Surprise Funeral Care — Consumer Profile
Surprise Funeral Care is a corporate-owned, full-service funeral home on West Bell Road in Surprise, AZ, operated under the Dignity Memorial brand by Service Corporation International (SCI), the largest publicly traded funeral services company in North America. The facility holds a 4.9/5 rating across 186 Google reviews, reflecting consistently strong family satisfaction. Direct cremation starts at $2,545 and traditional burial packages average $3,973 based on current GPL data, positioning the home at a mid-to-upper price point for the Surprise market.
Locations
Primary (and only) Location:
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Address | 16063 W. Bell Rd, Surprise, AZ 85374 |
| Phone | (623) 546-8002 |
| Hours (Office) | Monday–Sunday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. |
| Immediate Need | Available 24 hours, 7 days a week |
Per the provider's website, the facility offers on-site venues for visitation and funeral or memorial services, catered receptions, and is described as a warm and welcoming space for services of varying sizes. The GPL lists venue options ranging from a standard medium-capacity room up to whole-facility exclusive rental, suggesting meaningful flexibility in service scale. Weekend and holiday surcharges apply for facility and staff use ($495 each).
Services
Surprise Funeral Care offers a broad range of services as documented on its Dignity Memorial listing:
- Cremation — direct cremation, cremation with memorial service, witnessed cremation (fee applies)
- Burial — immediate burial and full traditional burial with visitation and funeral service
- Memorial & Celebration of Life — on-site and off-site ceremony options; Dignity Celebrant service available for non-religious or personalized ceremonies
- Veterans Services — veterans planning resources listed on-site; aerial salute/missing man formation flight available as an add-on ($1,600)
- Pre-planning — online pre-need purchase available; appointment scheduling and free planning guide offered through the website
- Grief Support — curated grief library accessible through the website
- International & Out-of-Area Transfers — forwarding and receiving of remains services listed; coordination fee for international ship-out ($695)
- Memorial Keepsakes — cremation jewelry, memory glass, memorial diamonds, personalized prints, remembrance blankets, and spaceflight options (Earth Rise, Luna, Voyager)
- Catered Receptions — on-site catering available starting at $395
The GPL lists a crematory fee of $325, indicating cremation processing occurs either on-site or at a designated Dignity Memorial crematory. The data does not confirm an owned cemetery affiliated with this specific location.
Pricing
Pricing is drawn from the General Price List effective June 20, 2024. All figures are pre-tax and exclude cash advance items (cemetery fees, permits, obituaries, etc.) unless noted.
Professional & Preparation Fees
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Basic Services of Funeral Director and Staff (required) | $2,380 |
| Embalming | $845 |
| Bathing and handling of unembalmed deceased | $295 |
| Refrigeration | $495 |
| Dressing, casketing, and cosmetizing | $295 |
| Hairdresser | $65 |
| Restoration (per hour) | $95 |
| Special Care for Autopsied Cases | $95 |
Transportation
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Transfer of remains from place of death to funeral home | $695 |
| Funeral vehicle (hearse) | $250 |
| Limousine (up to 5 hrs / 30-mile radius) | $695 |
| Transfer to/from airport | $195 |
Facilities & Staff
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Visitation (up to 4 hours) | $295 |
| Standard Funeral/Memorial — Medium | $695 |
| Graveside Service — Equipment and Staff | $695 |
| Moment of Reflection | $695 |
| Off-Site Funeral Venue and Staff | $995 |
| Premium Funeral/Memorial — Large | $995 |
| Signature Exclusive — Entire Facility | $3,995 |
| Chapel Rental | $3,995 |
| Weekend surcharge | $495 |
| Holiday surcharge | $495 |
Direct Cremation Packages
| Package | Price |
|---|---|
| Direct cremation — container provided by purchaser | $2,545 |
| Direct cremation — cardboard container (heavy) | $2,740 |
| Direct cremation — Trayview (cardboard, cremation-oriented) | $2,940 |
| Direct cremation — Stratus (MDF, cremation-oriented) | $2,995 |
| Direct cremation — Pacific Pine (light pine laminate casket) | $3,740 |
| Direct cremation — casket selected from facility (+ casket cost) | $2,545 + casket |
Average direct cremation: $2,918.
Immediate Burial Packages
| Package | Price |
|---|---|
| Immediate burial — container provided by purchaser | $3,475 |
| Immediate burial — minimum casket from facility | $4,970 |
| Immediate burial — casket selected from facility (+ casket cost) | $3,475 + casket |
Average traditional burial: $3,973.
