My brother died suddenly and although I have made funeral arrangements in the past, this loss was not any easier. The sadness, shock and overwhelming feelings were as intense if not more than losing my younger brother several years prior. My first call to this place was more or less to get information so as I had some options. I spoke to Buddy first. His voice alone was calming and encouraging and never once did he try to bargain with me and the other local competition. Instead, he verbally told me what I needed to do and when and if I called back, he would make sure he and his staff would hold my hand. I called back the following evening and got the answering service. My call was put through and I started to talk to Mike in more detail about where I was at in the process. He never made me feel rushed and allowed me to ask any and every question that I needed to. I decided to choose this home for all the services I needed but there was a little problem in the beginning with another local funeral home. Mike handled every call to the other funeral home and called me back after. The other funeral home, (Bernia) was extremely rude to me, never once spoke to me about my brother's death and then after I told him I had already made plans with Phaneuf, he told me "somebody was going to pay him for transporting my brother's body to his place." I never asked him to in the first place but anyway, that's not important. What is important is having someone like Buddy and Mike on your side during a time like this. They answered all my questions and when my brother, my two nieces and myself went there in person to complete the details, Mike was exceptional not only while doing his job but in a personal way. His energy was comforting and that is what is needed most. I didn't feel like I was in a creepy funeral home. The atmosphere there is what all businesses like this need. Thanks to Buddy and Mike both for being so kind. Thank you for taking care of me and my brother. Megan read more

I would like to share a recent experience my family had with this business in the hope that it may help others who find themselves in a similar situation. Our family recently suffered the tragic loss of a young adult family member. As a result, both parents were the legal next of kin and should have been involved in making decisions regarding funeral arrangements and services. We worked with Phaneuf Funeral Home, where Mark Gomes was responsible for coordinating the arrangements. Unfortunately, due to ongoing hostility between the parents, one parent was excluded from the decision-making process. Despite making numerous calls and requests to schedule a meeting and participate in planning the services, this parent received no response. Calls were not returned, and requests to discuss arrangements were ignored. It was extremely disappointing to see a funeral professional choose to engage with only one side of the family while completely shutting out another legal next of kin during such a difficult and emotional time. We felt the situation was handled without the compassion, fairness, and professionalism that families deserve when grieving the loss of a loved one. I am sharing this experience so that others are aware of our concerns. While I sincerely hope no one has to face a similar situation, I would encourage families with multiple legal decision-makers to carefully consider how their chosen funeral home will manage communication and involvement among all parties. read more

Very professional people. Attending to grieving families is not easy. These folks do it with sympathy and compassion.

Depending on how you look at it, it's taken me either 2 or 4 years to write my review. My father passed in February 2020, my mother in May 2022 and Phaneuf handled the arrangements; both were veterans. It was a very difficult time and the staff at Phaneuf were kind, courteous and compassionate. We primarily worked with Aaron and Mark and I can't speak highly enough of them. Again, the compassion they showed to me and my family throughout was more than I imagined. And exceedingly genuine. Their communication was exceptional, guiding us through the process with care. They followed up with me a few weeks later, after both services again expressing their condolences. Thank Phaneuf, for taking such great care of my parents and my family. read more

My husband cremation was illegally paid for. These people never contacted me-his wife. My husband's name was Gerald Howard Jr, His sister paid to cremate him after she pulled his life support. I contacted Phaneuf when I found my husband in the Morgue at Elliot Hospital. They informed me my husband's cremation was paid for. They listed me on his death certificate, and I had to pay $300 to say goodbye to my frozen husband for 20 minutes. THEN, these people forced me to give half of his ashes to his family which was not legally thier choice. MY husband was legally married. I confronted Buddy and he had no sorrow, no remorse, as it was obvious, he got his money and did not care that my husband had a wife or stepchildren. I never in my life dealt with such greed and low standards when it came to a death Let alone my husband. read more

