Pierce Bros Valhalla Crematory

Worst service!
Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else! Don’t get fooled by ALL their fakeness!
It is hard enough as it is to loose a loved one and this place makes it worse!
They don’t care about anything –I mean anything including customer service!
It’s all about them racking in money!
How people can be in this business and not give a damn about the quality of their services is mind blowing!

It is hard to imagine worst service than I received, when I contacted them to bury my mother’s ashes with my dad. They had prepaid for a second burial there with him. When I made my request, the first words out of his mouth were, «you don’t want to do that.» Ultimately I discovered that it cost way more to bury her on Saturday, but this was not the way to begin a conversation. Never did he or anyone else I spoke with express regret for my loss or really any kindness.
My mother had been living in another state and we had a lovely service and cremation there, so all we wanted here was a graveside service and burial. It was as though this was hardly worth their time. Quite a contrast to our experience with the other funeral arrangements. We even had to bring our own folding chairs, as they would not provide them. Nor was any explanation given for why they couldn’t.
My mother-​in-​law was with me and she was horrified with the treatment, especially since we will likely have the same situation with her, since she also now lives in another state, but wishes to have her ashes here with her husband.
I could go on and on with the insensitivity of the staff here. It actually became a joke with the family. When they called later for a review of their services, you can imagine how that call went.
It just couldn’t have been worse, except for the friend, who told me that he went to a funeral there for a dear friend and the pastor discovered after the service, that the person in the closed casket was not the one for whom they had just had the service. Turns out she had been buried already in the wrong grave.
It is now May and I am still trying to get my mother’s name engraved on the stone.
Repeated broken promises to call me back, «after they drive out to see the stone.»

North Hollywood, CA: This was the gorgeous, gold dome-​topped structure seen from the car rental agency at Bob Hope Airport that I wanted to view more closely.
They told me I could drive to the end of Vahalla, the street that borders the south of Fry’s in Burbank. I did, and encountered a locked gate with a sign providing the address to the main gate.
Go through the main gate on Victory Blvd. at Cahuenga. Head for the roundabout with a fountain in the middle. Watch for posted signs pointing the way to the Portal of the Folded Wings, way over at the far rear of the memorial park, framed by two rows of tall trees.
Breathtaking, as you draw near, even before you get out of your vehicle.
Beautiful details. A very special place to honor fallen aviators. Step inside the Portal and read the plaques honoring many with local connections who made aviation history.
A model of a space shuttle is mounted in front, with the names of the crews of the Columbia on one side, and the names of the Challenger crew on the other.
It is so fitting to see aircraft flying overhead, going into Bob Hope International Airport a few blocks away.
The memorial is open daily, same hours as the memorial park. The Burbank Aviation Museum, with rooms at the Portal, is open the first Sunday of the month, from 1:00 — 3:00 PM. There is no fee to view this very special and ourstanding memorial. Donations welcomed.

We had a memorial service there for my sister-​in-​law yesterday, and the ladies I had contact with were awful. My husband made a video, and they wanted to make sure it would work before the service. Fine, I get that. When it came up with the title screen, my husband told them it was working and not to play it since there were people in the chapel already. They snapped at him and said they were the professionals, and we had to trust them. They turned it on, and they let it play for several seconds with my husband and I both telling them to turn it off. Then during the service, when it was time for the video, they just pressed play. The video started playing from the time that they last stopped it when they tested it. We were very upset, and I went back to ask them to start it from the beginning. The woman working the DVD player had the nerve to blame the mistake on my husband. If «that man» hadn’t given us a hard time, it would have worked. Are you kidding me?!? We TOLD them not to play it, but they were the «professionals» and did it anyway. The last thing we needed was to be yelled at by incompetent professionals on a day that was already difficult. They also have a terrible air conditioner, if they have one at all, and the chapel was hotter than it was outside, and we are talking July in Southern California.

