Preston Funeral Home Inc — Consumer Profile

Preston Funeral Home Inc is an independently owned, family-operated full-service funeral home in South Phoenix, founded in 1982 by Rev. James N. Preston and Irene Preston, making it one of the longer-established independent providers in the Phoenix metro area. The home holds a 3.7/5 rating across 27 Google reviews, reflecting a mixed but not uniformly negative picture. The funeral home offers both burial and cremation services and states on its website that it serves all of Arizona.

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Locations

Preston Funeral Home Inc (Primary/Only Location)

• Address: 3800 S Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85040
• Phone: (602) 304-0083
• Hours: Monday–Wednesday 9:00 AM–5:00 PM (additional weekday hours follow the same pattern; after-hours availability is not specified on the website)

No facility-specific features such as an on-site crematory or owned cemetery are confirmed in available data. The website notes that cremated remains stay in the funeral home's care from the time of pickup until they are returned to the family.

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Services

According to the funeral home's website, Preston offers the following:

• Cremation services, including the option to place cremated remains at a location of the family's choosing
• Full funeral service with casket
• Rental casket (for services preceding cremation or for families seeking a lower-cost option)
• Urns
• Headstones and monuments
• Music, clergy, and cemetery arrangements
• Out-of-state transfer
• Pre-planning, including guaranteed prepaid plans with flexible payment options

The site does not confirm ownership of an on-site crematory. It does state that the funeral home takes custody of remains through the full cremation process, but does not clarify whether cremation occurs on premises or at a contracted facility.

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Pricing

Itemized GPL (General Price List) data from After.com indicates that Preston Funeral Home publishes pricing for direct cremation and burial services as of February 2025, but the specific line-item figures were not fully available in the sourced data. The funeral home's own website does not display pricing directly.

Families are encouraged to request the full General Price List directly by phone at (602) 304-0083. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, funeral homes are required to provide this list upon request, including over the phone for itemized service pricing.

No confirmed GPL dollar figures were available in the data provided for this profile. This section will be updated when pricing data is confirmed.

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Reviews

Preston Funeral Home holds a 3.7/5 rating based on 27 Google reviews. The Phoenix Funeral Guide similarly reflects this rating based on 25 reviews at time of listing. The score sits below the typical 4.0–4.5 range common among well-reviewed independent funeral homes, and the relatively low total review count makes the rating more sensitive to individual experiences.

Positive Themes

1. Staff warmth and professionalism Multiple reviewers describe staff as professional, empathetic, and welcoming. Patricia Tobin noted that staff "help to ease the stress by greeting me professionally and without pressure" and described the office as "warm and welcoming." Devin is specifically named by one reviewer (Msangie641), who praised both him and his daughter for delivering "top notch" service on preparation of her father.

2. Going beyond what's required Melissa Filla recounted that staff assisted her husband's family with insurance paperwork and logistical issues even though the deceased was ultimately directed to a different funeral home per the terms of his will — praising the "customer service, the empathy," and the feeling of genuine care.

Notable Negative Reviews

Rushed and unprofessional service conduct Karen Kolb (1/5) described attending a service where the family was allotted only 30 minutes for a viewing despite requesting an hour, and characterized the handling of guests as abrupt and tone-deaf to the emotional nature of the occasion.

Significant cremation delay Jami Morrow (1/5) reported that cremation of her loved one took over one month to complete, with the funeral home citing the attending physician as the cause of the delay. Morrow states that after she contacted the physician directly, the matter was resolved within ten minutes, raising questions about whether the delay was genuinely outside the funeral home's control or a result of inadequate follow-through on their part. She described the home as "the most unprofessional and dismissive" of three funeral homes she had dealt with in her life.

These two negative reviews, while only two data points, describe meaningfully different types of service failures — operational delays and poor in-service conduct — that families should be aware of when making their decision.

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Ownership

Preston Funeral Home Inc is independently owned and operated. It was founded in 1982 by Rev. James N. Preston and Irene Preston, both of whom are listed as licensed funeral directors. The home has been in operation for over 40 years. A current review references a staff member named Devin alongside "his daughter," suggesting the business may have transitioned into a second generation of family involvement, though this is not formally confirmed in available data. There is no indication of corporate ownership or affiliation with a funeral services conglomerate.

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Accreditations

• BBB: Preston Funeral Home is listed with the Better Business Bureau but is not BBB Accredited. No BBB rating letter grade or complaint count was available in the sourced data; families should check the BBB profile directly for the most current standing.
• Professional memberships, state licensing details, and awards: Not confirmed in available data.

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Conclusion

Preston Funeral Home Inc offers a long track record as a family-founded independent provider in South Phoenix, with genuine strengths in personal service and flexibility noted by satisfied families. However, a below-average aggregate rating and specific complaints about cremation timelines and in-service professionalism are worth taking seriously — particularly for families for whom timeliness and careful service management are priorities. In the Phoenix market, Preston appears positioned as a mid-range independent option, and families considering the home are advised to request the full General Price List upfront, ask directly about cremation turnaround times, and confirm the staffing and oversight arrangements before committing.