Seattle Area Funeral Home Ownership List
Why is it important to know who owns a funeral home, funeral service company, or cemetery?
When you call the funeral business on the telephone and the machine says that they are a, “Family Owned Funeral Home,” what does that mean?
Businesses of all kinds, including funeral businesses, exist to make a profit and provide employment for people. When a business is a corporation, it is owned by shareholders and the objective is to make a profit and create value for the shareholders. Limited Liability Companies (“LLC”) are generally smaller but also provide employment for their members and employees. An LLC many own a corporation, and vice versa. Both forms of business protect their owners from personal liability. All forms of business are owned by people and many owners are members of some family. So exactly does it mean to say that a business is a family owned business?
Family owned businesses exist to ensure you have a positive experience and treated as if our own family. Family owned business strive to keep their good name and provide the best service possible. Unlike corporate businesses, most family owned businesses don’t include hidden, inflated fees to get as much money out of your grief as possible.
Questions to Ask
We feel that it is valuable to know who the owners are in order to better evaluate their business objectives. Are they serving you or serving themselves at your expense? How many layers of people need to be paid from the fees they charge you? Are you dealing with commissioned sales people or salaried employees? Are you paying for high overhead and large investments in land and buildings, or are you paying for services of people who care about you?
As our population ages, more and more people are being served by hospice organizations at the end of life. Hospice has been extremely successful at providing caring medical services coupled with emotional support for patients and their families. Families unanimously report favorable experiences with hospice and it is reasonable for them to expect a similarly favorable experience with a funeral provider, which is the natural extension of hospice care.
Be Informed
Unfortunately a lot of funeral service revolves around making decisions about purchasing more than just compassionate services. There are choices about goods, including caskets, urns, and cemetery plots. Grieving families are ill prepared to engage in business negotiations at a time they are looking for comfort. Historically, some in the funeral industry have been guilty of taking advantage if this vulnerability by selling grieving people things they obviously cannot afford and would probably reject if they were better informed.
Being informed includes knowing what motivates a company. Employees receive direction from management, and management answers to owners. You can trust family owned businesses who put compassionate service first, above making a profit.
Use the links to the right to access information about the owners of Seattle area funeral establishments. The information is obtained from public sources including the Washington State Secretary of State’s Office and the Washington StateDepartment of Licensing.