Thompson Funeral Chapel — Consumer Profile
Thompson Funeral Chapel is a corporate-owned, full-service funeral home in Goodyear, AZ, operating under Service Corporation International's Dignity Memorial network, and notable as one of the longest-established funeral providers in the West Valley. The chapel holds a 4.7/5 rating across 280 Google reviews and a 98% recommendation rate on Facebook (69 reviews). Direct cremation starts at $2,585 and traditional burial packages average $3,268 before casket and cemetery costs, placing the chapel in a mid-range tier for the Phoenix West Valley market.
Locations
Primary Location (only location): Thompson Funeral Chapel 926 S. Litchfield Rd., Goodyear, AZ 85338 Phone: (623) 932-1780 Hours: Open 24 hours, 7 days a week
The facility website references on-site venue spaces, catering capabilities, and a chapel available for rental. The location has been at this address on Litchfield Road since 1964.
Services
Thompson Funeral Chapel offers a full range of funeral and cremation services, as listed on their website:
- Cremation — direct cremation, cremation with viewing options, cremation witnessing
- Burial — immediate burial, traditional full-service burial
- Memorial & Celebration of Life — on-site chapel services, graveside services, off-site venue coordination, catered receptions, Dignity Celebrant (a non-clergy officiant service)
- Veterans Services — veterans planning resources listed on the website; the GPL includes an aerial salute/Missing Man Formation Flight ($1,600) and flag case ($295)
- Pre-planning — online appointment scheduling and online purchase available; pre-need plans sold through the Dignity Memorial network
- Grief Support — curated grief library referenced on the website
- Specialty & Memorial Keepsakes — an unusually broad add-on menu including memorial diamonds, spaceflight services (lunar and orbital), scattering at sea, cremation jewelry, memory glass, and personalized prints
- International & Forwarding Services — forwarding and receiving of remains, international ship-out coordination
A separate crematory fee ($450) appears on the GPL, indicating cremation may be performed off-site or through a contracted crematory rather than an on-site facility. Families who wish to confirm whether cremation is performed on premises should ask directly.
Pricing
GPL effective date: June 20, 2024. All prices are before applicable taxes and cash advance items (cemetery fees, death certificates, obituary notices, etc.).
Professional & Basic Fees
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Basic Services of Funeral Director and Staff (required) | $1,465 |
| Embalming | $645 |
| Bathing and handling of unembalmed deceased | $195 |
| Dressing, casketing, and cosmetizing | $390 |
| Restoration | $195 |
| Special care for autopsied cases | $150 |
| Refrigeration | $545 |
Facilities & Staff
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Visitation — up to 4 hours | $495 |
| Visitation — per hour | $125 |
| Standard Funeral/Memorial (Medium) | $595 |
| Off-Site Venue & Staff for Funeral | $595 |
| Graveside Service — equipment and staff | $595 |
| Moment of Reflection | $595 |
| Chapel Rental | $1,095 |
| Private family moment at facility | $295 |
| Weekend surcharge | $200 |
| Holiday surcharge | $400 |
Transportation
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Transfer of remains from place of death | $495 |
| Funeral vehicle (hearse) | $425 |
| Transfer to/from airport | $195 |
| Flower vehicle | $195 |
| Service vehicle | $195 |
Cremation Packages
| Package | Price |
|---|---|
| Direct cremation — container provided by purchaser | $2,585 |
| Direct cremation — cardboard container (heavy) | $2,780 |
| Direct cremation — Matthews Private View | $2,880 |
| Direct cremation — Trayview with cardboard container | $2,980 |
| Direct cremation — with casket from facility (add casket cost) | $2,585 + casket |
| Direct cremation range | $2,585–$17,785 |
| Crematory fee | $450 |
| Cremation witnessing | $400 |
| Cremation witnessing (weekend) | $500 |
Immediate Burial Packages
| Package | Price |
|---|---|
| Immediate burial — container provided by purchaser | $2,505 |
| Immediate burial — with minimum casket | $4,795 |
| Immediate burial — with casket from facility (add casket cost) | $2,505 + casket |
| Immediate burial range | $2,505–$22,490 |
Forwarding & Receiving
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Forwarding remains (includes Basic Services fee) | $2,800 |
| Receiving remains (includes Basic Services fee) | $1,485 |
Merchandise
| Category | Range |
|---|---|
| Caskets | $295–$19,985 |
| Outer burial containers | $995–$13,770 |
| Urns | $110–$6,740 |
Notable Add-Ons
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Memorial diamond | $3,499–$16,000 |
| Luna/Voyager spaceflight | $12,500 each |
| Earth Rise spaceflight | $2,495 |
| Earth Orbit spaceflight | $4,995 |
| Scattering at sea with cenotaph | $3,495 |
| Aerial salute — Missing Man Formation | $1,600 |
| Dignity Celebrant (non-clergy officiant) | $695 |
| Catered reception | $895 |
| Everlasting Memorial (internet archive) | $395 |
| Cremation jewelry bundle | $295 |
| Estate fraud protection | $295 |
Summary benchmarks: The average direct cremation runs approximately $2,762 and the average traditional burial approximately $3,268 — both figures before casket selection, outer burial container, cemetery fees, and death certificates, which will add substantially to the final cost.
