Brighton Memorial Chapel Inc. (bought Parsky Funeral Home)

Reviews

• ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
  When a loved family member of ours passed away, it didn't take long to figure out that Brighton Memorial is the default option for doing Jewish funerals in Rochester. Unfortunately, this default option is not a good one. I spoke to the owner of Brighton Memorial, and this is a quick recount of the conversation: - It started with the owner expressing his frustration with the fact that I'm calling different funeral homes, instead of just going with him. - Next, I asked about the price, which was on the high side, since the owner believes he has a monopoly on Jewish funerals. However, this isn't why I'm writing this review. - I then asked if it would be a problem if we went with a Rabbi who my family knows well and respects. The owner told me this wouldn't be a problem, but when he realized that the Rabbi is Orthodox, he said that would cost $450 extra because there's a number of special traditions that have to be followed, mainly Tahara, which is the ritual washing of the body. - The conversation ended with the owner telling me that I had a little over one hour to decide if I wanted to go with him. The phone conversation left a really bad taste in my mouth, especially the pressure tactics that were used without any tact. A funeral home is not the same thing as a used car dealership. I decided to call up some friends who've previously used Brighton Memorial, and get some more information from them. What I found out made me disgusted. Tahara, the ritual washing of the body, is performed by a wonderful group of volunteer women who aren't affiliated with Brighton Memorial. They do it as a Mitzvah. Brighton Memorial then charges $450 for this, since most people don't know about this fact. I spoke to several people and they all had unpleasant experiences with the owner, to put it mildly. We ended up going with someone else, and very happy that we did.
  By Matt Kap, May 14, 2017

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