Choosing a funeral provider can feel overwhelming, especially when decisions need to be made quickly. For families wondering who is the best funeral home in Des Moines Iowa, the answer involves more than comparing prices or choosing the oldest name in town. In an episode of The Iowa Conversation, host Mike Downer speaks with Rick Ramsey, funeral director at Celebrate Life Iowa with more than 37 years of experience. Their key advice is straightforward: look for clear pricing, compassionate treatment, direct answers, respectful care of your loved one, and a funeral director who makes your family feel comfortable rather than pressured.
According to Rick, a quality funeral provider starts with communication. Families should feel comfortable asking questions, even if they are unfamiliar with funeral planning.
“The family needs to have their questions answered clearly,” Rick explains. Just as importantly, families should feel confident that their loved one will be treated with respect and dignity.
Funeral planning should not feel like a sales presentation. Rick describes the distinction simply: “This is funeral service. It’s not funeral business.”
That mindset matters because families are often making decisions while grieving. A good funeral director should explain available choices without making someone feel pressured into purchasing a more expensive service or package.
Families do not need to know everything about funeral planning before contacting a provider. A few direct questions can quickly reveal how transparent and helpful the funeral home is.
Start by asking:
Price transparency is especially important. The Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule gives consumers the right to receive pricing information and generally choose only the funeral goods and services they want, with limited exceptions.
Rick recommends asking providers directly whether the quoted amount represents the complete cost. If the answer is unclear, ask for the total in writing.
For families considering cremation, Rick recommends finding out whether the funeral provider operates its own crematory or sends the deceased to another facility.
Using an outside crematory can involve third-party charges that affect the final price. That does not automatically make an off-site provider a poor choice, but families should understand who will handle their loved one, where the cremation will occur, and what costs are included.
Celebrate Life Iowa says it operates its own crematory and provides package pricing designed to clearly show families what they will pay.
Vague answers are one of the biggest warning signs.
If a funeral director cannot clearly explain the total price, what a package contains, or whether additional costs may apply, families should continue asking questions. Rick recommends getting important pricing details in writing.
Families should also pay attention to how the funeral staff communicates. Do they listen? Do they answer questions patiently? Does the conversation feel focused on the family’s wishes, or does it feel centered on selling additional services?
Iowa also regulates funeral directors, funeral establishments, and cremation establishments through the Iowa Board of Mortuary Science, which oversees licensing standards and investigates complaints involving professional conduct.
Not necessarily.
Rick emphasizes that reputation, size, longevity, and price alone do not determine whether a funeral home is right for a particular family.
Quality is also reflected in communication, compassion, transparency, and follow-up. Families should know that they can contact the funeral home even after the service or cremation if questions arise.
A provider that fits one family perfectly might not be the right choice for another. That is why Rick encourages families to compare options instead of assuming they must select the first provider they contact.
Rick suggests calling two or three funeral homes and asking each provider the same four or five questions. This makes it easier to compare pricing, services, communication, and overall comfort.
The FTC similarly recommends comparing funeral costs among providers and offers a funeral pricing checklist for consumers that outlines common fees and services families may encounter.
Ultimately, answering who is the best funeral home in Des Moines Iowa comes down to finding a provider that communicates clearly, respects your budget and wishes, treats your loved one with dignity, and gives your family confidence during an already difficult time.
Consider speaking with two or three providers. Asking each the same questions makes services, pricing, and communication easier to compare.
Yes. Consumers can request pricing information and should understand costs before selecting services.
Yes. Written pricing makes it easier to understand what is included and identify possible additional charges.
Not always. Ask what services can be purchased individually and what, if anything, must be included.
It can reduce reliance on outside providers and gives families clearer information about where and by whom the cremation will be performed.
No. Cost matters, but families should also consider transparency, compassion, professionalism, available services, and how comfortable they feel with the staff.
Simply speaking with a funeral provider does not mean you have to choose them. Before signing agreements or authorizing services, compare your options and select the provider that best fits your family.
