Frequent Questions

The passing of a loved one is wrought with stress, anxiety, and fear, and in most cases a great deal of that comes from the funeral home. Our goal is to take away as much of the burden that accompanies planning a funeral from your shoulders as possible so that you and your family have the time that is necessary to focus on what is important: mourning a tragic and significant loss. 

Key responsibilities of a funeral director include:

• Arranging for the deceased's removal and transfer from the place of death to the funeral home.
• Providing professional care for the deceased, such as embalming, casketing, and cosmetology.
• Meeting with the family to plan the funeral service.
• Completing necessary paperwork, including certificates and permits.
• Acquiring copies of the death certificate.
• Coordinating with cemeteries, crematories, or other final disposition locations.
• Writing and publishing the obituary.
• Organizing aspects of the service like clergy, music, flowers, transportation, pallbearers, and specialized fraternal or military tributes.
• Overseeing the funeral service and procession.
• Aiding the family with death-related claims and resources, such as Social Security, VA benefits, and grief support.

We accept cash, personal-checks, and teller’s checks. We also accept payment through Debit and Credit card, although a confirmation period is required by our bank before those transactions can be processed to completion. In most situations, we can also take assignments on life insurance policies. 

In almost every circumstance - Yes! While it is true that most pre-arranged funeral plans have struggled to keep up with inflation as time has gone on, we are still more than willing to honor pre-arrangements as close to their original form as possible. The funds from the other pre-arranged funeral service should, in most cases, cover all service fees with our firm.  

In some circumstances, products, goods, or services can change, so there is no way we can guarantee that everything will be the same, but we can guarantee that if something must be substituted, it will be of equal or greater value. 

In short yes, we try to help families in these situations as much as possible. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, we ask that if a child or minor has passed away, please call us directly. 

Yes. As a veteran of the US Army, I thank all Veterans, surviving and passed, P.O.W and M.I.A, for their service to the United States of America and her people. I hold close and maintain the motto of my Mortuary Affairs Corps, Dignity – Reverence – Respect. All Veterans in our care that were discharged under Honorable or Other-Than-Dishonorable conditions are eligible to receive a 10% discount for our services upon presentation of a qualifying DD-214. Servicemembers discharged Dishonorably may be eligible if circumstances of discharge were out of their control or morally objectionable (an example being “Refusal to follow a lawful order” if said lawful order would have brought harm to innocent people or the servicemember). All such cases will be assessed for this price reduction on a case-by-case basis. 

We are always available in your time of need and know that this process is not easy. Colorado law requires that a person who has passed be refrigerated or embalmed within 24 hours of their passing. With this in mind, we offer to bring your loved one into our care with no obligation to further utilize our services should you so choose. 

We have a “do no harm” approach to competition. If you decide another funeral home is a better fit, we will only pass on charges for bringing your loved one into our care to the other funeral home. If they charge less for that specific service, we will only charge that price. This ensures that with us or any other provider, you are being taken care of and treated fairly. 

There are many developments that have led to an increase in funeral prices over the years, most notably the advent of cremation, and later its acceptance as a form of disposition by the public. Cremation, being a much cheaper alternative to traditional burial, naturally led to a larger portion of the population choosing it. The number of clients seen by funeral homes each year remained mostly the same as the years went on, but profits from traditional services dropped through the floor. Ultimately, as cremation got cheaper and cheaper to perform, many funeral homes were struggling to keep the lights on and increased the prices of their services. All the while, larger corporations began buying up smaller family-owned funeral homes and just continued raising the prices because they could. This all culminates in a massive cost-price deficit that an average consumer faces when looking for funeral services. We are a small business, not a Fortune 500 company, and we prioritize the healing of our community over our own profit. 

Here at Rowanoak, funeral work is more than a livelihood, and we strive to ensure that each family is given every opportunity to grieve in the manner that best suits their needs. The funeral goods and services provided by funeral homes and crematories are mostly the same. Merchandise such as caskets, urns and jewelry are often distributed by the same companies. We strive to be convenient, transparent, cost - effective, and approachable for families in their time of greatest need while providing high-quality funeral service that exceeds that of our competitors.