I highly recommend Pacific Internment for their help and service in facilitating our Green burial. Amanda is a joy to work with and was so knowledgeable and helpful with all my many phone calls to her. At the Green burial site, Frank, was beyond helpful in the burying of my friend. We couldn't have managed it without him. Pacific Internment is a class act and anyone using their services would be pleased. Thank you Amanda and Frank for making this unbearable time for us easier. Rinette Turner read more

I'm so sorry for your loss. And yet, it's inevitable for all of us. Let the lovely folks here take care of you and your loved one who has died. Transparent pricing and clear communication and no BS. I made the mistake of calling another place and got spammed with calls and emails from my one inquiry. The absolute last thing I needed when dealing with the grief of loss and of course all the other things that need to happen with a death. They picked her up. They provided the death certificates. They had environmentally friendly options for cremation, although we didn't go with that option because of price and also it wasn't her wishes. They also answered the phone at all hours. Because death happens outside of business hours. May this transition of your loved one also be an opening for you. Holding you with so much tenderness. read more

I used them after my husband died at home in hospice. They were very prompt, handled him with dignity and respect. Took care of the county details and at a fair price. This is a very practical, no pressure business. Their services offered aligned nicely with our values and I'm happy and at peace with the process read more

Compassionate yet efficient and reasonably priced service. I'm deeply indebted to Pacific's service in our hour of tremendous pain and need. May God reward them for their honesty and compassion ‍ read more

This review is very long overdue. I used PI in 2016 to cremate a friend in Berkeley. She was a 'fan' of PI's low cost, just the basics model, inspired by Jessica Mitford's book on the American Way of Death. My friend wanted her small estate to go to animal welfare groups, not to funeral homes. PI, at least at that time, were incredibly easy to work with, efficient, helpful, respectful without being sentimental or maudlin (not 'our' style at all). The cost in 2016 was about $1200 and they were very helpful with getting death certificates. Eight years later, I am trying to research/compare 'death costs' in Sonoma County where I now live. I called PI to see if they 'pick up' in SoCo (not obvious from their website) and learned that they will. Given the number of poor reviews of Neptune (which once upon a time was sort of the gold standard for 'budget' cremations), I consider this really great news. Their basic cremation is about $1600 (probably a bit more with the extra distance to SoCo). They have more 'upscale' packages for those who like spending money that way. read more

Frank, Amanda and Lazaro are very caring, understanding and empathetic. Thank you all for the amazing and unforgettable experience that my family and I had at your facility. It didn't feel like a mortuary. My son's, Devin, service was very sad but beautiful. The chapel was warm and the aromas were very pleasant. Frank helped me understand my son's service for it was a difficult situation. He was patient with me even when I was a bit stubborn. Amanda was wonderful with all the paperwork, emails and last minute changes. Lazaro was just amazing every time I would call to ask questions and I called a lot of times. He was just on point with all my questions and concerns. My family and I were also able to witness my son Devin's cremation. I never felt like we were rushed or hurried out. I highly recommend holding your loved one services at Pacific Interment Mortuary. Thank you Frank, Amanda and Lazaro. read more

I was a couple thousand miles away when my mom passed and and my step-brother recommended that I use Pacific Internment as he had used them before and had a good result. Glad I gave them a call. Working with Amanda and the staff was fantastic. Amanda worked around my schedules and was able to get the cremation done for what I consider a very reasonable price. She also mailed my mom's remains and the death certificates to me for a reasonable cost as well. Amanda was very pleasant and professional and explained everything very well. Amanda made the experience so much better than I thought it would go. I highly recommend giving them a call to help you in your time of grief. Thank you Pacific Internment and Amanda for your help, it was greatly appreciated. read more

The staff was kind, tasteful, and efficient. They don't try to upsell you. The prices are very reasonable. I recommended them two friends and everybody reports that they've been well treated. read more