This review is for the Mortuary:
My grandmother isn’t buried here but the cemetery we have her at used this Mortuary. My family & I were worried about how my grandmother was going to look at her viewing. (In the past I have seen some pretty scary looking viewings) She definitely looked beautiful and at peace. Not overdone or waxen looking. So thank you to whomever did her makeup! For 92 ½ she looked beautiful

The place is huge! The lawns are not very green or lush, but it doesn’t look like a haunted cemetery straight out of the Munsters or anything.
The place is very calm and serene, it allows for reflection of your life and contemplation on how the fuck you should live it so you don’t end up here before the good lord says «Peace out, let’s go» it’s very peaceful and quiet, hell, even wild ass coyotes have been spotted here (I saw two a couple of years ago)
My girl and I usually go and clean up her friend’s gravesite, clip the grass around the headstone and wash it, place some fresh flowers or a nice plant in the cup. I once had to tell the groundskeeper to look into paying closer attention to the place because the weeds were starting to creep up. It seemed to work because whenever we go now, it looks ten times better than it did.

My sister was buried here 26 years ago. We visit several times each year. When we went in September, my Mother was unable to locate the stone, because it is being so badly maintained. I e-​mailed them nearly 3 weeks ago, and no one has responded. This place is going downhill fast.

Unilocal is a funny place.
It’s a beautiful democracy where anyone and everyone can express their opinion. Everyone is right, and everyone is wrong. People seeking out services can weigh it out themselves.
Reading over the good & the bad on Pierce Brothers, I’m seeing a lot of negative stuff. I bet a lot of it is true! I also feel like some of it, maybe 30%, is coming from former employees of Service Corp, Int. That doesn’t really surprise me. It sounds like a huge, evil corporation. There are LOTS of those around, I’ve worked for some myself. They’re pretty awful.
I bet there are some good reviews here that are also written by employees of Service Corp, Int. I bet their jobs would be a lot easier if there were some good reviews of this place online! Ha! I’ve been there, Suhail Hamamah Family Service Counselor, Advance Planning Specialist.
Sometimes, you just need a Unilocal win.
Here’s the thing– people are weird about death. I’ve been through some loss myself, and I can understand wanting to have a smooth process, both before & after the funeral. It sounds like this place hasn’t always been a tightly-​run ship, and I can’t imagine a big evil corporation having an interest in maintaining the records on people buried by the former owners… as horrible as that is for the families!
So why would I write a four-​star review? Why contribute my voice to the cacophony of dissenting opinions on a memorial park and mortuary where I have no dead family?
Caz it’s damn pretty in there!
It’s waaaaaay bigger than it looks from the street, and it’s really quiet, and serene. There are a ton of huge trees, and a lot of open space, monuments and fountains. I found the place to be beautiful and fascinating. I’m not a visit-​my-​dead-​grandma kind of person– she’s at Eden Memorial with an aunt, a cousin or three, and my dad. I’ll never go there again, it’s a sad place, but it’s nice for me to know that Eden is pretty, and it’s nice that Valhalla is pretty. If you’ve got to leave someone in the ground, it’s nice to know that they’re someplace quiet with a lot of trees, right?
I know a lot of people feel differently about death than I do… I don’t deify my dead. Someone’s death doesn’t drastically change the way I feel about someone– it’s pretty much all based on what the relationship was like when we were all alive. I’d assume that trash cans fill up, that bulbs burn out, and that people are not perfect at their jobs, regardless of how important that job is to me, personally. That’s just life.
And after life, if we’re lucky, we depart the flesh and fold back into a collective unconscious where the petty drama dissolves and we’re allowed to be pure love. Or we go to Heaven. Or Hell. Or we’re reincarnated. Or we rot in an expensive box, under a big, grassy lawn.
I’m rambling. Four stars for pretty grounds!

