Reviews

My mom passed away suddenly without a pre-arranged final resting place. My dad was cremated in 2001, and all we knew was that mom’s wish was that they be buried together when the time came. Since mom’s brother and parents are buried at Skylawn, we chose to make an appointment to see if there was a plot available close to them. Our coordinator, John Hui, was so gentle and caring during this difficult time. His goal was to learn a little about mom, and what we wanted so he could help us make the right decisions. We are very grateful for his knowledge and care of people during a most stressful time. The initial meeting and planning mom’s arrangements came together nicely. Skylawn is such a beautiful location. It is so peaceful with awesome views. My husband and I were so pleased with the process that we prearranged our final resting place near mom and dad. .I would definitely recommend Skylawn Memorial Park.

Pam W.

We came here for a funeral service for a dear family relative/friend and it is located in a beautiful setting away from the hustle and bustle of the freeway so it takes some time to get to the memorial park but the grounds are beautiful and impeccable. The service was held inside and it was a beautiful room, beautiful service and everything was perfect. After the gravesite service, we returned to the reception room upstairs and it is a cozy place where we gathered for refreshments.

Karen W.

The funeral director and staff at Skylawn were very professional yet comforting, level-headed and considerate of details that we hadn't thought about. They were very accomodating, making the process of laying my mother to rest as easy as possible under the circumstances when so many other institutions make the process of disconnection so difficult. My family and I will always be grateful for their care and support, and for how well the Skylawn staff worked with our mortuary in Sonoma County.

Carla B.

Such a beautiful park! I love it.

Jessica G.

If I could give more than 5 stars, I absolutely would! Skylawn, specifically Nature, Shani, and support staff handled everything w/o a flaw and considering I'm in Sac..it was amazing. The memorial service for my father was beautiful, elegant, memorable. We now have 5 family members buried at Skylawn, and have always been very pleased at the service and kindness they give to everyone. Thank you Skylawn for making a very difficult time for us, so effortlessly and amazing.

Yyvonne L.

We were recommended to Skylawn by a friend. We met with John Hui (Family Service Advisor) and he gave us an extensive tour of the cemetery. The view is amazing and the grounds are well kept. John explained the burial process and options to us. He also took the time to answer our many questions and we greatly appreciated this. Recently, my father passed away and we needed to arrange the burial which John was able to help us coordinate. He also put us in touch with Elliot Franks (Funeral Arranger) for scheduling the Private Viewing and Cremation. John and Elliot were compassionate and personable during this difficult time, kept us informed, and treated our family respectfully. We are very fortunate to have them assist us through this process. Thank you, gentlemen!

Vivian Z.

