National Cremation Society

Where do I start? My mother prepaid her funeral arrangements. However, the St. William's Living Center in Parkers Prairie, MN released her body to an unauthorized entity - who, after picking up my mom, called the NCS offering to deliver the body - for a fee. Gailyn Barela, did not identify herself when she called me to say she wouldn't deal with my mother's situation until I paid the bill for delivery, some six-hundred dollars.

Tim, the administrator at St. Williams, denied they made any mistake, but said he would look into it. He called back to apologize for making several mistakes, not the least of which was releasing my mother's body to an unauthorized entity. He assured me St. Williams would pay any and all fees involved in getting my mother to the NCS.

Gailyn called me back, saying she changed her mind about dealing with my mom's situation, that she '...just wants to get this over with.' She said she would pay the (now eight-hundred dollar) fee to get my mom. I told Gailyn that Tim, at St. Williams, admitted they released my mom's body to the Minnesota Cremation Society rather than the National Cremation Society, and would pay the fees the MN Cremation Society was demanding. Gailyn said she also spoke to Tim and he refused to pay any fees at all.

FOR OVER (10) TEN DAYS the electronic paperwork for my mother's death and cremation were consistently incorrect - even after all the times I gave page numbers and lines where the mistakes were and gave the correct information! After two weeks of dealing with Gailyn, I gave up trying to get the paperwork correct and signed the incorrect ones via DocuSign.

Gailyn called me to say she never got copies of the documents SHE put online for me to sign. (I sent her copies of the documents I got with the confirmation notice the papers were successfully signed.)

My mother died March 3rd. Today is the 15th. I have no idea what's happened to her at this point. (But I did get all the emails about buying memorial trinkets!)

Dealing with Gailyn Barela, the funeral director at the National Cremation Society has been a nightmare. She's been cold, insulting, and demanding - and incredibly incompetent!

I also have my OWN "prepaid and planned" arrangements with the NCS - and am looking into getting my money back!

During the horrific tragedy in the loss of our 19 year old, NCS was an incredible help and support. Gailyn specifically made my life's most difficult task extraordinarily seamless. There were a lot factors to consider and the timeliness in which everything happen seemed like magic. This is not something anyone ever wants to do, but if you find yourself here NCS was wonderful at a time when life was anything but. Their office feels like you're going to conduct business and not like a traditional funeral home, which also made things easier. There are no words for the gratitude and appreciation we have for Gailyn and those behind the scenes who made this possible.

Although I am not a regular Yelp reviewer, I wanted to take a moment to add my comments about this company. My family had an excellent experience with Abby Schilling. My uncle chose this company for his prepaid cremation. When I called to let Abby know of his passing, she was instantly helpful, kind, and accommodating. She has a heart to help families during this incredibly difficult time. I am very impressed with her compassion and professionalism. Abby helped us through getting the obituary to two different newspapers, coordinated arrangements with Ft. Snelling, and ordered state official documents. She was with us every step of the way and answered all of our questions, some before we even knew to ask. I never felt pressure of any kind. If you are in need of this type of service, I would highly recommend working with Abby Schilling. She is excellent at her job and makes this awkward and painful time as smooth as possible. I am thankful we were able to work with someone so kind and professional.

We prepaid for our cremations with National Cremation Society as they were so much cheaper than going thru funeral service. Thought I would be left high and dry when partner died, that they would pick up the body and would let me know when I could pick up the ashes. Turns out I was totally wrong. My computer crashed 2 days after partner's death. Bought a new computer and found out I no longer had an email program - Microsoft abandoned what was on my computer. I was having a terrible time submitting emails, and I was trying to submit a photo and obituary to newspapers before the deadline. Abby had been so good about everything else, I contacted her to see if she could submit these for me, and she very cheerfully did. Also, she arranged for the burial at Fort Snelling, delivered death certificates to my house, and delivered partner's ashes and everything I needed to take to Fort Snelling to my house instead of my having to pick up anything. She constantly told me that if I need anything, to let her know. And she was honestly always cheerful. What a wonderful person! Very happy we chose National Cremation Society.