Reviews
Thompson Funeral Chapel holds a 4.7/5 rating from 280 Google reviews, a 98% recommendation rate on Facebook (69 reviews), and is listed on Yelp with 28 reviews and 68 photos as of March 2026.
Dominant Positive Themes
1. Staff compassion and attentiveness. Multiple reviewers single out individual staff members by name. Reviewer Karen E. Moreno Cortes described advisor Julie as "truly outstanding," writing that she "guided us with genuine compassion, professionalism, and patience" and helped reduce the stress of planning. Christina Alicia Polite praised Jodeci as "kind, caring" and someone who "made sure we had everything we needed." Dezi Keller also called out Jodeci specifically, saying she and the full staff "went above and beyond to make sure my daddy was RESPECTED on his day."
2. Personal, attentive service. On Yelp, Scott Tucker is mentioned in multiple reviews, with one reviewer writing he was "so kind and attentive that we felt like we were his only client the entire time."
3. Trust and reliability during difficult circumstances. A recurring theme across platforms is families feeling their loved one was treated with dignity and that the process was handled carefully, particularly for families who had done extensive research beforehand.
Notable Negative Reviews
Unsolicited advertising during a memorial service. Reviewer Rhonda Mccrory (3/5) described a meaningful concern: after a carefully planned military and family service at the Veterans Cemetery, a Thompson staff member closed the service with a speech advertising the funeral home — without prior coordination with the family. She wrote, "I wanted people to remember my husband and Christ's love. Instead our last thoughts were about them." She also noted discrepancies between what was promised in the original contract and what was delivered, though specifics were cut off in the review.
Pre-need plan scheduling difficulties. David Hancock (1/5) reported that when he called to use an advance funeral plan he had purchased with Thompson, the chapel could not accommodate an appointment at the time needed — despite family members flying in. He wrote that "prior business and customer loyalty doesn't count for much" and stated he intends to transfer his own pre-need plan to another provider. Families holding pre-need plans with this location may want to discuss appointment flexibility and scheduling commitments in advance.
Ownership
Thompson Funeral Chapel is owned by Service Corporation International (SCI), the largest publicly traded funeral services company in North America (NYSE: SCI), and operates under SCI's Dignity Memorial brand network. The chapel's Dignity Memorial profile confirms this affiliation.
The chapel itself has a long independent history. According to the About page on the provider's website and Ever Loved, it was founded in 1957 by Don Cannon under the name Cannon Funeral Home, originally in downtown Avondale. In 1964, Cannon relocated the business to its current Litchfield Road address in Goodyear. The business changed hands among several families over the following decades. In 2005, Sean and Cynthia Thompson purchased what was then Cannon Funeral Home and renamed it Thompson Funeral Chapel. Sean and Cynthia brought over 25 years of funeral industry experience to the purchase. The chapel subsequently joined the SCI/Dignity Memorial network; the current ownership structure by SCI is reflected across the Dignity Memorial listing and the GPL's pricing items (e.g., "Dignity Memorial Packages," "Dignity Celebrant").
Families should be aware that as an SCI-owned location, pricing, branding, and operational standards are influenced by a large corporate parent, and pre-need contracts are administered through the national Dignity Memorial network.
Accreditations
- BBB: Not BBB Accredited. A BBB profile exists; families can review any complaints on file there.
- Dignity Memorial Network: Member of SCI's Dignity Memorial brand, which carries its own service guarantee program across network locations.
- State Licensing: Arizona requires funeral establishments and directors to be licensed through the Arizona State Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers; no specific licensing issues appear in the available data.
- No additional professional memberships, NFDA affiliation, or awards data were available in the provided sources.
Conclusion
Thompson Funeral Chapel is a mid-range, corporately operated funeral home with deep roots in the Goodyear community, well-regarded by the large majority of families it serves — particularly for the warmth and attentiveness of individual staff members. The chapel's breadth of services, 24/7 availability, and extensive pre-planning options make it a capable choice for families across the West Valley. Two concerns are worth monitoring: the isolated but serious report of unsolicited promotional remarks during a graveside service, and at least one account of scheduling difficulties for a family holding a pre-need plan — both of which families relying on a pre-arranged contract should discuss explicitly before committing. As with any SCI-owned location, families should review the GPL carefully and compare total-cost estimates, as the extensive add-on menu can significantly increase the final bill beyond the base package prices.
This report was generated using publicly available information including licensing records, pricing data, and consumer reviews. It is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation.
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