Santa Cruz Memorial

My sister and I had to make a very quick decision with our father’s cremation due to his very unexpected passing back in February 2025. I contacted Santa Cruz memorial to assist us with his cremation and they were so supportive and helpful in every step of the process. We were not expecting to see our father and when we arrived after a long travel the wonderful family at the memorial center presented us with our father so we could say could say goodbye to him one last time. I will never forget the kindness and respect that they gave our father and us. He was so at peace with his place of rest and if we went anywhere else we would not have been able to see his face and touch him one last time. I truly appreciate all that Monica and her husband did to bring peace to us in that difficult moment.

The grounds are immaculately kept with scenic views. I came to visit a friend who's interred in Mission Gardens and was stunned by the beauty of this nook. Thank you for caring so much about our dearly departed.

All I have to say is they were absolutely perfect. They were compassionate, understanding, and there when I needed them. I highly recommend them to anyone going through a very difficult time.

Michelle Krassow was absolutely wonderful in helping me provide my Dad with a headstone. He was buried 52 years ago without a headstone and I just found him on Ancestry. Michelle helped me locate my Dad and provided me with all the materials I needed to pick out a marker for him. She was kind , understanding and answered all my questions. I live in another state so Michelle was also kind enough to send me a photo of the finished marker and it was absolutely beautiful. I could not be happier with Michelle Krassow and Santa Cruz Memorial for the top notch service I have received. Would give ten stars if I could!

You're taking care of all of our needs with our parents and our other loved ones very loving concerning considerate I could never thank them enough

They did a great job with my Papa' s funeral.

My husband suddenly passed away and when seeking support for a funeral, cremation, and internment my family had an appt with Randy at Santa Cruz Memorial. From the first moment we spoke through the funeral and cremation Randy and his team were available, caring, considerate, and no question or concern I had went unanswered. Our care coordinator, Debra, is thoughtful and was loving to myself and my children as we prepared to say goodbye to my husband. She and Randy would contact us to see if there was anything we needed and to see how we were doing. I cannot emphasize enough how much stress was alleviated by the team at Santa Cruz Memorial. I am incredibly grateful for their entire staff. My husband will be interred at the main cemetery near a pond with trickling water, I had no idea that an option like this even existed.

Stopped by to meet up with some family and visit my brother in law's site inside of one of the buildings. Very clean and well taken care of. Most of all the yards I saw were mowed and trimmed up. Last word...shhhhhh.

"Thank you so much for your kindness and compassion that you showed myself and my family. You made a difficult time less stressful. I truly appreciate your service." I'd also like to give a big thank you to Megan, I know the spellings wrong, for without you I'd be lost. You have helped me more then words can express. Thank you all.

If I could give 0 stars I would. Totally inconsiderate and rude. You would think during a families hard time people would be compassionate but the lady named Debra at the front office is filled with horrible attitude. Almost impossible to work with. Had to remove my uncle and move him to another memorial because of their inconsiderate behavior. And be careful they will charge you for every little thing , even if they know you can't afford it. The lady's name is Debra , she was extremely rude To my family in a time of grieving. My suggestion is to check out other memorials near by.

This has got to be the most difficult time in my life, as my young Dad isn't physically here any longer. I will recommend Santa Cruz Memorial to everyone. I worked with Debra, Janet and Gina and they are just lovely. Debra took her time explaining all of the options, gave us time to look at urns (many options) and was always kind and communicative when I called with a question. Janet provided us with a great handbook with examples of agencies that we may need to reach out to along with letters we could utilize as needed. I popped in to bring some cards and personal items for my Dad and Gina really reassured me in terms of how they preserve dignity, etc. So happy that I have had Santa Cruz Memorial to help my family and I during this difficult time.

SA Memorial was very kind and caring during a tough time. They are very thorough, knowledgable and a comfort. We recommend them highly.

I would wholeheartedly recommend Santa Cruz Memorial. Their prices are significantly lower than the other business I contacted. More importantly, though, Caryn made us feel cared for and listened to during a very difficult time. She NEVER put any pressure on us to spend more money (in fact, she suggested a very creative and meaningful alternative to a more expensive option). The process was smooth and transparent. In short, Caryn was both incredibly compassionate and very professional. We cannot thank her enough for showing us kindness when we needed it most!

While I am a wannabe connoisseur of many things, being one of memorial parks was never high on my list. And, if you are in the market for a memorial park, you are probably not in the frame of mind to consider reading Yelp reviews. "Hmmm, my __ just passed away. What do I DO? Thank heavens for Yelp!" However, should you be reading this review, file it away for future reference. Everyone at Santa Cruz Memorial Park was beyond fabulous, especially compared to the other funeral home I had to deal with in Visalia (let's just say that having to wait for the funeral director to find missing paperwork, make copies, leave the room for prolonged periods of time, etc., when your father has only been dead for 4 hours is beyond torture). I am very sure had my dad had the good sense to die near Santa Cruz, this wouldn't have happened at Santa Cruz Memorial Park. I visited SCMP twice: once to check out the new Mariposa Garden and get basic pricing information, and again to pay and sign the contracts. I never thought I would be actually excited and happy about buying a place for my dad's ashes, but I couldn't help it. The Mariposa Garden is this very tranquil, very un-cemetery/un-mausoleum like garden, where urns can be placed in garden walls facing a Spanish fountain, or in real boulders that are embedded along a bubbling man made creek. The vaults are covered with simple yet elegant bronze plaques. My dad loved Santa Cruz, and he loved Japanese gardens with their sounds of falling water, so the Mariposa Garden felt right the second I saw it. On top of feeling good about this decision, Randy (who is 3rd generation Santa Cruzan and also 3rd generation of SCMP caretakers) was friendly, *very* organized, to the point so he didn't make the appointment drag on and on, and down to earth. When I mentioned I had two friends buried there, he pulled out their information and showed me where they were in case I wanted to stop by their gravesites. The best thing, however, was this booklet he gave me of all the things that need to be done when someone dies (example: canceling their credit cards). SCMP had a lawyer draft 50+ letters that the bereaved can use as they go through the long process of sorting out their loved ones financial, legal and general paperwork. When your world has been turned upside down, the last thing you are thinking of is "Crap, I have to send my dad's last Social Security payment back to the government." SCMP takes this burden off of you, and that's not even their job. So again, I hope you never HAVE to do this, but if you are ever looking for an amazing place to commit your loved one's remains, and if you would love that place to not only be beautiful but friendly and practical, then I have a memorial park for you!

