Anchorage Funeral Home & Crematory

When we were informed of the death of our loved one, we weren’t sure of what to do. We reside in Washington D. C and the deceased resided in Anchorage, Alaska. At the time, I have never been to Alaska. Neither of us had ever planned a funeral and were at a complete loss as what to do, where to begin and who to contact. We were informed that the deceased was in the care of the Anchorage Funeral Home and Crematory. The contact that we were given by a family member who resided in Alaska, was Ryan Mills, one of the Funeral Directors.
We contacted Ryan and within minutes, he emailed us step-​by-​step guidelines of the procedure. He explained the documents that were to be immediately completed and included attachments to other documents that were to be completed within the next couple of days. They included documents such as an obituary guideline form and price lists. He never overwhelmed us, explained everything in detail, yet simply, in a gentle and empathic way. He NEVER tried to sell us anything and but gave helpful and practical suggestions, such as flowers, transportation for the family, even what is customary for the church service. Things that we would never had thought of, till the day of. We ended up picking a package that included a remembrance DVD and and I had not submitted the pictures till 5 hours or so before the viewing. He had very minimal time to touch up, crop and edit the photos that I had sent in 50 separate emails! The obituary was also not completed by us till approximately two minutes before the cut-​off time. Even still, we wanted the obituary picture just perfect and sat next to him to resize and crop and went several minutes after the deadline. The entire time he was so kind and patient and didn’t sweat. He remained calm and understood the emotional aspect of the process for us.
We also initially thought that the deceased wanted a cremation. Two days before the set date, we found out that the deceased wanted a burial. We quickly called Ryan and he was more than accommodating. He processed the necessary paperwork, contacted the cemetary and arranged for us to meet the Cemetery director to chose a burial plot. All the finances were taken care-​of by the funeral home/​Ryan, ahead of time and we had nothing to worry about except finding the perfect plot, which we did. It was beautiful and overlooking the mountains. We then returned the next day and picked the casket. Even then, our decision-​making took a long time and we stayed there for a while. All the while, Ryan and a colleague who sat next to him, Dave, were very helpful with sample/​pictures. We also had different opinions from family members about the choice of clothing and various other planning aspects. Ryan, was EXTREMELY patient and never once, did we sense a negative tone. He dealt with at least three family members, not including us. He treated every perosn he spoke to, with the utomost proffesionalism and respect.
The viewing turned out so beautifully, and the deceased looked elegant and regal in the clothing and the way that the makeup and lighting was done. The remembrance DVD and soft music played in the background and the deceased was treated with the utmost respect and decency. Ryan will always have a special place in the heart of our family for everything he did with the arrangements. Everything was absolutely perfect in every way. We are so thankful for him, his colleagues Dave and Sandy (over the phone) who helped answer questions and helped our family through this sad time.
Words are not enough to express the deep gratitude my family and I have
Ryan and this funeral home. Everything was beyond all expectations and he did a great job transitioning from the church service to the cemetery and dealing with the church pastor and others. There were no hidden charges and everything was quoted ahead of time. The amount owed was the amount discussed precisely and it was an easy transaction.
It takes a special kind of individual to chose this career path and to excel at it. Ryan is that special person. He treated our loved-​one with such respect and dignity, he was compassionate to all grieving family members and to eased the burden of all the decision-making.We are eternally grateful and we would not hesitate to recommend this funeral home, especially Ryan Mills.

I can not say enough to tell you how much I appreciate this place and how much of a burden they took off my hands in my time of need. Compare prices and you will come out on top, massively, whether you need a casket, service, cremation, package, headstone or etc. David was with me from start to finish, guiding and holding my hand during one of the most difficult times of my life. I lost my mom recently yet I feel reassured she got the best that was available out there. I don’t want to knock another business but would like to point out that there is a BIG difference in funeral homes, their services, packages and what you end up paying. My brother went to a popular and centrally located place when he lost his wife but end up paying nearly 10grand for a basic, plain and somewhat disappointing package. He could not afford it, did not research homes and therefore was caught in the loop and got shuffled to one of the most expensive places, where he has to take out a loan, after pawning several valuables and still owes $ 5grand. I felt like he was taken advantage of, due to duress and stress, but please inform and educate yourself. The Anchorage Funeral Home and Crematory does not waste $$ on fancy buildings and locations, their prices are fair and reasonable and I never felt pressured, regret nor resentment. I can not believe the difference what my lil’ brother went thru and what a whole different process I had to deal with. It is so worth checking out, they even offer policies you can buy into, make payments so that your family is not caught off guard by a sudden and misfortunate loss nor expense.