Mike Downer: Hi, everybody. I’m your host, Mike Downer. Welcome to The Iowa Conversation. I am joined by Rick Ramsey, the funeral director for Celebrate Life Iowa. Rick has been in the business for a little over 37 years. How are we doing today, Rick?
Rick Ramsey: Doing well, Mike. Thank you. Today’s a great rainy day, so it’s a good day to do some podcasts.
Mike Downer: You and I both have great hair, so we want to keep that out of the rain. It really tends to mess up all that product and the time we spend on our hair, right?
Rick Ramsey: Now you’ve got me worried about mine.
Mike Downer: You know what? The only guy on my podcast who has better hair than me is you.
Rick Ramsey: I don’t know if that’s accurate, but thank you.
Mike Downer: You’re welcome, buddy. Today we’re going to be talking about the best funeral homes in Des Moines, Iowa. We’ll be discussing what separates a genuinely excellent funeral home from an average one and how Des Moines families should evaluate all their options.
These are some big questions in someone’s difficult journey of taking care of their loved one after they pass. Let’s answer this directly first. What actually makes a funeral home the best in Des Moines, in your opinion?
Rick Ramsey: The family needs to have their questions answered clearly. The family needs to feel comfortable with their funeral home and with their funeral director. They need to feel like their loved one is being treated with respect and dignity. Any questions they may have need to be answered clearly and in a manner that doesn’t make them feel second-rate just because they asked those questions.
Mike Downer: You also probably don’t want to feel like you’re being sold either.
Rick Ramsey: No. You want to make sure that you’re not only getting your questions answered clearly, but that the funeral home has your best interest at heart. This is funeral service. It’s not funeral business.
Mike Downer: I’ve never heard anybody state it quite like that, but I really like that a lot. Being my age, I’ve been through quite a few of these with family members and everything else because I’m getting up there. People pass, and there are times when you go into these situations and you’re asking questions, but you feel like you’re listening to a sales pitch. You’ve probably heard that from other people as well, that they felt that way at other places.
Rick Ramsey: The funeral service is for the family. They are the ones who need to feel comfortable, and they need to feel like they are in the right place. This funeral home and this funeral director need to be a good fit for them and their family.
Mike Downer: Perfect. You were talking about getting all your questions answered, and the family is going to have a lot of them because this is something new and different for most people. What questions should someone ask on that very first call to find out if a provider is a good fit?
Rick Ramsey: If you’re thinking of cremation, one of the first questions you’ll want to ask is whether or not the funeral home has its own crematory or whether they use another funeral home’s crematory.
You’re also going to want to ask about pricing and whether the advertised price is the total price. You’ll also want to ask about packages and bundles. Are you required to purchase a bundle, or can you go item by item, service by service, based on what you would like for the funeral?
Mike Downer: That makes sense. Let’s backtrack just a little bit. This is something I didn’t prepare you for, but when you said to find out if they have their own crematory or if they’re using someone else’s, why is that important?
Rick Ramsey: It’s going to add to your cost. If the funeral home has its own crematory in-house, you’re not going to be paying an additional add-on. If the crematory is not on-site, that crematory is going to charge your funeral home an additional amount, which the family is then going to be charged. That will drive up the cost of the cremation itself.
Mike Downer: Those are some of those hidden costs we’ve talked about. So how does Celebrate Life Iowa’s approach differ from a traditional legacy funeral home in the metro?
Rick Ramsey: We’re going to give you a package price, a total package price with no add-ons. We’re also going to cover the state of Iowa. We are located here in the Des Moines metro area, but we also cover the state. Whether or not your loved one dies here in Polk County, we’re going to be able to serve you and your family.
Mike Downer: Okay. So as far as Celebrate Life Iowa goes, you are able to accommodate anyone within the state of Iowa.
Rick Ramsey: You bet.
