Greer Family Mortuary and Cremation Services

My former husband and father of our twins died late this summer. We are still reeling in grief as even though our family had a new definition, we were in it together until the end. Tonight as I reflect on guiding yet another family on how to select a mortuary I realize I have not given a review here.
The moment after Bill took his last breath and died as I held his hand, I realized I had no idea where to go for final arrangements. Bill’s cancer was a journey that did not allow for those choices to be discussed and finalized. I work in hospice so I took the advice I give to others… narrow it down to 2 – 3 mortuaries one has heard of through friends or reputation and call them; and find the one that feels like they are listening and will attend to the business at hand and allow the family to grieve and celebrate the life of their lost loved one. I called two other mortuaries that I have known and worked with and did not feel a good response. I live in Alameda and remembered getting mailings from Greer Family Mortuary. I took a chance and made a call. I talked with Andrew, whom I now fondly refer to as «my mortician». I asked if I could come meet with him and everything seemed easy, as opposed to the other mortuaries. My teen twins and I entered Greer Family Mortuary which is just a mile from our home. We were welcomed as we were in our grief and pain by Celina and Andrew. I knew we would have a larger service later and wished cremation but were trying to honor many cultural traditions. Within miniutes I knew I had the right place that could honor all our needs through Andrew. We planned a visitation in the lovely chapel and the room next to the chapel allowed for refreshments and a place for people to gather and share stories. I produced a video of Bill’s life and people had options of viewing that in the chapel with his body or in the reception area. Some people are not comfortable viewing a body and Greer Family Mortuary allows for all people to come and give their respects in a way that is comfortable. It was a long day but so easy thanks to every single person working with Greer Family Mortuary. After the visitation we had Bill’s body cremated and then had a larger service a month later when family could travel to be with us and celebrate his life.
We were allowed to use a family piece to hold the ashes. I understand death can feel like captalism at it’s best but I did not feel pressure. I was grateful for the offerings of jewelry to remember Bill and with teen children, we really appreciated the thumbprint jewelry and jewelry that could hold some of Bill’s ashes as remembrances. These are treasured pieces the three of us each have to wear and remember this season of grief and celebration we are in.
Going forward with the death process and estate work, I cannot give enough thanks for the ease of getting yet one more death certificate and just dropping in close by my home to get one from Greer Family Mortuary. They go to the court house and I don’t need to bother.
I could go on and on. I have renewed faith in a local mortuary that cares for us in our time of need. Every person I have encountered at Greer Family Mortuary has been warm and kind and gracious. I am thankful for this mortuary team providing just what we needed at one of the darkest times of our lives. If you are looking for a place to walk with you and guide and support you at this time, I highly recommend Greer Family Mortuary.

When someone passes its a hard thing to deal with, so when picking a mortuary I suggest Greer. My Grandfather recently passed and the staff at Greer handled everthing for us. The care and attention they gave my Grandfather was incredible. I highly recommend that if you choose Greer for your loved one you ask for Christine, she made our tough time a little bit easier. Her warm smile and kind words mixed with her take charge attitude made both of our grieving days go off without a hitch. In our hour of need Greer carried out our wishes with style and class just as my Grandfather wanted.

Had to deal with these guys after the sudden death of my friend. «Do you REALLY want your friends last carrier to be «cardboard, ugggg’!!!» They asked me before cremation, all the while charging $ 125 for said cardboard. Insensitive tacky and overpriced. Also gave me a hassle about not buying an overpriced urn. Thanks for making this difficult process even worse.

Our family chose Greer Family Mortuary to handle my Father-​in-​laws funeral arrangements. They were extremely helpful from beginning to end. Christine was our funeral director and she was very thoughtful, and patient during such a difficult time. We made a special request for the program and she was willing to help with any changes. We appreciated that they were not pushy and willing to work around our budget. The facilities were lovely and large enough to handle the large group of family and friends that attended the wake. I was told it could hold up to 150 people, which was pretty accurate. The adjoining room was perfect for any overflow and for offering refreshments and cookies. In addition, there was ample parking for everyone and the mortuary was easily accessible. They handled every detail.
I would highly recommend the Greer Family Mortuary.

