handled with profection, i came away feeling so gland i chose el camino pacific beach mortuary. della read more