This cemetery's staff is a family run business (hard to come by these days in the billion $ funeral biz). The team was very professional and kind during a sensitive and horrible time in my and my family's life. Everything was expensive, but the going rate. They handled everything in the beginning from getting the body transported from the hospital, ordering death certificates, to picking a casket, meeting me to deliver the clothes and keepsakes to add to the casket, and planning appropriate floral arrangements. They were excellent the day of the memorial service (we choose to doing a family burial service). Site was set up for rain or shine (it was November) and were on site that morning for any last minute requests. After the burial we've been in contact with the team re: headstone design and items left at site. They have been in contact with us even after we paid the $20k++ bill. Never felt used or cheated. They were kind to us in an unkind world.

Pretty awesome cemetery......which does not look as cool from the highway. Maybe a best kept secret, then.

Words cannot express Santa Cruz Memorial. They were absolutely lovely to work with. Full of compassion and empathy, they provided comfort at an absolutely terrible time. They are located right on Ocean Street Extension, one of my favorite roads in Santa Cruz. The grounds are peaceful and scenic. While it's never a vendor you want to contact, you will be happy you did. They are amazing. Thank you, Santa Cruz Memorial.

Today I attended a funeral. All of the staff was very kind and helpful. The facility was kept up well and beautiful. Thank you.

I'll give them a three just for the professional website and the convenience of ordering flowers directly through them. However, the experience was Twilight Zone time for me. I'm positive the website for ordering flowers stated they were guaranteed to be delivered to the church before the service, which was to be at 2 pm and it was now about 12 pm. I believed that because there are several florists very close to the church and I know that florists exchange service with each other. I tried to access their "live chat" to confirm that, after ordering. The customer service person connected in to the live chat and then the whole thing just froze, without closing and without chatting. Then I tried to call several times. Each time there was a recorded message that my call was number 5 in the queue. One time I waited on the line, it finally got down to my being #1 in the queue, and then on that same call it jumped back to being #5 in the queue. At the end, seemingly hours later but maybe from a different time zone, I got an email that they hadn't been able to deliver the flowers, and offered a refund.

Yes, I know it's a bit macabre to review a cemetery, and those most qualified to do so are obviously unable to. But as a descendant of many residents of this fine establishment, and having visited several times on family research trips, I'm impressed by the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff, and the tasteful and well-tended offices and grounds. All in all, a good place to be buried, if that's your choice. Minus one star for dropping the much more charming "Odd Fellows Cemetery" name.

After the tragic passing of my son several years ago my family and I were very well taken care of by Don Payne and the rest of the staff at this family-owned funeral home and historic cemetery. They were incredibly kind and very compassionate, and it is apparent that they care deeply about the community they serve. I stop by occasionally to bring flowers to my sons grave, and on one occasion I found myself wandering through their Mariposa Garden, which has several niches for those who have chosen cremation for their loved one. My pictures don't begin to do justice to the serenity that can be found here. The day I visited honeysuckle was wafting through the air as graceful monarch butterflies, sweet songbirds and chubby orange dragonflies flitted about. I left feeling more at peace then I had felt in a long time. I would never hesitate to recommend Santa Cruz Memorial to anyone that found themselves in the difficult position of needing the services of a funeral home.

I just had to bury my mother and it was very difficult. The staff here (thank you Gina) were professional, accommodating, and provided many options for us to choose from. On the day of the services they were prompt, well organized, and professional. The facility is clean, well kept, and will be pleasant to revisit. They also know many people in the County that can help you out along the way. Thank you very much.

I couldn't say enough about how fantastic the staff is at Santa Cruz Memorial Park. I had the pleasure of working with Doug and Carla I couldn't have asked for a better experience considering I was dealing with the suicide of my twin brother. I had some of the best conversations with both: Doug and I spent a lot of time talking, not just about the business at hand, but about life and death, about ourselves, enough to take the pressure off and forget about the sad business at hand; Carla and I talked about family and the joys and difficulties they bring, overall it was truly the most incredibly uplifting and even joyful experience knowing how well my brother and I were being taken care of. I even asked Doug to procure a lock of my brother's hair and he didn't even blink at the request, just handed over a nice curly lock with his cremains and that was that. When Doug found out what motel I was staying in he remarked that had he known I was so close he would've "had me over for a home-cooked meal" which just melted my heart, I mean, c'mon, the funeral director cooking me dinner? Fantastic, compassionate, intelligent, funny and able to guide me to all the best decisions for my brother's remains. Like the other reviewers, it feels a little odd crowing about a funeral home but I just can't say enough how amazingly easy they made the process.I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to send anyone to Sta. Cruz Mem. Park for your afterlife needs!