San Diego Memorial Society

Andrea Barnes was beyond helpful with getting our funeral services figured out. This was recommended through a friend and it was absolutely worth it. She was so nice and genuinely caring about it all. The price was more than reasonable compared to another place we were about to use. We were going to go through another funeral service but they were charging an insane amount for just a basic funeral service but the San Diego memorial society was extremely fair on the price and overall service. I highly recommend them to anyone dealing with a loved one passing away.

My mom signed up with SDMS back in 1988 and used them for my dad in 1991. Don't know how much money she saved. We used SDMS for my mom recently and picked one of the mortuaries that SDMS contracts with. We used Affordable Funeral Solutions California. See my review on them soon. It's great that SDMS has a list of mortuaries because when a loved one passes away the last thing you want to do is have to weed through the myriad of funeral homes. And because my mom was a member of SDMS we saved some money with Affordable Funeral Solutions California. Also I believe to join SDMS is just a one time payment. It was for my Mom. I think it's a win-win!!!

I have been with the SDMS for 30 yrs or more now. Fortunately, I have not had to use the services- yet. They are a great source of information on all aspects of the funeral planning business. Basically they have a list of funeral homes that they contract with that offer various services. (The list is in chart form for easy comparison.) You review the list - interview several - and finally pick one that you sign up with. While you can prepay - I did not do that. However, it is reassuring to have this process somewhat done.

My mother joined the San Diego Memorial Society in the 1960's and I joined soon after. Now other family members have joined and we have used the Society's services twice. We've been very satisfied with them. The funeral home we chose made everything very easy at an extremely emotional time. There were no hidden fees or surprises. We paid what the Society had arranged and saved quite a bit of money. My husband & I have paid for our services ahead of time through insurance policies rather than pre-need plans. If our chosen funeral home should go our of business before we die, our services will be covered with any other home contracting with the Society by the policies we purchased. The Society has been around over 60 years, is run by volunteers and donations, and can't be beat! I highly recommend it.

This is so wonderful! We saved $800 by joining. It's a win win! They are so helpful! We signed up on the phone. It's such a great service!

My Mom bought a prepaid cremation plan in 2002 thru the San Diego Memorial Society. Apparently that original funeral home went out of business but the funds were suppose to be transferred to Humphrey's (Funeraria del Angel) I talked to Humphrey's and they said yes but the plan my Mom bought didn't cover everything, like $195 for the crematory fees itself. I told her the San Diego Memorial Society pamphlet my Mom gave me clearly showed that was covered. She said she needed to check with her boss. She called back and said they found out the plan wasn't funded at all. I have no way of proving that my Mom paid for the plan in 2002. I believe the way the representative was talking Humphrey's does show my Mom paid but decided it wasn't enough so asked for more. I'm unhappy with the whole situation although I can't prove anything. The only thing I can say with utmost certainty is NEVER pay for a prepaid cremation or funeral plan. It is most likely that after the years go by your family will not be able to prove you bought a plan, and if so they'll try to upsell your loved ones for services you thought you paid for upfront. San Diego Memorial Society did nothing to help prove my Mom had paid for the plan or anything other than "we tell people never to pay for the plan up front for this very reason". I'm so disapointed.

My family has used SD Memorial Society for our funeral and cremation needs since 1960. At least 5 family members have used them. The rest of my family are members. I'm planning to use them for my needs. If you don't want to pay the large mortuaries and cemeteries a fortune, membership in the Society will allow you to take advantage of discounts at some of the smaller places. The Society is a non-profit consumer watchdog group that contracts with local establishments for discounted services for their members. They are very knowledgeable and will walk you thru all you need to do. No high pressure sales people that prey on you at your most vulnerable. Awesome people. Call them first!