I recently experienced an unexpected tragedy in my family. While traveling for work in Iowa my…read morebrother passed away in a vehicle accident. He was 2 1/2 hrs from home. I chose Iowa Cremation to assist with my needs. The 2 directors I spoke with over the phone were very kind and helpful; and when you are still in shock and maneuvering through all that needs to be done, that kindness certainly goes a very long way. Since I live out of state, everything needed to be handled via phone and email. They sent me the documents that needed to be signed via email. Later, when I received an itemized statement in the mail, it was then I saw a charge for "non-members" of $650. This, I then learned, was for ones that had NOT made 'pre-need' arrangements with them. I did see later, upon my closer examination of the many pages of documents that had been emailed to me to sign; that there was indeed a charge included of $650 for 'non-members'. Unfortunately, I had failed to look at that closely enough upon signing. I never imagined there would be a charge for something like that. I certainly now feel it a bit unfair to charge a 'penalty' (my viewpoint) for not being a member; especially since my brother did not even live in that state, and would not have had a 'pre-need' membership with them. This was, of course, an oversight on my behalf for not examining the documents closely enough at time of signing. I am writing to share my experience with others who may find themselves in a similar situation so that they may not be blind-sided by this 'non-membership' charge.

beautiful cemetery, well cared for. We have several Family members here. Thank you for…read moreunderstanding that emotions run high and making this transition easy for us all.

From the owner: Garden of Memories Cemetery & Chapel Mausoleum Provides Cemeteries and Crematories, Memorial…read moreProducts, Cremation Service, Mausoleums Services to the Waterloo, IA Area.

This was a lovely funeral home, with good guidance for guests, starting with directed parking. The…read moreroom used for a meal afterward was spacious and bright. There is a large women's restroom, which is important when with a large gathering! The only small criticism I have is that no one made an announcement after the service about going to the gravesite, or provided directions to return to the funeral home for a meal. Since the officiant didn't do this, someone from the funeral home should have.

I lost my 35 yr. old daughter to a tragic accidental drowning last July. She had been missing after…read moreleaving our home and was found in a river 3 days "after" she had passed and went to Heaven. Needless to say - her body had to be cremated. There was no choice for an open casket, etc. No good byes - just she walked out and that was the last day I saw her... We did have to meet with a funeral home (of course, as there is no choice in this matter) and the representative there was very nice and personable. That is the reason for the 2nd Star in this rating. However, we chose to NOT elect any of their services offered such as: printed funeral/memorial cards; a memorial visitation in their parlors; a memorial urn that they offered for her ashes; etc... (we provided our own ashes container). We DID however purchase 3 Sterling Silver Jewelry items that were to be filled with small portions of her ashes as a way to keep my daughter close to our hearts. (NOTE: I am sure the markup on these items were at least 75%). Because my daughter needed an autopsy her body had to be transported to our State's Capitol. After the autopsy (due to the time issues) her body needed to be cremated almost immediately, so the cremation was completed in the city of our State's Capitol. (to be transferred back to our hometown after this deed was done).... My fee or charges through the local Funeral Home were $2875.00 for basically these 3 things: 1). the meeting after her death with our family & selecting the jewelry items to contain her ashes (which, as I said previously) probably had a giant mark up in price. 2). they "received" her ashes "back" from the crematorium located in our state's capitol that actually conducted the procedure. Her ashes were placed in a plastic bag and then I was called by this local funeral home to let me know they were now back and I could pick them up. (they were in a plastic BAG)... 3). the funeral home allowed me to make $100 - $300. Per month payments on the bill for the past 7 months. As I understand after calling them today to ask them to settle and take $130. off the balance, the main crematorium would have demanded payment right away...so for the ability to make payments was appreciated and one of the reasons they couldn't "settle" for less than my balance due of $539.00. I was offering to settle it in full for $400., but no, they wouldn't do that. It's not that I don't appreciate them, but moreover, that I object the way we are railroaded into paying exorbitant prices to lay our loved ones to rest (whatever that may look like) - ESPECIALLY when the conducting or "main" funeral home did NOT play a significant role in any part of the body's preparation. I believe there should be more compassion and leniency when it comes to paying for something that was basically not offset by the company's own costs....