We highly recommend Pacific Interment Service for their aquamation services. Frank was amazing and gave us a complete on-site tour of the process, spending time discussing it and answering all our questions. My aunt passed away in July 2024 and we sought out the most ecological way to handle her body. She would have loved this as she was an avid gardener and the aquamation remains are better for the soil and use less energy to process. All staff, from the gentle, kind people who picked her up from her home, to Amanda to Frank - all were patient, never in a hurry, answered all our calls and dealt with every single detail. We felt confident we had made the best decision. And we look forward to scattering my aunt's remains (similar to cremation), where they will benefit surrounding plants. Thanks to all of you! read more

Greatly appreciate the support and patience to meet our needs and help us get things smoothly done in a short period of time. Amanda and other staffs tried best to get all the support documents ready so that we could have the ceremony in three days. during thanksgiving week. The chapel is clean and good arrangement to follow our culture and special needs. This is a trustworthy place to choose. read more

Pacific Internment helped us with my father's cremation and services in June, and they were organized, kind, and helpful. Unfortunately, the cause of death was a gunshot to the face, and PI was sensitive in helping us decide whether and how to have a viewing. In the end, they did an amazing job cleaning up and dressing the body, and we were able to have a peaceful viewing. We additionally wanted to have a Hindu ceremony, and they were helpful in working with our priest. The ceremony involved a bit of fire in the chapel, and they were very helpful in working with us to support our funeral customs. Additionally, our custom is to scatter the ashes in the sea, and they were very helpful in arranging for a boat on a schedule that accommodated our customs. PI made a very difficult time for our family easier. read more

This was a tough time for the family, and Pacific Interment Services were responsive and sympathetic to our needs. Amanda was very helpful when picking up my father's ashes. read more

Similar to another review I've seen: this is long overdue. My dad passed away almost three years ago and it was my first major loss. Everything was brand-new and terrifying. Frank was so patient with me, spoke with me on the phone multiple times, and answered every question I had with care, concern, and kindness. I apologized to him and said "I'm so sorry for all of my questions" and he said "My only reaction was how lucky your dad was to have such a caring child like you." The price was completely reasonable and fair. I received this recommendation from a very close family friend. It's not an easy process for any of us but kind people like Frank make it possible. read more

This is my 3rd time using PI for cremation. The first time was my Dad's choice. I believe he chose this after reading Jessica Mitford's American Way of Death.. He passed at the hospital and so I didn't have a lot of interaction with PI until after. He hadn't made prior arrangements, but they made the process simple and they were not pushy. Respected what was wanted. 2nd time, I was acting DOA for my Moms best friend. Her final resting place was going to be in NY so Frank made sure all the papers were order and she was successfully laid to rest by her neice. This last time was for my Mother. She passed at home. The gentlemen to came to get her treated her with repsect, from gathering and covering, and placing her in bodybag, and putting on backboard, securing her and navigating her out of the house. I admit I was nervous about the whole process Mind you we are in COVID times so I filled out all the paperwork on line a few days on line. Mom is going to be laid to rest in her home country so I had some questions. Carol was super helpful in answering my questions as I filled out the Death Certificate info. In corresponding with the Morturary in her home country they needed some specifics from our mortuary. I called again and Francisco the owner answered. He was great and very helpful with my requests. Because of Covid it took a little longer to get Mom back, but they treated her and me with dignity throughout the whole process. Death of a loved one is hard enough, and they eased the pain of this one process. read more

My father died over a month ago and we are still waiting for him to be cremated. I was told there was nothing they could do. But the hold up was lack of a death certificate. Apparently we were supposed to fill out some paper work but no one asked us to or contacted us to say it was missing. So we completed the paper work now 5 days later they are waiting on the doctor. Have they contacted the doctor? we don't know. This is not the service I expected and certainly will not consider using this company in the future. I called to express my disappointment and the person who answered the phone said 'hello" in a totally bored way not even identifying the business I had to ask is this Pacific Internment? Death is stressful and this company has not made it less so, only more so. read more