Mike Downer: That’s a good thing to know because a lot of people assume they have to go local. If your parent lives on the east side of Iowa, but you’d rather have Celebrate Life Iowa, you’re able to help them out.
Rick Ramsey: We have offices in West Des Moines. We also have an office on the east side in North Liberty.
Mike Downer: Very good. That even makes it a little closer. Now, when you’re calling around and asking questions, I know you don’t like to talk about this, but there are red flags that families need to look out for. What red flags should a family watch for while shopping around for a funeral care provider?
Rick Ramsey: You want to make sure that when you’re asking questions, those questions are getting answered clearly and directly. If you’re receiving vague answers on pricing, or vague answers on whether or not a package or bundle is required, that’s a red flag.
Mike Downer: Also, if they give you whatever pricing it is, and if they hem and haw when you ask, “Is this the total amount that I’m going to owe?” that might be a red flag as well.
Rick Ramsey: It is. I would ask for that total price to be in writing. Celebrate Life is more than happy to put any of our pricing in writing as far as the total price. If you have questions about whether there will be add-ins or add-ons, ask the funeral director to put it in writing.
There’s nothing that says you have to stay with that funeral home. Feel free to call around to two or three different funeral homes.
Mike Downer: You bet. Find the one that not only fits your budget, but, like you’ve said in several different podcasts, makes you feel like you’re being taken care of the right way.
Rick Ramsey: You’re going to know right away whether or not it’s a good fit. You should be able to have a conversation with the funeral staff and say, “Here’s what we want. What are our options, and what is our total price going to be?”
Mike Downer: Very good. You should go out feeling comfortable knowing that, yes, that’s the price. I’m old school. I always say, “Write the check out for,” but you know what I mean. That’s the price you’re going to put on your credit card, your debit card, write the check for, bring the cash in, or whatever it is. You just want to know that if it says $1,402, that’s going to be it.
Rick Ramsey: I agree. You want to feel comfortable with the pricing. You also want to feel comfortable about the manner in which your loved one is being treated: compassionately, respectfully, and with dignity. You’re going to know that by talking with the funeral director and seeing how comfortable you are in that area.
Mike Downer: You bet. You have to use your gut instincts on that one. Let me ask you this, and I know you’re going to smile before you answer it. When I’m making all those calls and getting all my pricing, does price alone tell a family anything about quality?
Rick Ramsey: No, not at all.
Mike Downer: Walk us through that one, Rick.
Rick Ramsey: I think there are a funeral home or two in the metro area that have been around for a long time, and they do a large number of services. Reputation doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good fit.
The family needs to feel that their questions were answered and that what they wanted for their loved one’s services was received, and received with compassion. There’s also follow-up after the funeral service or cremation has taken place. You want to feel like you can give them a call if you have additional questions, or maybe you want to set something up for a pre-need or a funeral service down the line.
You want to feel like it hasn’t stopped just because the funeral service has taken place.
Mike Downer: That makes complete sense. We’ll wind this one up here. If a friend in Des Moines asked you point blank who to call, how would you walk them through it?
Rick Ramsey: The first thing I would suggest is to call two or three different funeral homes. That is going to give you an idea not only of pricing, but also how well that funeral home fits and how comfortable you are with their funeral director.
I would even go so far as to write out a list of four or five questions and see how clearly those questions are answered. By all means, if you have additional questions, keep that conversation going. I would not stop until you feel like that funeral director is either a good fit for you and your family, or that you need to go with another funeral home.
Mike Downer: Perfect. That is great advice. I really like how Celebrate Life Iowa cares about the family. You walk people through the process in a very respectful manner, and you’re upfront and honest about everything in the beginning. That’s what makes you guys great at Celebrate Life Iowa. You guys do a fantastic job.
Again, Rick, I enjoy our conversations as always, and thanks for walking families through what is a very difficult time in their lives.
Rick Ramsey: Always happy to help, Mike.
Mike Downer: All right. Until our next conversation, you take care.
Rick Ramsey: You too, Mike. Thank you.
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