Higgins Chapel

Three people found my initial post regarding Higgins Mortuary «funny.»
For the life of me, I don’t really understand what’s so funny about saving $ 974 by doing business elsewhere, but…

My mother in law passed away last year. Higgins was one of the Mortuaries recommended to us by the Antioch Police Department. They were very graceful and forthright in our dealings with them. They were respectful at all times and helped prepare the remains for transport abroad and a small service in their chapel. They completed all of the arrangements and proactively kept us abreast of each step during that difficult time.

In my job I deal with folks who have loved ones who have passed on. Based on that knowledge when my mother passed on I knew exactly who I was going to use. Higgins Chapel.
They made everything easy. From getting the obituary in the paper on time to having the viewing ready to transporting all of the items such as flowers from the grave site to the memorial service. Every aspect they took responsibility for was done professionally and courteously. Our family felt taken care of and we were able to spend the day doing the other family things without worry that Higgins would be taking care of things.
I have had other family members and clients use Higgins and have heard nothing but praise.
When the time comes, go down and meet with their staff face to face and you will receive the best service you and your family deserve.

Beautiful facility, totally state-​of-​the-​art! The employees are extremely friendly and personable.

When my mother suddenly past away in October, my family and I dreaded thinking about planning for her funeral. it was one of the most stressful things I had to handle and deal with.
My family and I were still dealing with the shock of what just happened; We were sad, angry, and exhausted and had no desire to sit and talk to the staff at the mortuary.
I still recall driving up to Higgins with an attitude, eyes rolling, and thinking, ‘here we go!’ sigh.
However, when we walked in, we’re greeted by the friendly staff and then escorted to one of the meeting rooms; we then met Nicholas.
Nicholas comes in, introduces himself, and offered his heartfelt condolences. As he takes his time to talk to us, we come to realize that, Nicholas is a very friendly, humble, caring, and a down-​to-​earth guy. We sat and talked about what happened to our mother and he sat and listened with compassion.
He wasn’t all about business and numbers, he honestly cared and understood what we were going through.
At that point, we started to feel a bit more at easy and knew that we had found the right place for our mothers’ service. We were convinced that this was the right place for us to honor our mother with pride.
The day of the service was just beautiful.
Again, the staff were friendly and accommodating to all of our requests that day.
Everything went smoothly, all the way up to the burial at Oak-​view Memorial.
Often times, we come to a mortuary with a certain mind set, mixed emotions, due to the loss of a loved one. However, when you’re in contact with the right people, such as the staff at Higgins, it can make this dreadful process so much easier.
Thanks to the staff at Higgins… you guys rock!
Sincerely,
The Family of Esther Luna.

Higgins Chapel is kind, courteous, knowledgeable, and understanding. After the death of my father-​in-​law, I was comforted with the personalized service that Higgins provided our family. They regarded every question as important, listening carefully to our specific concerns and providing helpful and tailored advice. In a time of struggle and confusion, Higgins was the rock my family relied on. I can’t thank you enough for your wonderful care and expertise.

I spoke to Nicholas after the sudden death of my brother. He offered me condolence and assistance without a second thought. He was helpful and direct. I truly appreciated his time and concern.

My good friends father recently passed and the service was held at Higgins Chapel. The staff was excellent, very caring, and accommodating. The remodel looks great as its been a while since I’ve been there. The state of the art video and electronics are pretty cool making it possible for people who can’t make the service able to virtually attend, pretty amazing. I hope I don’t need your services anytime soon but if I do I will surely call Higgins. Thanks again for taking care of my good friends father.

I was very impressed with the service for a good friend who passed unexpectedly. The chapel had been updated recently, the video was in several locations (the funeral was crowded so this was very nice). The staff, especially the Funeral Director was very helpful and considerate of the family and friends having a difficult time. I would definitely recommend Higgins Chapel.

At the time of our family’s mother’s passing, we used Higgins Chapel and during all of the stress and sense of loss, we were treat by Nicholas and all of his staff with the utmost care and professionalism that we’ve known to expect from them with their fine reputation in our community. From the time that we first sat down with them to the grave side service, we could not expect more from a funeral company.

Disgusted! I lost my mother suddenly last month and was directed to Higgins by the Antioch police department. (since it’s the closest) I didn’t expect much and I got less then I expected. True disrespect. I asked over the phone for a quick viewing for 3 – 4 people when we made our initial appointment. They said no problem then I showed up and the woman doing out intake paper work said she wasn’t told I wished to see my mother that day and we would have to come back another day. I mentioned I could wait and she had the nerve to tell me, she couldn’t «lift my mom by herself» the image was awful and so was her lack of eloquence. Get some class. I could only imagine what she’s said to other grieving family’s. They were also very clueless to any details other then their pay. Confused faces every question I had. Haven’t they done this before?! They haven’t heard the last of me.

