Friends Alternative Funerals and End-of-Life Celebrations

With the unexpected death of my son’s father, I had to arrange a memorial service and I was so stressed out trying to find a place that would fit my budget and at the same time take care of all my needs and that’s what I found in Friends. Once I met with Ziri she found out what my needs were and she put together a beautiful memorial service for me which helped take the stress off of me. Ziri is very comforting and compassionate and I would definitely recommend Friends to anyone who has lost a loved one.

FREINDS partner duo Ziri and Brenden helped me plan the most important and memorable day of my life to date. They are completely professional and understood the delicacy of the intimate affair I was striving to achieve. At the same time, I really wanted the day to be more of a bright and cheery CELEBRATION, and FREINDS helped me in creating something so treasurable, that the memory still warms my soul every time I reminisce about it. They made themselves available for me and my family, came to our homes, covered ALL the options and details, had the resources to make it happen and worked it all within my budget beautifully! I can now say that with the help of FREINDS, I have finally found a peaceful closure to a chapter of my life that will always be remembered, and suffered over no more.
They helped me to find an Interfaith Chaplain that was PERFECT for our spiritual-​but not so religious family. She called me and my mother and spoke with us for hours and hours gathering info on our background and life in general. (If you are religious, no matter the faith, they could find that for you too!)
We did a very custom, Western-​Buddhist Obon themed memorial and party. FRIENDS helped me from start to finish and got me a GORGEOUS, over 200 year old shrine to place in my living room to showcase my father’s ashes and decorated it with exotic accents, plants and flowers, pictures, incense, and other trinkets that were appreciated by my father.
In the back yard, they stringed colorful lights, hung large paper lanterns in an assortment of colors, assembled tiki torches and a fire pit in a ceremonial fashion and lined chairs for the speeches. Everyone in attendance wore their brightest attire and came with high spirits.
After the memorial, traditional Obon food ceremony, and some light dancing, heavy laughing and all around good spirits, we migrated the gathering to a nearby beach. When everyone arrived at the beach, a fire pit with a ring of torches encompassing the outer diameter was shining ominously in the dark. We all gathered around and held hands and were lead in an «Ohm» chant by Ziri. The sound of all our voices united was hair raising and lifted our spirits for the next bit.
Previously, back at the house, everyone was given a small piece of rice paper, to which we wrote special messages on that we wished to rise up into heaven with my father. By the time that we made it to the beach, the notes were fashioned into large floating paper lanterns in an assortment of colors that we lit with the encompassing torches and let fill up with hot air. As the lanterns started to take flight one by one, we shouted and hooted, hollered and cheered as every light rose up together in a cluster like a moving constellation, up and up until they were nothing more than stars in the night time sky.
It was magical. And as cold as it was on the beach that night, we all left feeling incredibly warm inside. And it wouldn’t have happened without the help of Brenden and ZIri from FRIENDS. Thank you so very much from the bottom of my heart!

FRIENDS definitely lives up to its name. My family has only ever dealt with Forest Lawn for all our funeral and burial needs. However, with the somewhat unexpected passing of a relative, we were not prepared to deal with the cost of a full-​blown F&B as we have always done. We decided that cremation was our only affordable option. After reading all the positive reviews of FRIENDS, I decided to give them a try. I assumed that any place that provided low-​cost cremations would handle it with a minimal amount of care and personal attention. Not so with FRIENDS. Co-​owner Ziri handled all the arrangements. At every step, from the moment she walked through our door to go over the paperwork (yes, they do housecalls!) up to when she returned with the ashes, I always felt that I was dealing with a friend and not just someone who was performing their duties according to some training manual. The level of compassion and empathy I received was totally unexpected and so very welcomed — it made a difficult time much more bearable. Ziri’s professionalism combined with her passionate spiritual beliefs make her a uniquely qualified person to handle end-​of-​life celebrations. If you normally have a very difficult time dealing with the death of a loved one, Ziri’s assistance will likely give you a sense of solace that will carry on through your grieving process. And it has to be said: Ziri is one exceptional human being. Talking to her and learning about her past and her beliefs, I came to realize the kind of innately good and multi-​talented person that she is. I feel blessed to have stumbled upon her service. It goes without saying that I will turn to FRIENDS again when the need arises. Most highly recommended.

I know if you’re looking into services right now, you’re in tremendous pain. So I would first like to say, I am so sorry for your loss.
Although I, myself am suffering as well, I truly feel the need to post this review.
On the 28^th day in February, my family experienced the biggest loss I could ever imagine… The loss of a 6 month old baby boy, Jorden.
Jorden was a blessing to our lives and in his sudden death, a person can only imagineour grief. There were also many important details we had to deal with too, because although he was like my son for the last 4 months of his life… His biologicalmother was in jail. So with all the pain, confusion and complicated legalities I never thought I was going to make it through.
Just when I thought there was no hope, and nobody out there, I found FRIENDS.
The name alone is just so true. I couldn’t leave my home, or speak to anyone. The trauma was unbearable. But after an email I sent to Friends got the ball rolling. They were so caring and truthful. They understood my circumstances and communicated only through email, as I couldn’t speak of the arrangements without crying. I’m a very private person and they respected that factor. They also came to me, in my home with all the documents prepared and only requiring signatures. They got all the papers from the mom in jail, everything. I couldn’t and still haven’t left my home. They provided all my baby Jordens services here.
We are spiritual people, not really the religious type. Although they offered us ANY type of Priest, Minister, Rabi, anything. I chose to just have Ziri speak a few words.
It was the most comforting experience. I felt as if I was only amongst family and Friends. There was no awkwardness, which was great considering everything is akward enough at this time.
But I just have to say they were and are the best choice for anybody. You feel like you are in great hands, caring hands and for the most reasonable price ever.
They didn’t take our grief for granted. They helped us with our small budget as if we were the Rockefellers. And I am forever grateful. You will be too.

Ziri helped me through a very tough time in my life. With her help I not only found a way of dealing with a painful situation but also could learn a total new approach how to deal with death. My new understanding did not only help me to cope with a painful loss but also encourages me in a positive new approach in my everyday life today.