Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home

“With my mother's passing on the west coast, and needing to transport her remains to Maine, Erik Tiner of Jones, Rich & Barnes was so attentive to every last detail in coordinating with the funeral home in Oregon, the transport to Maine, and the services in Maine. Erik, and each person I was in contact with in the pre-planning phase, and at the time of my mother's passing, was so warm, friendly, professional and provided ease in the most difficult time in life. Jones, Rich & Barnes so deserve a Five Star PLUS rating!”

— Ray MacDonald

“My sweet grandmother passed away last week and her funeral was held at Dignity Memorial in South Portland. I truly wish things had been different, but it was apparent at how little the staff cared about her when the priest came up to us and asked who could speak English. The funeral staff had told him that no one in our family spoke English and that we refused a translator, so it didn’t matter what words he said about my grandma as “no one would understand anything anyway.” He took me and my cousin aside in order to ask what we would like him to say about our grandmother, as he usually always calls the families before the funeral. He apologized for not meeting us beforehand and said that he has never done a funeral where he hadn’t met with the family before. He was then forced to say a few short words about my grandmother, essentially on the spot with the little information we could give him in the minutes before the service. He also said he was told a small amount of people would show up, and was wholly unprepared for the number of guests that did show up (40+ people). When I confronted the female funeral director, asking her who had told the priest that “no one in the family speaks English” I was met with “I didn’t know about any grandkids that could speak English.” No accountability or apologies. The majority of my family understands English but some cannot speak it. She had met with my father who used a translator, and because of that assumed that everyone that was coming to my grandmother’s funeral knew no English. When my father said a translator was unnecessary, the funeral director assumed that meant nothing the priest said would matter, so they didn’t give him our contact or even try to get to know us. Even if no one in my family spoke or understood English, that does not give an excuse to ignore our personal or spiritual needs, especially in such hard times. It was disrespectful and embarrassing to be pulled aside like that at the service and told that I needed to help the priest essentially fix the mistakes of the funeral home. It was dehumanizing to not be treated the same as other patrons because of a false stereotype. I can only hope that the people at Dignity memorial learn from this, and are more sensitive and sympathetic with cultural differences. The assumptions they made upset me and my family greatly, and led to a disorganized, impersonal service. I would be cautious if you’re in a similar situation to my family and are looking for adequate care for your loved one.”

— Vivian Deng

“From the beginning to the end, Jones Rich and Barnes truly lived up to the word dignity. From the planner all the way to the execution of my late husband‘s funeral, their attention to details were immaculate and sensitive to the whole situation. I would highly recommend this company. It was seamless. Excellent service”

— Jewel Church