There's a first for everything. My review is from the point of view of attending a funeral remotely…read moreand using Conway-Markham Funeral Home's streaming feed. A dear friend of mine had her life cut short. She passed away a week ago from Leukemia, a blood cancer. Her family arranged her funeral with Conway-Markham. Her funeral was yesterday. My friend did was she does best. She was a planner. If you are a planner, I likely love you as a friend, because I work the same way. She planned her entire funeral. It's not that she was a control freak. It was what she did best and she wanted to take care of others. She always thought of others before herself, which happened right up to her death. She was truly one of a kind. She had lived most of her life in Iowa, which is where she was born and raised. However, she had stints living in Minneapolis and Boston. I know that she wanted her friends in these cities to be able to participate and celebrate her life from afar. Then, there's me. I was her only friend across the border in Canada. I am thankful that Conway-Markham invested in the best equipment to stream their funeral services during this pandemic. The Canada-US border has been closed since mid-March of last year. If we weren't in a pandemic, I would have flown down to see and support my friend. Instead, we got through this obstacle by communicating with each other through e-mails and text messages right up until her passing. The service was wonderful. It highlighted how selfless she was and how much joy she brought to everyone in her life. Staff at Conway-Markham skillfully and carefully shifted a few items before closing the top part of my friend's casket when transitioning from the visitation to the actual funeral service. They shifted the video camera to make sure that remote attendees got the best view during the service. The streaming quality was excellent. There was no lag or issues. It was my first time attending a funeral online. I would have been devastated if I couldn't attend my friend's funeral, but it was realized through technology. I was able to grieve properly, while celebrating how wonderful of a person she was. There were songs that were played. The audio was excellent. At one stage, my friend had recorded a voice message to all of us. The person who was trying to play it was experiencing some technical issues. A staff member from Conway-Markham swooped in to fix the issue. It was great. The voice message was poignant and many of us lost it, including me. It was also comforting to hear her voice again. My friend was a foodie. She made sure that everyone left the service with a packed lunch when it was over. It made me smile. It was so her. They were available from a different room at the funeral home where the reception was held later on. The service lasted for an hour. It stopped with the funeral director talking about everyone heading over to my friend's final resting spot. The service was smooth and it had everything that my friend had wanted. Conway-Markham made things as stress-free as possible for my friend's family and guests, so they could all focus on grieving and reflecting about such a special person. I appreciated the staff's professionalism throughout the service. Thanks to Conway-Markham for holding a modern service during a pandemic and allowing me to say goodbye to my friend a country away. (5)

From the owner: Conway-Markham Funeral Home & Cremation Services read more

The hallmark card has not been written to describe how wonderful the people that work at Stuart…read moreBaxter are! They came highly recommended and they certainly did not disappoint! From the time they picked up my husband, and I walked back into the room. There was a flower laying on his hospice bed, , such a comforting touch.. They listen to what I wanted for his funeral and visitation, and it was all good! I've never heard that's not how we do it, or that's not how it's done. They are amazing from beginning to end very professional. they are certainly a blessing at a time when you need it most! Nate and Mason and Jacob are amazing. Thank you again for everything that you did and continue to do. Mrs Kirk C

We have only positive things to say about Stewart Baxter! We needed their services in March of…read more2024 and primarily worked with Mason. He was absolutely wonderful. He was pro-active with helping us and we never felt as if we were asking too much or were a bother. Along with him, every staff member was helpful, compassionate, and very accommodating to our needs. Every ask we had, was responded to quickly and they were so caring. Their after-care team was very helpful and we had no idea they even offered that service. The building is beautiful and we thought seating for 300 would be enough, but we ended up with some standing. Even with that, all attendees were able to see and hear the service with the TVs and they offered live streaming, which was a need for our family. With over 500 people at the visitation, they handled the traffic and made sure people were safe as they were parking. The owners were both there at different times, making sure everything was going well. If there were any issues, they were transparent to us and we didn't have to worry about anything. We are so thankful for the staff at Stewart Baxter and would highly recommend them to handle your family's needs at possibly the most difficult time in your life. The family of Kyla Klima

In a hard time Celebration of Life helped answer every question and made the process as easy as it…read morepossibly could be. The care they gave after our loved one passed was very comforting.

I didn't know what to do or how to do it and Ryan took me from unknowing to confident in the…read moredecisions I had to make. Really recommend.

Beware these people are jerks (to keep my language clean). Bad communication and if they want to…read morecommunicate with you its condecending and anything you ask will be a problem. We sat in the showroom for over 20 minutes and no one even acknowledged us, and we were the only ones there, and this was our 3rd visit. They did not get the shepards hole put into the foundation when the foundation was poured, so they said they would drill it, well that did not happen either. Now they want $30 additional to drill a hole and will not do that until its paid upfront. Designwise with the stone, all the type is overly large on this small stone. And when I wanted the kerning of the Last name letters adjusted, since I am a graphic designer I am sensitive to this, I was treated like I was crazy. Go somewhere else people, hopefully at least you will find better customer service.

Black Hawk Memorial Company has a great online presence. Very helpful.read more

Definitely service oriented organization. They are so sensitive to families' needs. Thank you.read more

I can't even begin to express how wonderful they were. My baby brother died at the age of 18. It…read morewas a tragic and terrible time for my family, but Gay & Ciha helped make this as smooth of a process as possible. Mat took excellent care of my brother and my family. He said he treated and cared for my brother as he would his own child which was such a comfort. During the funeral, Mat ensured everything went according to our plan and preference while also taking care of us. Highly, highly recommended them.