I had a recent funeral for my husband and they did a great job. Everyone was very kind they followed up with me afterward to see how I was doing a few weeks later which was very thoughtful. Throughout the whole process I was consulted on every thing from flowers to photos to the obituary to the set up and the picture slide show and the viewing etc etc. They helped me with everything to make sure that it was exactly how I wanted but also gave me a lot of help because I had never done something like this before. Also it was actually a really good value compared to what other people I know have paid for a funeral. And I was left with a lot of beautiful momentos such as a forever candle with his photo on it and the laminated prayer cards with the prayers I chose. They even let me choose multiple photos and multiple prayers for the cards. We had many, many photo collages and they had endless easels to put them on. Very accommodating and I have to give them a great review because I feel like I was maybe difficult because I wasn't really able to make choices at the time everything was overwhelming and they worked with me really well. read more

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Attempted to obtain info on services of loved one due to COVID and representative was not knowledgeable of any protocol due to virus. Seemed unusual during these times. read more

I'd like everyone to know that when my mom passed she was in a nursing home and they took care of all the details immediately and with the help of Tricia and also Madison they took care of all the arrangements in a very professional manner and made it much easier on my Family. This makes me feel good knowing that in the future when my time comes I know that it ..will be easy on my family as well. Regards Carol Fishel and Kevin read more

to start off with this review you need to know that my parents paid for all their funeral arrangements back in 2008, they was a guarantee no additional cost at the time of their deaths, in their contract! so first problem was, they had paid $50.00 for their obituary in the union leader, it turned out to be $290.00 and said they had no control over what the union leader charges! so the guarantee in the contract did not apply, totally bull crap our dad was cremated, and the church requested that he be in a carrier, we notified Phaneuf's. The day before the funeral I get a call that they had good news and bad news. they (Phaneuf) had no carriers available, so the news was they could rent one for $300.00 that was the bad news, the good news was that they would only charge us $95.00 UNBELEIVABLE!, We also knew the day of his funeral would be in the high 90's and asked if they would erect a pop up tent for shade for our 92 year old mother and would there be chairs available. Their response was a pop up could not be done instead they would make sure there were umbrellas available and chairs. lo and behold, no umbrellas, and a 4 seater chair. We are not looking forward to dealing with them again when our mom passes. They have been gaining interest on the prepaid services since 2008 and had guarantee my parents no hidden cost and it is not the truth! buyer beware! read more

I have had the opportunity to deal with both Buddy Phaneuf and Mark Gomes. My father passed away unexpectedly and they were amazingly compassionate and kind to my mother and to me, making sure to take care of every detail. Years later, after losing my mother, again, they were so kind and caring. I have nothing but praise for the Phaneufs and their wonderful family of employees for the care and professionalism that they extend to all of their clients. read more

After learning of the sudden death of my children's father, everything was in a state of disarray. I mean common who expects a person to just die at the age of 41? Anyhow... my son and I made the trip across country so he could decide just what should be done with his father's remains. Marie was so kind and nice and after explaining the process to everyone who was in there for him during the week, she again explained it to my son. She also made sure my son understood that he got to make any changes and final arrangements that he wanted. It didn't matter what others have told her to do. I was very proud of my son in honoring what he thought his father may have wanted. More importantly, I was so impressed with the kindness and respect they showed my children's father. It was like even though he was longer here in life he was the most important person to them. They were extremely professional throughout the whole process. read more

My mother passed away a week ago and from the first contact with Buddy and his team, I felt completely cared for and knew that I didn't have to worry about the arrangements of my mother's cremation and handling of the death certificate. The team was amazingly responsive, caring and thorough, providing me with much-needed comfort during an otherwise challenging and heart-breaking event. Even though I am 500 miles away, I feel confident that my mother was handled with the best of care. read more

I have had the opportunity to deal with Mandy Desmarais during the most difficult times in my life. Each time she has been nothing but kind, compassionate, patient and understanding. It made the unfortunate events easier to deal with. Even years after, she still listens when I need to talk and provides me with insight that I otherwise wouldn't have regarding the loss of loved ones. I highly recommend Pfaneuf and Mandy Desmarais when the time comes that you need them. Kelly S read more