Every day, our care team at Sunset View Cemetery & Mortuary helps families with funeral planning, and every day we’re reminded of this: Expressing preferences about your own end-of-life arrangements is one of the most significant gifts you can give to your family. Why do we feel so strongly about preplanning?

Planning ahead puts you in control while easing the burden on your loved ones who won’t have to guess what you would have wanted. Talk about peace of mind for you and your family!

Consider these examples:

When you die, do you want a traditional funeral service or a more unique celebration of life? Where do you want this memorial to take place? At a church or synagogue around El Cerrito, Oakland, Berkeley, and Richmond, or at another location that is meaningful to you?

Do you have any readings, songs, photos, or stories you would like to be shared? What about a visitation beforehand?

One decision many people feel strongly about is the choice between traditional burial and cremation. If you prefer burial, we offer a number of ways for final disposition that will work for any family’s budget and wishes. We can also help you arrange for customized monuments and headstones. If you make Sunset View Cemetery & Mortuary your final resting place, you’ve likely seen for yourself that we offer the most incredible views of San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, downtown San Francisco, the Oakland Port – even Alcatraz.

Think of this: Many families want to visit their loved ones after they die, which can impact the location of burial. At Sunset View, there are the most beautiful, iconic views in the Bay Area – and you can see all of them from our rolling, green hills. Cemetery space is never unlimited anywhere, and it’s certainly not unlimited in our historic, meticulously-maintained cemetery. You can ensure that you and your loved ones can be laid to rest together here by planning ahead.

For those leaning toward cremation, you can make your wishes known about whether you would like your cremated remains scattered in a certain place that is special to you, or in a mausoleum or cremation niche.

By this point, you might be thinking, “I guess I do have a lot of opinions about what I want my arrangements to look like!” You’re not alone, and that’s why we are always available to talk through your options and get your wishes in writing. Since we’ve been helping Bay Area families plan funerals, memorials, and burials since 1908, we have the experience and knowledge to help you through every step of preplanning. We’ve even created a preplanning checklist so you’ll know exactly what you need to get started, and our online planning form makes the process easier than ever.

Our staff is happy to meet with you in person or talk by phone to answer any questions. Whether you want something simple or elaborate, we can meet your needs, wishes, and budget. We’re here to make sure you’re able to tell the story of your life your way.