Honestly, if you live around the Peninsula area, I don't know why you'd choose any other place. Skylawn has two things going for it -- location and people. It's located up in the mountains on Skyline Boulevard, away from it all. It is so peaceful up there, and when I cremated my father, I walked out knowing I couldn't have chosen a better place. Their facilities are very well managed, and a lot of care is given to the ambiance. When you walk into the reception, it feels like you're walking into a spa. Every detail is taken care of. People - everyone is so nice, and try to be very much in-tune with what you're looking for. For my family (and as per our tradition), it was very important to complete the cremation as soon as possible after death, as that's when we receive our closure. In many ways, while my father had passed, we are so attached to his physical form, that knowing it is still around means not being able to start the process to move on. Most other funeral homes wanted to take at least 3 or 4 days for the process. Some really awful ones said it might take between 12 - 21 days. Crazy. I've never thought I'd be the kind of person who cares too much about what happens post-death, but the thought of my father's physical form being a freezer somewhere for a few weeks while everyone else carried on spooked me. When I spoke to Angela, the person who helped us make the initial arrangements, was very understanding of our needs and promised they'd be able to expedite it. And she was true to her word. My father was cremated within 24 hours of his passing. Our funeral director was Nature Best, besides her excellent name, she was very efficient and competent and guided us through the process very well. We had a private family viewing and witness cremation arranged, which generally accommodates only 8 people, but we had a lot of unexpected family who showed up to pay respects to my father, and she was very accommodating to allow all 14 of us to be part of the whole event. She was a constant presence through the process and made sure everything went very smoothly. Now its very easy to miss out the people behind the scenes who make things happen, but I want to give them a nod, and my thanks. First and foremost, Fiona, who prepared my father for the viewing. We wanted him in traditional clothing (Southern Indian), and we sent them a dhoti and a YouTube video on how one wears it. He was just so beautiful. Words can't express. This is quite significant, as my father's lasting image on our minds is no longer him on his deathbed, but him, resting peacefully, looking so beautiful, that we feel he was at his prime. Thank you so much, Fiona. Eva and James, who coordinated the viewing and moving him to the crematory, thank you so much for the great setup, the excellent ambiance and various nuggets of little thoughtfulness. Esther, the person in-charge of the administrative tasks, was hyper-efficient in arranging for doctor's signatures and cremation permit, many thanks for helping us with our expedited process. Finally, the friendly face of Darlia at the front desk, is someone I'd never forget. She remembers my name and pronunciation, and that's quite an achievement, as its an unusual name. With all the above (and upon walking in), you mayexpect prices to be sky high. Skylawn is definitely not inexpensive, but its priced rather competitively compared to most places I shopped around for, so it really was a no-brainer. One final note - it's not easy to run a funeral home. This is one business where in interacting with customer after customer, it is expected that some amount of compassion be shown, as each family has just encountered a terrible tragedy. It is very easy to become numb, if you're doing this every day for many years. This was my experience with a lot of places I visited, where everyone is very busy giving you their empty condolences between every other line of conversation, that gets annoying very quickly. Skylawn felt different, I could feel compassion coming out of them through the process, but words were used for practical matters like making arrangements, not for expressing empty flowery sentences that are meaningless. This is something most people can't be taught, as it involves being human at a very deep level. I think they hire really well, so this is thanks to whomever put the team together. Thank you, Skylawn. You've earned yourself a loyal fan, while I hope I won't have to use you ever again :)

Tejas V.

Skylawn has always been a peaceful place to visit my mom, my grandma, and my brother. I was there on Friday to finish some paperwork for my Aunt and both Patrick Feehan and Leanne were very helpful and made the process very comfortable! It seems that customer service has lacked in the past many years in the business/retail industry but it's very clear to me that Skylawn, Patrick, and Leanne have the customer skills to help you feel comfortable through processes that can be difficult for its clients.

Susanne C.

We'd like to share our experience at Skylawn. This review is for the service of my Father, Narayan Swamy. To begin, our experience with Skylawn has been amazing. The staff, specifically Elliot Franks has been a true blessing. Elliot went above and beyond to meet our family needs, and I couldn't have asked for more. From beginning to end, Elliot went above and beyond to meet our needs. He was patient, calm, compassionate and truly genuine through out the entire process. On the day of the service, Elliot and Eva were there supporting us through everything, even the prayer service. Elliot and Eva felt more like family than staff and that itself highlights the true integrity and amazing people they are. From the Swamy family to Elliot Franks, Eva Bressler, and Skylawn staff, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We are truly grateful!

Sushil S.

My family really appreciated Cecilia Soo and her team's help. She made the process much easier and really helped us to have my father's resting place near my grand parent.

Dave K.

My mother was laid to rest on June 10, 2020 at Skylawn Memorial Park. My experience at Skylawn was everything I had expected. My meeting to make arrangements for my mother, was with Elliot Franks and Kenny Pun. They were very professional and kind, knowing how hard it is to go through this. We went over all the arrangements for my mother's funeral and it went very smoothly. I had to go back up to bring my mom's clothes and Darlia Clerico helped me out with this. She made sure everything I wanted for my mother was correct. She also was very professional, but we had a wonderful conversation. On the day of my mother's funeral, I met with Elliot and he introduced me to Fiona Norte, who was the person who made up my mom, put on her clothes exactly what I had wanted. She was so sweet and upon my thanking her how beautiful she made my mother look, she started to cry a little and that was very touching to me. What a difficult job she has, and not everybody can do what she does. Thank you Fiona.I have to say that I saw such a good rapport with Elliot and Fiona and have to thank Elliot for letting me meet her. The funeral went well, of course with limited amount of people, because of the Corvid virus. Thank you Elliot, Kenny, Darlia and Fiona. God Bless you.