Amanda provided comfort & the warmest spirit of Aloha during a very challenging time. Our Ohana appreciates her sensitivity & sense of service. We are eternally grateful. Mahalo Amanda. read more

I highly recommend Pacific Internment Service! My Mom passed at home after 3 weeks on hospice. They were highly recommended to us by our hospice team as a local family-owned reputable cremation service. We called them in the middle of the night to plan next steps and they were incredibly kind and professional through every step of the process. Having our Mom taken away was extremely emotional, but the father and son were so reverent and careful with her, we felt comforted knowing she was in good hands. We had a lot of custom requests and I was blown away with how accomodating they were. We had an open casket memorial at my parent's house - my Mom looked beautiful and was well preserved without embalment. They came to pick her up the next day so that we could spend more time saying goodbye after her memorial. Amanda was always available for all my questions and even recognized my number and knew it was me calling! I'm am so thankful for how they helped our family get through a very tough and emotional process while honoring our Mom in all the special ways we envisioned. Thank you! :) read more

If you're searching for mortuaries/crematoria you are either planning for or recently experienced a loss. Not a great time to deal with challenging persons or additional stressors. When my mother passed earlier this month Pacific Interment stepped up and helped me handle her final arrangements. She wanted very basic simple cremation with no services so that is what we did. The team was sensitive, kind, and responsive. They took care of everything in prompt order, including picking up her body, which is essential when you are dealing with a death. They provided excellent service, even doing me the favor of delivering the ashes to me at my home. I didn't comparison shop so I don't know how their prices actually compare. But it was worth it to me to have such a great team helping me navigate a difficult time. read more

(Note: this is just a review of setting up services, not of having had them done.) My mother is on hospice, and the hospice team gently suggested I set up "mortuary plans," as they called it. I asked for some recommendations locally, got some prices, and talked to Frank at Pacific Interment. Very, very easy to talk to, absolutely a straight shooter, very clear when answering questions. I set up my mother's needs/preferences by filling out a form online and filing it with them. I can now take a copy to her facility and give one to the hospice folks and know that it will all be taken care of. Two local places would have been over $3k and over $2k for a simple "direct" cremation*, and the total at Pacific was just $1,171.65 with all the additions I needed (ability to scatter ashes at sea + nice looking box for the cremains is included at no extra cost). They have their own crematorium onsite. (And Mom will appreciate not spending more than we had to!) I will definitely be setting up a "pre-need" with them for my own needs. I'll pay in advance and that will lock the rate. (the online form I filled out for Mom doesn't lock in a price but I'm not anticipating it rising much) *direct cremation means not having a viewing/wake. Like, no side trips. Oh, and they come collect the body whenever and bring it straight back to Emeryville. Saves having to think about, like, anything. Works for me. read more

From the first phone contact to our last meeting in person, the staff were helpful, respectful, and sensitive to our needs. They were knowledgeable with the process of having the remains sent overseas and took care of acquiring the necessary documents. read more

Amanda went above and beyond to make sure we were able to hold cremation service for my dad in a short notice. I can't thank her enough. The event went smoothly and right on time. Thank you again, Amanda. read more

The team at Pacific Interment Service made the painful loss of my dad a bit easier to handle with their care and concern.

Pacific Interment was referred to me by a friend and I am very glad I called them. Initial impression, the price was affordable and the funeral staff was the nicest and most helpful I've encountered in all places I've called. Please disregard the negative Karens in the previous reviews. Pacific Interment will truly take care of your loved ones. Everything was an easy process from start to finish. You will be well taken care of at this funeral home. Honest review here. read more