Our family highly recommends Higgins Chapel and Mortuary! Their expert and extraordinary staff helped us create a truly unforgettable, beautiful funeral service for my beloved mother that was a unique reflection of her life.
Higgins offers a «one stop shop» in providing meaningful memorial and funeral services that offer the grieving family a variety of options of public and private services from choosing the chapel, reception area, cemetery, funeral coach, flowers, catering, burial options, music selections, DVD presentations, videos, in-​house printing of programs, prayer cards, etc. They offer families a memorable option for a service and reception in the same building, especially if they are not affiliated with a specific church or religious denomination.
There is solemn dignity and honor that should be the standard of every funeral home, but I did not find that when I was «interviewing» Higgins’ competitors in the local area. As a former recruiter, the interviewing and selection process was a key part of my job. Higgins went over and above our high expectations during a very difficult time when our mother passed away. They made the timely arrangements with the hospital to pick up my mother’s body, handled the death certificates, and the tedious insurance policy processing.
My siblings and I are incredibly impressed with the exceptional service of our assigned funeral director, Nicholas Welzenbach. He is a consummate professional who is knowledgeable in funeral and burial customs of all faiths and cultures. In addition to incorporating any religious or cultural traditions that were important to our family, he worked with us to plan services filled with personalized details just for our loved one. As a technology– savvy director, he fully understands and excels in the funeral industry and made strides in many different, innovative forms of technology and convenience. Nicholas set up an iPhone «facetime» funeral planning session for my brother who could not be present in the meeting room with us and spent countless hours customizing the service for our unique needs and budget. Nicholas also suggested that condolences, flowers, donations be posted on the Higgins website with the obituary so all family and friends can see them at anytime. We have received many positive comments from families and the community about this efficient service. He was extremely professional, courteous, resourceful, and compassionate in our many personal and last minute requests from setting up a dignified viewing to finding an extra microphone to ensuring the little children were not a disturbance.
The whole staff at Higgins including the administrative assistants, ambassadors and funeral directors are an outstanding, attentive, friendly, cohesive and knowledgeable team. They anticipated our largest to even our smallest of needs such as ample tissues and water to directing guests to the appropriate rooms. My brother, Noël, also conveyed the following sentiments, «in the service where it mattered most to me, Nicholas and his staff took the extra time, care, and benevolence to present a special private viewing for my mother. This attention should be a standard in the industry but not always conveyed in every funeral home.» It takes a village to honor an amazing life and bury your loved one and we are all forever thankful that we found and worked with Higgins Chapel!
Eileen R.
Former Director, Oracle Corporation, Interaction Center: North America

I am impressed by what they have done. I attended a small service with a balloon release that was beautiful. The funeral director was very nice and was compassionate to everyone he met. They have recently remodeled and is very warm and inviting not to mention the video screens playing the video was awesome.

I am NOT impressed with Higgins Funeral Home. Although, the facility seems old and out of date my main complaint is the total lack of direction they provided. From the first time the family meet to make arrangements with the home it was evident they were clueless. My aunt made the choice of funeral home. On the day of my grandmothers funeral there was no one in the lobby to tell ppl where to go and welcome them. After the ceremony the minister walked over to my grandmothers casket and just stood there. There wasn’t a director anywhere. After a few awkward moments someone came in and starting directing the people. Incompetence, sums up this group. The only thing I thought they did well in is my grandmothers natural appearance. I would never use this home again. Go somewhere else and get the help and direction you and your family deserves at such a painful time.

Last weekend, a well regarded worker at our Plant was killed in a motorcycle accident. His father also works here, and this young man left behind a wife and 4 young children. For our relatively small work group, this sudden tragedy was a cold slap of reality, and a grim reminder of our temporary existence here on earth. I had known this personable and hardworking man only occasionally, but felt the loss deeply nonetheless.
My family does not believe or like the open viewing funeral home experience. In fact, my parent’s Living Will has them going off to science, while a recent Unilocal post regarding the Neptune Society presents another good option. But perhaps one of the most powerful funeral-​related gestures that I have ever done is the first shovel full of dirt at the grave.
The memorial service was at the Higgins Chapel (and Funeral Home) and was standing room only. The room was comfortable, the background music was appropriate, Higgins Staff were empathetic and professional, and the Rosary was moving, even for this currently lapsed Jew. It was a loving and memorable goodbye for a good man who left us before his time.