Mary Varner June 15, 2020

My grandmother was recently put to rest here, my mother and i are so pleased to have found this place, the service we got from Bryan was 5 stars, he was very attentive, understand, patient he really went out of his way for us. The cemetery is big, clean and beautiful. I'm thankful that my family chose this place.

Marlene P.

We had the great fortune to work with Elliot during this time of loss. His compassion and empathy for our family helped us navigate the process of creating a fitting memorial. Elliot communicated with us about all matters, seeking input and clarification. He was available even on his days off. Elliot was the best person we could have at this time. He is truly the best!

Dan L.

I used to work up here a lot and have visited this location numerous times. If I had wanted to be buried somewhere beautiful this is the place. Loved ones who visit this space will feel overwhelming tranquility and peace in the light of this natural area. The staff here are all incredibly kind and understanding. Additionally there are dedicated service roads to prevent disruptions. The energy here is really good.

Arjun C.

On behalf of the family, I would like to thank Jessica, Linda Mac Schoeppe and her Skylawn staff for putting together a beautiful memorial service for my father (Stephen Yee). Jessica helped us pick out 2 plots with amazing views to over look the Pacific Ocean. Linda was nothing short of amazing. She took her time, explained all of the different Chinese traditions and never rushed us as we had a lot of questions. On the day of the service, everything went smooth as planned and we celebrated my fathers life. After the service was over, many has told me it was the most beautiful funeral service they had ever been to. Most were amazed with Linda and her soft spoken voice.

Raymond Y.

After fighting colon cancer for almost two years, my wife passed away in the Bay Area. Skylawn Memorial Park was recommended to me by a friend. I went there to look at the site and decided on the spot that this would be the place I would like to have her buried. The whole place is high up at a mountain top, and it's very quite and peaceful. The plot I choose for my wife has a very open view. And more importantly, it faces the Pacific Ocean, which my wife wanted. Ms. Crystal Ho was the one who helped me find the right plot. She was very resourceful and extremely willing to help, and never pushed me. My wife's funeral service was also arranged in the Funeral Home there. Ms. Nature Best helped us plan everything with perfection. She put extra effort and time to incorporate the music that my wife loved into the DVD video played for the service. My wife's pictures in the video matched perfectly with the music. Almost everything else was also well done. Having a loved one pass away is a sad event for any family. Finding a peaceful place for the loved one to rest may alleviate the grief. I would definitely recommend this place for anyone who is looking for a permanent home for his/her deceased love one.

Jinshan Z.

Cecilia at Skylawn San Mateo helped me when my husband died and when my mom died. When I called her she always answered me. A good heart .

Linda B.

This is a beautiful location for one's final resting place. Mother is buried here with a great view of the ocean some distance away. The staff members are friendly, helpful and responsive, which is important during an emotionally stressful time. This location is also close enough for us to visit regularly.

Tily C.

My wife and I met with Patrick Feehan and his supervisor, Melissa, to make plans for our final resting place. Price was important so they worked with us until we found a situation we liked. We discovered they also had a veterans discount which was nice to apply to our contract. Patrick even came to home with the necessary documents for our plan. Skylawn has a great staff and location. Naturally, we are in no hurry to get there but it is nice to have a plan in place.

Wendell S.

When my dad died unexpectedly and with no arrangements in place I was pressed into action. Living in San Mateo and driving past Skylawn on my way to Half Moon Bay they came to mind when thinking of who to call to make arrangements with. At 6am on Monday morning when I needed to call Skylawn, I spoke to Amanda who was so kind and compassionate. She talked me through the process and told me she would have Linda a funeral director call me to make arrangements to transport my father from Sequoia Hospital to Skylawn. She arranged for Wings of Angles for transport. A very compassionate man came out to transport my dad. Once my dad arrived at Skylawn Linda let me know he had arrived and he was in good hands and their embalmer Celeste was taking care of my dad. After asking me a few question about what my dads wishes were and what my moms wishes were for him we made arrangements for Linda to come to my mothers house to discuse my dads funeral the next day. We decided on a witness cremation later on in the week. The entire time Linda was kind, loving, compassionate and respectful. She gave my mom great comfort. On Friday when we arrived for the witness cremation we were met by Linda, her associates Eva and Alex. All three handled us with loving kindness. I so appreciate the experience we had during this very difficult time for my family.

IIdiko G.