Thomas Oswald Memorial

My niece came in from Arizona to purchase a headstone for her Mom (my sister) who had died in Arizona and was buried with rest of our family in Orange County. We went to Oswald rather than going through a mortuary thinking it would be less costly. We showed Steve, the salesperson, the personal artwork we wanted on the headstone. He went on to tell us how he didn’t know how to work with special orders of artwork because the owner, Tom Oswald, never showed him how after being there for 15 years. We set up all of the other details (type of granite & wording) and Steve told us Tom would call me the next day «because he went home early because the owner can do that». The next day I get a call from Steve telling me Tom came in for an hour and had gone home (again «because he is the owner and can do that and it’s Friday.»). Steve tried to explain what Tom had told him about the special order if artwork but if I had any questions I would have to wait until the next day to talk to Tom. I explained again that my niece was just here for the weekend to order the headstone. Tom continued on about how Tom doesn’t show him how to do things & blah, blah, blah. I called McKenzie Mortuary at 4:45pm on a Friday afternoon and the OWNER called me back to ask how he could help. We are working with McKenzie because they not only understand what customer service is, but they understand that handling the details after a loved one’s death is not always easy to do Monday through Friday! I feel Oswald Memorial treated. Us like we were picking out patio furniture for pleasure rather than helping us with my sister’s headstone. I would NOT recommend them.

We came here for a casket for my dear dad. We needed one short notice and were half tempted to just take the one the funeral home offered us. We were really glad we didn’t. This place had a great selection of beautiful caskets at very reasonable prices. Thomas was great and so helpful and even stayed open past closing to accommodate our family. I highly recommend.

You may have seen a sign that says «discount caskets» while driving down Beach Blvd and across from Westminster Memorial Park. This is the place. The entrance is through the back which you can get to by going down an alley of, well, character.
I had been to a couple places and none of their urns really blew my dress up. I was greeted by a very nice elderly man who took me around to the fairly decent sized collection of samples. He explained to me how the different urns were made, about TSA travel regulations, sizes, etc. I appreciated the information I was getting. I was looking at the shelves and found THE one. I know it’s strange to get excited about buying an urn, but it was perfect and, evidently, one of a kind from a local craftsman. Perfect. It was also a great price: $ 160. A lot of the other ones that I liked in catalogs were running upward of $ 300. He also didn’t try to upsell me and informed me of different ways I could seal the lid.
This place also has a wide variety of caskets and headstones. I’m sure he has a lot of catalogs to browse through, too.
Fun Funeral Fact #44: It probably never occurred to you that all items are non-​refundable. It’s a state law.
Make sure you and the others REALLY like that urn before you buy it, or else it’s going to be the most expensive flower pot you’ve ever purchased.