Direct cremation, no service
- Direct cremation$1,895
- Death certificates, four$80
Total$1,975
The urn is your choice. A family member can collect the ashes here, usually within ten days.
A funeral director answers this phone, at any hour.
Nothing has to be decided tonight. When you call, we ask four things, and then we come to you.
(717) 555-0142 Tap to call Margaret, Daniel or RuthSince 1922Family-owned, now the third and fourth generation
221 E Orange StLancaster, PA 17602
Within two hoursAnywhere in Lancaster County, after you call
Every pricePublished below, in full, before you call
What the call is like
It takes about five minutes. You will speak to one of the three people named on this page, not an answering service, and you can stop at any point and call back.
- Who has died. Their full name, and yours.
- Where they are now. At home, in a hospice, a hospital or a care home.
- A number we can reach you on. We call back before we arrive.
- Whether they left wishes. Burial or cremation, if you know. If you don’t, that can wait.
Then we come to you
A director arrives within two hours anywhere in Lancaster County and brings them into our care. That is all that happens tonight.
Tomorrow, or the day after, we sit down with you, in our arrangement room or at your kitchen table. You get the price list at the start of that conversation, before anything is chosen, and a written statement of everything you selected before you pay for any of it.
If a hospice or hospital calls you first, you only need to give them our name.
If the death at home was sudden or unexpected, call 911 first. The county coroner has to be involved. Call us after; we will work with them.
Every price, before you call
Federal law requires every funeral home to give you an itemised General Price List. Most hand it over only in person. Ours is here, in full, so you can read it at whatever hour you need to.
General Price List
Effective 1 September 2026| Basic services of funeral director and staffCharged once on every arrangement. It covers planning, permits, the death certificate filing and our overhead. | $2,195 |
|---|---|
| Complete arrangements | |
| Direct cremationIncludes basic services, transfer within 40 miles, alternative container and the crematory’s fee. | $1,895 |
| Immediate burialIncludes basic services, transfer and a simple container. Cemetery charges are separate. | $2,650 |
| Care and transfer | |
| Transfer into our care, within 40 milesBeyond 40 miles, $3.50 a mile. | $395 |
| EmbalmingNot required by law except in special cases. We will tell you if one applies. | $795 |
| Other preparationDressing, cosmetology, hair. | $295 |
| Gatherings | |
| Viewing, our facilities and staff, up to 3 hours | $495 |
| Funeral ceremony in our chapel | $650 |
| Funeral ceremony at another place | $750 |
| Memorial service in our chapelWithout the body present. | $575 |
| Graveside service | $475 |
| Vehicles | |
| Hearse | $395 |
| Family limousine | $295 |
| Between funeral homes | |
| Forwarding remains to another funeral home | $2,395 |
| Receiving remains from another funeral home | $1,650 |
| Merchandise | |
| CasketsFull casket price list at the funeral home, or by email on request. | $1,100–$6,800 |
| Alternative cremation container | $95 |
| Urns | $85–$1,400 |
| Paid to others, at cost | |
| Certified death certificatesPennsylvania Department of Health fee, each. | $20 |
Three common arrangements, added up
These are the arrangements families choose most often here, each built only from the lines above. Yours can be any combination of them, or less.
Cremation, then a memorial in our chapel
- Direct cremation$1,895
- Memorial service, our chapel$575
- Death certificates, four$80
Total$2,550
The chapel seats 140. The family kitchen is yours for the hour after.
Viewing, funeral and burial
- Basic services$2,195
- Transfer into our care$395
- Embalming$795
- Other preparation$295
- Viewing, up to 3 hours$495
- Ceremony, our chapel$650
- Hearse$395
- Least expensive casket$1,100
- Death certificates, four$80
From$6,400
Cemetery charges (the plot, opening and closing) are set by the cemetery and paid to them.
What you are entitled to, anywhere
These come from the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule. They apply to every funeral home in the country, not only ours, and they are worth knowing before you speak to anyone.
Choose only what you want
Apart from the basic services charge, you can decline any item on the list. A package is never required.
Prices by phone
Any funeral home must tell you its prices over the phone if you ask, without asking for your name.
A casket or urn from anywhere
You can buy one elsewhere. The funeral home cannot refuse it or charge you to handle it.
Embalming is usually optional
No law requires it except in special cases, and a funeral home must say so in writing.
The price list comes first
You must be given the General Price List at the start of any conversation about arrangements.
A written statement before you pay
An itemised statement of everything you chose, with each price, before you are asked for money.
Source: Federal Trade Commission, Funeral Rule, 16 CFR Part 453.
Planning your own, without paying for it
Ruth Eby meets people who want to decide things for themselves while they can. The meeting is free and takes about an hour, here or at your home.
- Your wishes can be written down and kept on file with no payment at all.
- If you choose to prepay, the money goes into a trust at a Lancaster bank, not to us.
- A prepaid plan moves with you if you leave the county or change funeral homes.
- Your family gets a copy, so nobody has to guess.
Every tradition, done properly
We have served Lancaster’s churches, meetinghouses and synagogue for a hundred years. Tell us how your family does this and we will follow it.
- Protestant
- Catholic
- Mennonite and Brethren
- Jewish, with the chevra kadisha of Shaarai Shomayim
- Secular and civil
- Green burial, at two local cemeteries
The people who answer
- Margaret Hollis Brandt
- Supervisor · Pennsylvania funeral director FD-047713-L · third generation
- Daniel Brandt
- Funeral director FD-052204-L · fourth generation
- Ruth Eby
- Pre-planning counsellor · meets families at home
221 East Orange Street
The same house since 1922, a few blocks from Penn Square. The chapel was added in 1958 and seats 140.
- Parking
- 30 spaces off Lime Street, with a step-free entrance
- Rooms
- Chapel, two arrangement rooms, a family kitchen
- Phone
- (717) 555-0142, at any hour
- Office
- Visits by appointment, any day