Solano County

2003-2005

Mortuary -------> Cost Category	All RFS Contracts 2003-2005	Cooley & Riclo	Nadeau Family Funeral Home	Fairfield Funeral Home	Passalaccqua Funeral Chapel	Colonial Chapels	Strubble Family Funeral Services	Bryan-Baker / Fairfield Mortuary	McCune/Milton Carpenter
DIRECT CREMATION (As Advertised)	$688	$875	$888	$710	DID	DID	$895	$1066	$995
Add Crematory Fee	Included	$250	$250	$250	NOT	NOT	Included	Included	Included
Add Container(s)	Included	Included	$112	$110	SEND	SEND	Included	$70	$395
Add Storage (3-day)	Included	$300	Included	Included	PRICE	PRICE	Included	Included	Included
Required Permits	Included	$34.50	$34.50	$34.50	LIST	LIST	$34.50	$34.50	$34.50
DIRECT CREMATION (Actual Cost)	$688	$1271.50	$1284.50	$1104.50	--	--	$929.5	$1170.50	$1424.50
DIRECT BURIAL (As Advertised)	$825	$1100	$1111	$860	DID	DID	$950	$1362	$1175
Add Lowest Listed Casket	Included	$695	$550	$195	NOT	NOT	$395	$399	$400
Add Storage (3-day)	Included	Included	Included	Included	SEND	SEND	Included	Included	Included
Permits	Included	$26	$26	$26	PRICE	PRICE	$26	$26	$26
DIRECT BURIAL (Actual Cost)	$660	$1821	$1687	$1081	LIST	LIST	$1371	$1601	$1787

*  Owned by Corporate conglomerate.

PRICE FOR DIRECT CREMATION The total cost must include these elements: § Transportation to mortuary and to crematorium § Refrigeration for three days § Getting necessary permits and the costs for one copy of each § Minimum container for body § Container for cremated remains § Cost of charge for the cremation process	PRICE FOR DIRECT BURIAL The total cost must include these elements: § Transportation of body to mortuary and to local cemetery § Refrigeration for three days § Securing necessary permits and the costs for one copy of each § Minimum casket
For information on home- or family-run funerals, see Special Note: Home Funeral Funerals on page 3.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS AND MISCELLANEOUS CHARGES

1. Most mortuaries have an additional charge ranging from $50-$200 for removal of bodies from anywhere other than a hospital or the Coroner’s office. RFS-contracted mortuaries do not charge extra for these services

2. The State charges $13 for one required death certificate, another $13 for the County filing fee and a State Regulatory fee of $8.50 for each cremation. RFS-contracted mortuaries include these charges in their prices. Additional Death Certificates, with their additional expense, may be ordered for the closing of bank accounts and other legal or financial requirements. 

3. Service areas for each mortuary varies from 9 miles (Parent-Sorenson) to 50 miles, and coverage beyond this range will incur additional costs. RFS-contracted mortuaries set their prices to cover the entire county.

4. Other additional services requested, such as cemetery charges for burial or scattering of cremated remains, will, of course, incur additional expense.

NOTES REGARDING REDWOOD FUNERAL SOCIETY BURIAL AND CREMATION SURVEYS

The Redwood Funeral Society (RFS) is not a mortuary.  It is a non-profit consumer organization, dedicated to helping people find simple, dignified and affordable after-death services and goods, as declared in our Mission Statement, which appears at the bottom of this page.  We do not receive funding through or from any of the businesses we recommend.   

The information in this survey was taken from price lists collected by volunteers who telephoned the mortuaries listed in the Yellow Pages of five North Bay counties.   Mortuaries are required by law to have price lists and are required to give them to any consumer who goes to the business.  The consumer does not have to arrange a funeral to receive a price list. Mortuaries are also required by law to give accurate price information over the phone, but prices given by phone often may not match those on the printed price lists. 

All mortuaries listed in the telephone book were requested to send a price list to the individual calling.  Some required a second call before sending.  Some refused to send anything even after a third request.  If a mortuary is not listed here, they have refused repeated requests made by various shoppers, have gone out of business, or are just store fronts for another mortuary with a different name.

If you, our readers and friends, have information related to funeral directors not represented in our surveys, please call the RFS phone number (707) 568-7654 and leave your name and phone number and a short message for Karen Leonard.

Separate Price Surveys have been developed for Sonoma, Mendocino/Lake, Napa, and Solano Counties.  You have received the one for your zip code address.  If you would like to have a list from another surveyed county, or a copy of the RFS Special Edition mailed to our volunteers and financial supporters (which contains more details about the survey process as well as legislative news), send your request, with an enclosed self-addressed stamped envelope, to:

Redwood Funeral Society (RFS)

P.O. Box 7501

Cotati, CA 94931

For more information, call (707) 568-7684 and leave a message, or write to us at the above address.

…and a final Special Note

 You do not have to use a funeral director for any disposition.  You have the right to handle all arrangements yourself.

Home And Family Funerals is a service that provides guidance and assistance to individuals choosing to have a home or family-run funeral without using a funeral director or mortuary.  It is often more economical, but it is the emotional benefits that are the primary reasons people choose to carry out their own arrangements.  For more information call Jerri Lyons at (707) 824-0268 or visit www.finalpassages.org

Redwood Funeral Society survey for Solano County completed in 2003.

Redwood Funeral Society

POB 7501 Cotati, CA, 94931

(707) 568-7684 ▪ info@funeral.org

www.funeral.org