E. F. Boyd and Son Funeral Home

E. F. Boyd and Son Funeral Home and Crematory opened its doors in 1905 and describes itself as the oldest African American funeral home in the Greater Cleveland area and the oldest African American business in Cuyahoga County. The site describes the business as family owned and operated since 1905 and as Cleveland's longest-standing African American family-owned funeral home, and the homepage carries the line "Four Generations Strong."

The published mission statement is "To Serve Others As We Would Serve Ourselves." The vision statement reads: "We will better serve the bereavement needs of our community through the highest standards of professionalism, honesty and integrity." The About Us section says the funeral home aims to make every service unique and memorable, and that it serves families throughout the Greater Cleveland Area regardless of religion, culture or budget.

E. F. Boyd and Son Funeral Home and Crematory lists its funeral services on its Our Services page. The services described are funeral services, memorial services, burial, cremation, green burial, repatriation, forwarding of remains to another funeral home or mortuary, and receiving of remains from an out-of-town funeral home or mortuary. The page states that the services of the funeral director and staff include, but are not limited to, consultation with family and clergy, arrangements and direction desired, preparation and filing of necessary notices such as death certificates, social security and veterans paperwork, authorizations and consents, receiving and arranging flowers, and coordinating with the cemetery, crematory and others providing parts of the funeral.

A funeral service may be held whether the family chooses burial or cremation. A memorial service can be held shortly after the death or later, with or without an urn present, and the site says it can be held at the funeral home, at the final resting place, or at the family's home. Burial options described include immediate burial without a public service, a visitation, viewing or wake with a closed or open casket, a funeral service at the funeral home, a church or a private home, and a graveside service at a cemetery.

E. F. Boyd and Son Funeral Home publishes two locations, both in the Cleveland area. The Cleveland location is at 2165 E. 89th St., Cleveland, OH 44106, with the phone numbers (216) 791-0770 and (216) 421-2776. The Warrensville Heights location is at 25900 Emery Rd., Warrensville Heights, OH 44128, with the phone numbers (216) 831-7906 and (216) 421-2776. The email address given for both is info@efboyd.com. Each location has its own page section with a map on the contact page, and the About section has a Facilities page with photo galleries for the Cleveland and Warrensville Heights buildings.

On its services and history pages the funeral home states "Please Call Us, We Are Available 24/7" alongside the two location phone numbers. Beyond that, the website does not publish office opening hours, days of the week, or separate hours for each location, so anyone who needs to know when staff are in the building or when they can book an appointment to meet a funeral director should ask when they call. The contact page also carries a contact form for questions, comments or inquiries, and says the funeral home will reply as soon as possible.

E. F. Boyd and Son publishes a General Price List on its website, under Resources. The page says the funeral home believes in honoring a loved one with complete honesty and clarity, and that the General Price List is provided to help families make informed, confident choices. The list itself is a downloadable and viewable PDF document embedded on that page rather than prices typed into the web page, so no individual price, rate or fee appears in the site's own page text.

Because of that, no cost figure for any service should be quoted from this site. Anyone asking about price, prices, pricing, cost, costs, rates, fees, a quote or an estimate should be directed to the General Price List page at efboyd.com/resources/general-price-list to download the document, or to call the funeral home directly: Cleveland (216) 791-0770 or Warrensville Heights (216) 831-7906. The email address info@efboyd.com is also published for inquiries.

The Where to Begin page sets out how E. F. Boyd and Son guides a family through the first hours and days. If a loved one dies at home or somewhere that is not a healthcare facility, the site says emergency personnel must be contacted before the person can be taken into the funeral home's care, and that calling the person's physician is a good idea if they were under medical care. If the death happens in a healthcare facility, the facility notifies the proper authorities including the chosen funeral home. The page invites families to call at any time if they are unsure what to do.

In the first few days the page suggests notifying friends and relatives, reviewing any preplanned wishes, and meeting with a funeral director to begin planning. Choices to consider include burial or cremation, casket or urn type, the final resting place, any religious services needed, and which services are wanted such as a viewing, service or graveside memorial. The arrangement meeting may cover preparing and filing the official death certificate, scheduling the services including location, date and time, selecting a casket, urn or other products, drafting an obituary, arranging transportation and selecting pallbearers.

E. F. Boyd and Son operates an onsite crematory at its own family-owned funeral home. The site says an onsite crematory assures families their loved ones remain in the funeral home's care from beginning to end, that several layers of authorization are used, and that staff stay in contact with the family throughout the process. Once the cremation is complete and the urn prepared, the funeral home says it can deliver the urn to the home or the cemetery. The page states that E. F. Boyd and Son is the only minority family-owned funeral home with an onsite crematory in greater Cleveland.

For direct cremation the site says an alternative container must be used, and that the containers it provides are made of composition materials. Its direct cremation service, without any viewing, attendant rites or ceremonies, is described as including removal and transportation of remains to the crematory if local, basic services of staff and authorizations, permit fees, and the loved one placed in a cardboard container. The next of kin or a designated representative must come to the funeral home to identify the deceased person before cremation. Cremation services listed also include containers provided by the family or selected from the funeral home, witnessing of the cremation process for a maximum of five people, refrigeration, and shipping cremains.

These are things people ask E. F. Boyd and Son Funeral Home that its published information does not yet cover.

• prices
• availability
• what a package or arrangement includes
• cremation or service timing and dates
• ohio licence numbers or staff credentials
• insurance, benefit or payment plan terms
• obituary or deceased-person details
• cemetery, plot or crematory guarantees