These 5 stars are all for Suhail Hamamah Family Service Counselor, Advance Planning Specialist. He was so compassionate and caring during this most difficult process. His gentle nature and supportive way were so calming as he explains everything in detail, never rushing but always alert and responsive to our questions and our needs. His empathy is beyond any I have ever seen. Somehow spending time with him turned our moments of sorrow into joy. What a Blessing he is to our family as we are going through this difficult time following the death of our mother, grandmother, great-​grandmother. Looking forward to seeing him at the funeral.

This is a Gorgeous Memorial park.
I came here with my girlfriend a couple of weeks ago to visit the Aviation memorial. The Tribute to the Space Shuttles Challenger and Columbia were beautiful. I also enjoyed who serene and peaceful everything was. The Large fountain was gorgeous, and I also loved the Veterans Fallen Heroes tribute.
From what I saw, it was a very touching place and though it was sad knowing how many loved ones for many people have gone and resided here it just seemed very tranquil. It’s surprising to see previous reviews with one star rating and can only hope that things have improved for those who have lost loved ones here as the memorial park seemed to be the complete opposite when I was here.

I attended a funeral service for a dear friend on 3÷30÷2012.
We were situated in the «Little Country Chapel»
The first thing I noticed was a trash receptacle outside the front door of the chapel that overflowing with cups and garbage.
Once inside the chapel, I noticed that many of the light bulbs in the overhead chandeliers were BURNT OUT.
The 2 women who appeared to be the «Funeral Directors» were like «Keystone Cops» fumbling with candles near the coffin, bringing «Holy Water» to the Priest in a funky plastic bottle…
The Priest was late for some reason, but the 2 women running the show never got up and explained that to anyone, just let us sit there…
They had 2 LCD panels up near the front of the room, they were used to play music… not sure why but during the entire service they had some horrible looking GUI that was «Pulsing» on and off… what a joke and how invading.
Then came the carrying the casket, the people in charge had trouble getting the casket dolly over the threshold… more embarrassing moments…
Then once out to the grave site we had to do a circle with the coffin to position it correctly over the «hole» in the ground.
It was so badly done, if it were a restaurant, I would not have paid!
STAY AWAY — NOT WELL RUN

Is it strange that I’m reviewing a memorial park? Perhaps. But here goes… I’ve visited Valhalla a few times because I enjoy paying respects to departed prominent historical figures, heroes, stars, etc. They were famous or important in life and too often forgotten after death. Two stars resting here are famous comedic actor Oliver Hardy and pro-wrestling’s Gorgeous George. There are others that I’m not very familiar with, but you can learn more in a web search. I also love the Portal of the Folded Wings, an aviation shrine that is absolutely gorgeous in its intricately decorated dome. It commemorates pioneers of flight throughout history, including those killed in the Challenger explosion. There is also a memorial to soldiers from WWII and the Viet Nam War. The space is beautifully green and expansive with trees planted along the roadways. The flat gravestones can make it difficult to find your loved one (or historical figure). But in general it seems they take very good care of the head stones, keeping them clear of grass and dirt. There are also two lovely fountains, one that is huge and boasts memorials to former U.S. Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. We saw a turtle and a few coy fish in the huge pond surrounding the more intricate fountain. So I don’t know about actually laying a loved one to rest here, but it does seem like a well cared for space that is quiet and beautiful.

When we picked up my wife’s ashes, the two urns were just thrown in a bag with no wrapping, so they arrived scratched up for all eternity. The lack of caring on the part of this mortuary and its staff is evident in the other reviews.
Pick someplace else for your loved ones.

I went to visit my grandmother and my aunt, My aunt who died at age 9 of childhood cancer. I could not find my aunts headstone. As I kept walking around the same area where she should be for over an hour, I had to get on my hands and knees tearing thru grass to see if her headstone was hidden underneath, along the way I unearthed quiet a few headstones but not my dear aunts. I called up the cemetary and told them she was not there and then I got a call back confirming that they could not find her also, they said with in the week they will send someone out to see if her headstone is under the grass. I just pray it is not stollen. I was a bit uneasy to see so much empty space where there was once headstones. they let the grass take over that much to the point where you couldnt even tell there was graves. I seen old metal headstones with dirt and tractor marks across and the headstones were bent from the weight of the tractors. What a DISGRACE!!!

