Choosing a Funeral Home and Burial Options
There are many things to consider. Traditional embalming and burial? If cremation, are you choosing traditional or water (alkaline hydrolysis). Does being locally owned matter? Would you rather arrange everything online? Are there cultural or religious considerations? Getting clear about your answers to these questions can help narrow down your choices of who shall care for the physical body after death.
Local Funeral Homes
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Oakwood
Oakwood is locally and family-owned, known for personalized care. Space and ‘vibe’ is casual, artful and welcoming. Full funeral services available, including water cremation. Experienced with Hmong funeral traditions.
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Mueller Memorial
Offers distinctive, personal, and affordable services designed to help you honor your loved one in a way that is unique to them and meaningful to you. Locally owned. Offers water cremation.
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Bradshaw - Simple Traditions
Building on Bradshaw’s reputation for quality and generosity. Cost-effective funeral and cremation packages carefully designed for families working within a tight budget. Offers water cremation. Locally owned.
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Minnesota Cremation Services
Notable for being women owned, with all care and cremation being done in one place. Locally and family owned, offering affordable personalized care. Does not offer water cremation.
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Inspired Journeys - Angela Wolseley
The first woman-owned natural death care provider in the Midwest. “We’re a holistic funeral home that helps families reduce their final carbon footprint on the Earth with personalized, compassionate care.”
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Simonet Funeral Home
Experienced funeral directors guide you through the aspects of the funeral service. This has been serving families in Stillwater since the logging days before Minnesota was a state.
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Send-Off
From simple, intimate gatherings in your own backyard to epic grand finales with hundreds of guests, we’re dedicated to helping you plan a more authentic, more meaningful SendOff. Full funeral services, including water cremation. Locally owned.
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Cremation Enterprises
Two brothers created a seamless, simple, affordable cremation service for those wanting to make arrangements online. This is a good one for those who never want to leave their house - they will even mail your loved one’s cremains directly to you.
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Legacy Funeral Homes
Culturally sensitive funeral services, Hmong owned. Four different locations in St Paul and Fridley, able to host big crowds with large catering for multiple days to suit extended family and cultural traditions. Locally owned and operated.
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Crescent Tide Cremation
Offering the most basic cremation services at the lowest cost. Locally owned. “Crescent Tide Cremation Services provides direct cremation services only (i.e. we do not host/participate in funerals/memorial services).”
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Funeraria La Paz
Locally owned since 1927, they have a multi-lingual staff and can arrange to have your loved one relocated overseas.
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Garden of Eden
Traditional Islamic burial. “We have the ability to do transportation, washing/shrouding, prayer at the mosque and burial in under a day, sometimes in a matter of a few hours.”
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A Thousand Hands - Anne Murphy
Your Guide in Bringing Ceremony to Life. Ceremonies . Home Vigils . Education . “I’m here to help you find strength, balance, and beauty through carefully crated ritual, ceremony, and education. Together, we’ll discover the best way to bring beauty, meaning and connection for all life’s cycles in a genuine way, celebrating moments that matter to you most.”
*Note, this list is neither preferential nor exhaustive, we have simply included a few choices here as a short list to be helpful to you. We have no formal relationships with or endorsements of any of these businesses.
Considering going green?
There are choices you can make about your earthly remains in Minnesota that decrease your carbon footprint.
Want to find out more?
Click here for an article on green burial option explanations from the Funeral Consumer Alliance.
Or click here for the Land Conservation Natural Burial to learn more, and specifically what is happening in Minnesota.
FAQs
About how much does it cost?
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Here is a link to an article with 2026 Minneosota pricing, from Funeral.com. The answer for cremation depends in part on traditional vs. water (which is a bit more). The answer for traditional embalming and burial depends on many factors including the skill, experience and care of the provider, not all are alike and it is worth doing your research. The answer also depends on what additional services you might like the funeral home to provide.
What questions should I be prepared to be asked?
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Here is a list of questions put together by Funeral Basics. But honestly, an experienced funeral home will treat you kindly and walk you through each step.
How do I make my wishes known ahead of time?
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A health care directive is a great idea. 5 Wishes, for instance, has places where you can write down your thoughts about your final disposition, what you would like your family to know about what matters most with your body after you are gone. Another idea is to pre-plan with a funeral home, which is likely to save money in the long run because it can lock in current day cost. Or simply talk with your loved ones and let them know.
Where can I find tips on caterers, celebrants, etc?
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Here is a link to the MN Funeral Planning Guide. It is by no means comprehensive, and we would recommend also checking reviews, but this can be a good place to start.