My Father recently had his service through Greer Family Mortuary. They were incredibly helpful, kind and compassionate. Everything in my Dad’s service was perfect, and so much stress was lifted because of their attention to detail. As with all funeral homes, they are a business and there is an overhead to all products you choose. You could certainly save money by providing your own flowers, have your own poster-​size image made of your loved one, provide your own Deacon or pastor. But the anguish and frustration they saved our family was priceless at a time of extreme stress. I would highly recommend, though, that you purchase your own casket and have it delivered to the funeral home. The markup for a casket chosen from the «showroom floor» of any funeral home is astronomical. We originally chose a $ 3500 casket (which was at the lower end) but after a couple of hours research on the internet realized we could get a comparable casket for $ 950 delivered in 3 days to the funeral home from Costco, and it was absolutely beautiful. There are many internet sites that sell caskets and they are all delivered within 3 days, so save yourself several thousand dollars in this time of stress. That said, our Dad’s service was beautiful, timely, and with a lot of attention to detail provided by Greer. We were very, very happy with our choice.

You can’t say anything negative about a mortuary, unless they messup a funeral service. I attended a service for a relative here, and they tried to allow for Buddhist traditions. Everything went well, but they had to open up doors to the parking lot to vent the smoky incense. People were coughing from the dense smoke.
Good job

I have no knowledge about Greer Family Mortuary other than I have been told by a member of the Greer family that they are still in the mortuary business but no one in the Greer family is associated in anyway with the Greer Family Mortuary.
If that makes a difference with you.

This Evening we visited Greer’s Family Mortuary to pay respects to a very great man. Ramon was likd a 2^nd father to me that I have know for over 30 years. He was a hard working man that came from Mexico in the 50’s and retired from working at Safeway’s for 30 years. He leaves behind a wonderful wife, 3 sons and a lovely daughter. Ramon was somebody who sacrificed everything for his family and sons and daughters. School was 1^st on their list for the kids education.
Ramon Jr. Attended Harvard Medical School and is currently a M. D in San Francisco.
Enrique Terrazas is very special as weil, he attended Cal Berkely and is the director of the Laboratory Medicine Residency Program and chief of Laboratory Information Systems at UCSF Medical Center. Terrazas earned his medical degree from UCSF, where he also completed a residency in pathology and laboratory medicine, graduate degree in medical information sciences and fellowship in informatics. He’s an associate professor of laboratory medicine at UCSF. (WOW!!!)
His daughter Mari graduated from U. C Davis and currently works @ Stanford. I mentioned all of this because he really wanted his kids to excell.
I saw alot of friends that I haven’t seen in ages, some that were employed by my parents at their business’s and mostly persons I grew up with. Unfortunately it took Ramon’s death for us to see each other.
I haven’t seen my dad cry in over 25 years and today he put his pride aside and let it out. We all did and now we are all at peace with Ramons exit of this life into the next. I didn’t not assist in any of the arragnments with the mortuary but all I can say is that the staff seems very profesional and very polite. He’s waiting for us and someday we will see each other again. Goodbye Ramon Sandoval Terrazas.

My beloved mother passed away after an eight year battle with Alzheimer’s recently. My family chose Greer Family Mortuary in Alameda for her funeral arrangements. They were absolutely incredible. Joan, the woman we worked with, is warm, caring and professional.
Alzheimer’s wreaks havoc not only on the mind, but, in the final horrible stages, on the body as well. Because of this, my family wasn’t sure we’d be able to have an open casket service. But, the staff at Greer made that possible. Mom looked peaceful and the physical beauty of who she had been was there once again.
The woman Greer works with for the funeral program did an incredible, incredible job. She has a real gift for this work and I couldn’t be more pleased with how my mom’s funeral program turned out. It is simply beautiful.
The chapel at Greer is lovely (there is a picture of it on their website). Even the motorcycle escorts to the cemetery, provided by Greer, are expert at what they do. My daughter and I enjoyed watching them literally kick a couple of drivers out of the middle of the procession.
My mom was the most beautiful, loving person I have ever known. I grieve for her, but, I’m relieved and thankful that she is no longer suffering from the monster called Alzheimer’s. And, I’m so thankful that my family found Greer Family Mortuary.