It’s beautiful here… came to see the Aviation Museum and fell in love with the Memorial Park… I think this place is overlooked by many. It was nice spending time here with my family while watching others spend time with their beloved pass ones.

I’ve gone into the office several times to get grave locations for people that are out of state that would like pictures of their loved ones graves/​markers.
I don’t tell them this, I just ask for grave locations and have always been told that there was no one available to look them up for me. Nor did they have any type of map available, and the sections of the cemetery aren’t well marked.
If I was a relative that had traveled any distance, I would have raised a fuss, but since I wasn’t I just let it go.
Come on, this place is owned by the largest funeral service company in the country, computerize your records already and provide a kiosk where people can look up grave locations. There are lots of cemeteries that have done this so the technology exists.
Based on this, I would never trust them with a loved one’s final needs.

The only reason this is two stars and not one is because they didn’t lose my mother’s body along the way. The night my mom died I had to wait something like four hours for them to come less than three miles to pick her up from my house. When working with the funeral director they explained very few options, offered me very little services and support – it was all very cold and clinical. My mom was cremated and at no point was I offered a choice of urns. And btw, I didn’t need to know exactly how long the cremation would take. Thanks for that, people. They expected me to pay up front for the services they were providing. Guess what, the life insurance pays for that. I also didn’t need to hear the receptionist arguing with the funeral directors. I also didn’t need to hear that same receptionist talking on the phone about his sexual encounters and how he has yet to come out publically. This wasn’t his cell phone, btw. This was the business phone. If I hadn’t been knowledgable about this process beforehand I wouldn’t have known what the hell was happening or what to do. They also botched the paperwork involved and I had to go back several times to sign corrections, make adjustments and complete forms. Because of that I still haven’t gotten the life insurance payout. It’s April 10, 2011. My mother died on Feb 5. I’m still not done with this mess.
Go to Forest Lawn. It’s a little bit more but you get what you pay for.

My grandmother passed 1÷27÷11 and was buried here on 2÷3÷11. This is a one-​stop shop for all of your funeral needs. Sorry, trying to keep light-​hearted. But they really are. They have a florist on-​site (a little pricey), mortuary, chapel for the wake, and cemetery all in one location. They have packages and take care of printing the little track cards with a prayer. As a family member and someone not involved in the arrangements, everything seemed tasteful and well put-​together. I can’t speak too much for behind the scenes. They weren’t opposed to us bringing our own floral spray, and I also printed up our own cards to hand out which were also fine (better than theirs of course). Employees that I spoke with were helpful, courteous, and respectful. Everything you would hope to get in terms of customer service, given how much death they deal with on a day-​to-​day basis. Not that I expect to go back any time soon, I do think are good at what they do, and I’m assured my Abuelita will RIP.

Screw this place!!!
It may look nice, definitely Beautiful area, but the service is GARBAGE.
We held the services for my Friends Father here a few weeks back, and everything went wrong.
I will not go into details out of respect for the family, but let me just say, this was like a bad movie!!! bad shit that shouldnt have happened, HAPPENED, and promises made by Management, werent kept!!!
Lets just say, theyre lucky the good side of the family was in control that day.

This is a personal one for me but touching. My little sister passed away 2 years ago and as a family decided to get her cremated at Pierce Brothers.
The place is enormous with trees, fresh grass, and an old fashioned chapel that just gives you sweet down to earth emotions.
The staff there was incredible, infact they were so touched and showed pure compassion when it came to the planning and procedures. Any questions or concerns they answered with honest integrity, even helping with outside decisions that any family must face once their loved one has passed away.
The views of the park are beautiful, large grounds for those buried and just a peaceful place to be at while visiting.