I am a West Oakland native. Lived here my entire life. Grew up in this area since 1970. Never heard of this place it was recommended. This place charges and extra fee for EVERYTHING. If you want to pay by credit card they charge a fee. There is also a fee to pay by cash (cash advance fee). If you want to have a service on the weekend they charge. There is a charge to use their staff on the weekend. This place is new to the West Oakland area. Not impressed with there amateur customer service. We didn't get the impression that they understood what they were doing. Other places have an up front price list. You know what you are paying for. They discuss everything with you upfront. This place sends you a contract online. At other mortuary's in Oakland, there are no extra fees. The only extra fee was for the Limo. My family was very disappointed with this place and all the extra fees not professional at all. Would be nice if the company answered questions concerning their fees. We never got answers concerning the fees. Or, the amounts on the contract. We received a contract for 8000 dollars. We were told initially the cost was going to be between 5000 to 6000. That is a huge discrepancy. 6000 to 8000. That discrepancy is were the issue was and they could not explain it. We wanted to know what all of the extra fees were. Once we started asking questions the staff got really defense kept putting us on hold. It really seemed as thought they were not educated in the entire process. I will speak to the lady that referred us because I am positive she is not aware. Please be careful. I am sure you want your loved ones respected. Cfb.ca.gov (Cemetery and Funeral Bureau). read more

I can not say enough positive things about Owner Frank and Office manager Jerrica. So professional, very quick responses. When I spoke to frank I had lots of questions as this was our first time navigating this tough situation. He always took the time to thoughtfully answer and has extreme knowledge in this business. His prices are reasonable and his service is above and beyond!!! read more

Pacific Internment was strongly recommended, to me. A few years ago when I went to the San Francisco office to make advance arrangements the staff was completely helpful and professional. Upon her recent death at age 95, the fellows who came to retrieve my mother's body were very sympathetic. Pacific Internment did fine with the the paperwork, ordering the urn, etc. etc. THIS REVIEW IS ONLY ABOUT THEIR OFFICE MANAGER. I am glad for everyone who has a professional /sympathetic experience with her, unfortunately for me, my experience was that this person, on the phone, was always impatient. Not what you want when talking with someone about the 'cremains' of your mother. Not what you anticipate from the front of office person at a mortuary. A few highlights from the phone conversations follow = *My first phone call with this person was probably 24 hours after my mother died. This person did not identify themselves by name when they answered the phone, and in our conversation I addressed this person as "Sir". I really couldn't know by the voice and maybe my head was stuffed up from crying. During that call right before this person put me on hold to check some thing she said, with great emphasis, "And I'm NOT a Sir!!". * Another call, when asking about home delivery of the urn I asked if she could tell me what's the "window of delivery times". With obvious exasperation at my question, she repeated over and over again "I can't give you an exact time, I can't give you an exact time, there's traffic, there's all kinds of things that affect what time they would deliver". I said I understand that, can you please tell me what the window of time for deliveries is? "NO! I can't give you an exact time!" Finally I thought to say "between what time and what time do they do the deliveries? ". Then I got the answer "between 10 and 4". Ahh. So this person does not know what the term window of time means for deliveries, but she got mad at me. * I had a concern about certain neighbors seeing a vehicle with signage on it from a mortuary. When I simply asked "can you tell me what kind of vehicle they use for the deliveries?", instead of giving me the benefit of the doubt that I might have a reason for that question I was IMMEDIATELY subjected to the following= "A VEHICLE THAT RUNS ON GAS!! A VEHICLE THAT DRIVES DOWN THE STREET!! WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?!? WHAT DOES IT MATTER?!" And yes she kinda yelled at me, and yes she repeated those words at me, just like that, more than once. During these unpleasant conversations I tried using little bit of death humor "I only have one mother so this is my first time doing this". But no, that made no difference. I went so far as to explain "I'm the only surviving family member and taking care of many details, so I may be asking you some thing I already asked a few weeks ago ", but that made no difference. No patience, no respect, for a grieving daughter? In conclusion, when I saw Carol in person to retrieve the ashes it was quiet and professional. But what was going on with this person on the telephone. smh ..... read more