Forwarding & Receiving
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Forwarding of remains (includes Basic Professional Service Fee) | $2,590 |
| Receiving of remains (includes Basic Professional Service Fee) | $1,700 |
Caskets & Urns
| Category | Price Range |
|---|---|
| Caskets | $1,195–$20,995 |
| Outer burial containers | $1,095–$2,095 |
| Rental casket | $1,000 |
| Urns | $65–$1,295 |
Notable Add-Ons
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Crematory fee | $325 |
| Witnessed cremation | $395 |
| Dignity Celebrant | $695 |
| Scattering at sea with cenotaph | $3,495 |
| Earth Rise spaceflight | $2,995 |
| Luna / Voyager spaceflight | $12,995 each |
| Memorial diamond | $3,499–$16,000 |
| Estate Fraud Protection | $295 |
| Aerial salute — missing man formation | $1,600 |
| Dignity Memorial Packages | $295–$395 |
Note on the non-declinable fee: The Basic Services fee of $2,380 is required and will be added to virtually every arrangement. Families comparing providers should factor this into any package comparison, as it represents the largest single line item before merchandise or other services are added.
Reviews
Surprise Funeral Care holds a 4.9/5 rating from 186 Google reviews, and the Phoenix Funeral Guide similarly reflects this rating. Additional reviews appear on Ever Loved and Yelp, and the Facebook page shows 975 followers with 314 check-ins.
Dominant Positive Themes
1. Compassionate, patient staff during acute grief Multiple reviewers describe staff members going beyond procedural guidance to offer genuine emotional support. Victoria Love wrote: "The respect and kindness was truly appreciated... His compassion, kindness and empathy guided us through this most painful and difficult time." Daniel Lonsberry noted that representative Ned was "friendly, patient, knowledgeable, respectful, and thorough throughout."
2. Ease of coordination for out-of-state families and complex logistics Matt Silvers, coordinating from California after his father's death, noted: "They took the time to really walk me through the process and just made everything including transport back to CA so easy." This theme of clear process guidance appears across multiple reviews.
3. Repeat family use and staff continuity Reviewer dodd anderoth noted using Surprise Funeral Care for both a mother's and stepfather's services, both times working with the same advisor: "We dealt with Ned H both times. He was helpful in every way." A MapQuest reviewer similarly noted their family had used the home multiple times over five years. Staff members mentioned by name in reviews include Ned H., Kirston, Marty, and Becky.
Notable Concerns
No documented complaint patterns appear in the available review data, and no BBB complaints specific to this location were surfaced in the provided data. However, families should be aware of two structural considerations:
- Corporate ownership: As a Dignity Memorial / SCI property, pricing decisions and policies are set at the corporate level. Some consumers prefer independent, locally owned firms for perceived personalization or pricing flexibility.
- Weekend and holiday surcharges: The $495 additional charge for weekend or holiday services is a meaningful add-on cost that may catch families off guard if a death occurs outside of weekday business hours.
Ownership
Surprise Funeral Care is owned and operated by Service Corporation International (SCI), traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SCI and the largest funeral services corporation in North America. The home operates under SCI's Dignity Memorial brand, which encompasses hundreds of funeral homes and cemeteries across the U.S. and Canada.
Per the Dignity Memorial website, Surprise Funeral Care has served the Surprise community since 2011 and describes itself as the first full-service funeral home established in Surprise, AZ. No information about prior independent ownership or a founding family is available in the provided data.
Accreditations
- BBB: No BBB rating specific to this location was confirmed in the available data. The BBB directory for funeral homes in Surprise, AZ notes that SCI's corporate-level BBB profile exists separately from individual locations; families may wish to review the SCI corporate BBB profile directly.
- Dignity Memorial Membership: Inclusion in the Dignity Memorial network provides access to the Dignity Memorial Funeral Planning Guide, the Everlasting Memorial® online archive, and transferability of pre-need contracts across Dignity Memorial locations nationally.
- Professional memberships and Arizona state licensing data were not confirmed in the available materials.
Conclusion
Surprise Funeral Care is a mid-to-upper-range option in the Surprise and northwest Phoenix metro market, backed by an unusually strong and consistent record of family satisfaction over 186 Google reviews. Its principal strengths are staff responsiveness, experience coordinating out-of-state logistics, and the broad service menu that comes with Dignity Memorial's corporate infrastructure — including pre-need portability, memorial keepsakes, and Celebration of Life resources. Families on tighter budgets should note that the required $2,380 non-declinable fee means even the most basic arrangements carry a meaningful base cost, and weekend or holiday surcharges add further to time-sensitive situations. Corporate ownership is worth acknowledging for those who place value on locally independent providers, though the review record suggests the on-the-ground staff have earned genuine community trust.
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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