My mom was quite old when she died; her health steadily declined in her last year. My brother and I were her sole surviving family members and it was up to us to arrange for the cremation of her remains and their interment according to her wishes. We needed to make arrangements ahead of her death because of our situations--we both live outside of the Bay area and due to health issues are unable to travel. All our business had to be conducted via email and over the phone. Preliminary online research cautioned us about the pitfalls and potential problem of enlisting the services of an unscrupulous and/or unreliable cremation/funeral company. Fortunately after some additional searching we found Pacific Interment. From the start PI did an excellent job of informing us of options and rates, and their online planning process was simple and straightforward. The online forms were easy to complete. The few questions we had were quickly answered in the detail we sought. When my mom died all we had to do was notify PI, make payment of the previously agreed upon fee, and they took it from there. They picked up her body and transported it to their crematorium, cremated her per our instructions, put her ashes a pre-selected urn, and delivered it to the cemetery where her remains were interred. Within a week's time they had sent us the number of death certificated we'd requested that were needed to settle her estate. In sum, these folks are easy to work with, trustworthy, reliable, and put a premium on providing excellent customer service. Settling Mom's estate was a long, complicated process, but thankfully PI's pre-planning option permitted us to have Mom's remains cremated and interred according to her directions, with absolutely minimal effort on our part. read more

We lost our newborn daughter in the NICU at Kaiser Oakland. The hospital contracts with Pacific Interment Mortuary to handle cremations. My wife and her mom called to see about the disposition of her body, and were rudely treated when asking about the timeline for cremation and why the hospital hadn't released our daughter. Among the things said was that "it was being done at a discount". My wife called me, crying. We made arrangements for another mortuary to take care of our baby. read more

It's a terrible thing to have to deal with a cremation but these people make it easy, affordable and bullshit-free.

My sister passed away suddenly a few weeks ago and we were completely unprepared. We were told about Pacific Interment by a distant relative who had worked with them recently as well. From the moment I called and spoke with Mike, I felt like we were in good hands. I called him twice to ask questions without committing to making an appointment or anything and he just answered them without any pressure. When we met with him and decided to work with them he was very flexible and accommodating. He offered to take our payment for her autopsy to the coroner's office so we would not have to make an extra trip and was very professional and understanding when our quick view ended up being longer and larger than we agreed. Sometimes when you pay someone in full for services they will provide later, it becomes a bit more difficult to contact them, get updates and get timely service but even now, 3 weeks later, Mike has called on his own to update my brother-in-law on the status of her remains and took the initiative to work with the Coroner to obtain information we needed in order to file the death certificate. He did that AND called to inform us without us asking or calling him for a status update at all. He even mentioned the possibility of contacting Social Security Administration to inquire about survivor benefits for my nephew and brother-in-law. During times like this, at the end of the day, the companies that rise to the top for me are those that understand and know how to navigate around grieving people who often don't know what to do and who go the extra mile to alleviate stress by assisting in taking on what they can so that the family does not have to (drive around the city to pay for and apply for different things). That type of service is worth paying more for but in this case, that was not necessary. The prices appeared to be very reasonable and were comparable to another place we considered that I know in my gut I would have had problems with. I felt taken care of and that Mike has been a one-stop shop resource. When faced with this inevitable circumstance again, I am relieved to know that next time I won't need to do research or ask for referrals because they have earned my business and continued support (through referrals). read more

My husband wanted to be cremated after his death while I wanted to avoid enbalming with its chemicals and harm to the environment. Having heard of people facing pressure to pull together the cash for services at a vulnerable time, it was a great relief to have my credit card accepted. The staff who came to take his remains were respectful and appropriately somber. They asked for permission to carry him in a sheet (due to many steep stairs). They opened the sheet to let me kiss him goodbye. The open-coffin service was just exactly what I wanted. The external (rented) coffin was beautiful. The room was orange, and that worked perfectly. The color created a sense of warmth. They had a podium for speakers, an easel to hold a photo, an array of containers for the ashes purchased beforehand, and, as Derek said, they always knew my husband's name. The staff often work in shirt-sleeves and that works well for people who want a less formal atmosphere. On funeral day they wore suits. The $35 "In Memory" sign-in book is lovely and they handled that and directed funeral attendees including a very late family. They had a CD player with pre-recorded music and were fine with my using my own CD, even coming to start the music at the appropriate time. Jessica Mitford chose them for her cremation and it was clear at every step that they were not going to rip off a very vulnerable new widow. (In contrast to a well-known chain that insisted CA law requires enbalming, I might add). It does not. I read the law online. They were prepared to offer some security-like services if two very disturbed people arrived to cause a scene. Fortunately we didn't need that, but really, how often is there reasonably affordable but respectful and respectable funeral services? They knew what VA wants as well, so that helped meet my husband's wishes and eased my process in grief. They are not open on weekends and can be hard to find though they give excellent directions. It's worth the quest to find them. They are gems. I pre-paid for my own cremation being so pleased with their ethics and service plus price. My daughter was concerned about being able to dance at my funeral since I'm Wiccan and dance is sacred and central to me and my funeral will include a dance around a palm tree in the court yard. How cool is that? read more

Best service I have ever used! Frank is awesome. Made things easy for me. Great services and costs.

Jerrica was very patient and kind with me when my brother died unexpectedly last spring. Due to the Covid 19 and my compromised health, it took me a while to pick up his ashes and Jerricca was understanding. They are an extremely reasonable and easy process through a very tryinging time. read more

I rarely write reviews (almost never). But our experience here was the type you feel you need to pay forward. Dominique was the epitome of professional, compassionate and caring. In what has been one of the hardest experiences for my wife losing her father, we could not have had better service. Dom was patient, communicative and always offering to allow us the time or convenience we needed. They just treated us like real human beings at a time we needed it most. I couldn't recommend Pacific more in a challenging time like the loss of a loved one. 100%! read more

My almost-100-year old mother died in January this year, just before Covid-19 struck with such force. Pacific Interment had handled my father's cremation in 2001, but my mother was the one who dealt with them. I handled everything for my mother's cremation. Frank and his staff are amazing: compassionate, organized, honest, straight about costs, and respectful. I cannot recommend them more highly. They made the whole process as kind and simple as it could be. And they don't overcharge. Beware of crematoriums that ship your loved one to Stockton or somewhere else to be cremated with other bodies. The cremation is done on-site, in Emeryville. read more

Ok, we asked for a basic service, and paid for the a basic package of cremation. No frills were expected, none were provided. The process was respectful, professional and low key. We had the "witnessed cremation", where the cremation container is wheeled to the back, and the family can press the button that slides the body into the chamber. This step helped provided closure, and matched the mood. The necessary paperwork was handled well, no issues. read more

Greg was helpful throughout the process of cremating my father. I received prompt responses and all of my questions were answered. I was especially touched by the service provided by Rob from Serenity Transporation, the company hired by Pacific Interment to take my Dad away after he passed and we said our goodbyes. I'm mailing out a thank you card to Rob and here is part of it. The rest is too personal : "Dear Rob....Thank you for being so patient. Thank you for explaining to us in detail what would take place as you prepared to take his body away. Thank you for being so thorough and repeating the process for us, without being asked. Thank you for coming at such an odd hour. Thank you for your sensitivity. Thank you for being so comforting and polite at such a tender time. Your job is so important in that you're the very last person we see taking care of our father. I'm still processing Dad's passing and so is my brother. But your work made that night, which was so difficult and stressful, much easier on all of us. I want you to know that your careful work did not go unnoticed. In gratitude, read more

I'm still waiting for death certificates they promised after eighteen days. I live four hours away from the Department of Public Health and rely on them for this paperwork. The delay is inexcusable. read more

Very pleased with their professionalism. Never a good time to need their services but glad they are there. When my father called on an update about our loved one they knew exactly who he was. read more

We have used the service twice. We were very happy with their service. Staff was friendly and helpful above and beyond