Sunset View Cemetery

My family had an excellent experience with Mike Fry-​Shaw and the staff at Sunset View Cemetery. My mother passed away unexpectedly and we had no funeral plans. A friend recommended Sunset View and Mike and he took very good care of us on all levels, selecting the plot, casket, helping us find a wonderful minister to conduct the service, managing the funeral and more. He got to know us quickly and won our trust, shepherding us through a very tough time with warmth, empathy and even humor to lighten our hearts. We prefer Sunset View’s more natural landscaping and beautiful vistas of to Oakland’s Mountain View Cemetery, which is more sculpted and manicured, with large headstones and monuments everywhere.

Beautiful cemetery. Staff was very courteous, especially Mike Fryshaw. He assisted us
with every detail. Although it’s a very difficult time when these arrangements need to be
made, his experience and understanding of our needs was so appreciated. I would recommend Sunset View to everyone. Thanks Mike!

Extremely professional, caring, and attentive. Tanya helped us all the way through the process and was amazing. Thanks, Sunset View, for making a very difficult time a bit easier.

Beautifully landscaped and maintained with an excellent view. The mausoleum and columbarium were clean, with classical music playing in the entry hall. The chandeliers were clean as well (no stringy, dusty cobwebs) and caught the lighting nicely. The gold painted ceilings are peeling somewhat but do not distract from the overall appearance of the names on the walls.

This is a beautiful and quite place to rest your body and soul. And talk to you ancestors

I had a great experience with Director Tanya. She seemed to innately understand some delicate family matters without me even spelling them out to her. She’s very experienced, her reference for a man: Dr. Glaskow, to do our autopsy was also spot on. In fact he was more thorough and communicative than my husbands regular GP. We picked this place in a hurry, but we got very very lucky. Thank you for helping us send off my awesome husband in a professional, with ease, and respectful manner… weird to be in such a good mood in the midst of bad, but these people really helped me and quickly (2 days Jewish tradition) five plus plus.

Not going to lie — it’s odd to say I have a favorite cemetery. However with the passing of my grandparents within 3 mos. of each other this year, my family has had more than our share of funeral arranging for this year. While it is always tough to think about such a deep issue as planning for a family death, I hope this quick review puts your mind at ease when deciding on a resting place for your loved one.
{HIGHLIGHTS}
+ Efficient funeral arrangements (all services held within a week of family member’s passing). You just have to stop by a few days beforehand and fill out necessary paperwork to arrange the funeral.
+ Staff was friendly, organized, and helpful in leading funeral attendees up the mountain in a caravan-​style car train.
+ Ample seating for elderly during outside services. The seats were stable and did not sink down in the grassy hills.
+ Death certificates received in mail 2 – 3 weeks after service
+ Quick notification of social services (SSI, MediCal, etc.) about your loved one’s passing, which saves you the hassle of making that phone call yourself later.
+ Beautiful grounds (I’m happy to say my grandparents’ final resting spot overlooks a gorgeous view of The Bay). The grass on the hills look to be well-​maintained when I went to visit for Qing Ming Jie (Chinese holiday in spring where you visit the deceased). I personally love the calming effect of the scenery.
{THINGS TO NOTE}
— No burial services held on weekends (something about the union preventing this?). You can still have a memorial service and they’ll dig the hole on a weekday.
— Bring a couple layers when you visit because you’re high up in the hills, where it can still get foggy/​windy in the warmer months.

We had my mom’s funeral service at Sunset View recently. My Funeral Director was Rose Rodriguez and I could not have asked for a better Funeral Director. She was extremely professional, knowledgeable, efficient and sensitive. She made the whole entire process as fast and as easy as it possibly could have been. She explained everything clearly and thoroughly and was able to answer all of my questions. In addition, this place really provides one-​stop shopping. They’ll list the obituary in the newspaper for you as well as print the programs and put together a slide show. They even showed me a mock-​up of the obituary and program. There were only 3 days between my mom’s passing and her funeral service, and Rose didn’t miss a beat. I should note that my mom’s funeral service was here at Sunset View, but the actual burial was at a different cemetery. I wish that we had done the burial here also because Rose was so easy to work with and the other cemetery has been a complete nightmare. It’s a little strange to write a Unilocal review about a cemetery, but Rose provided such amazing customer service that I had to spread the good karma.

Only fresh flowers are allowed (and gourds, an Asian tradition); none of the plastic stuff. I love that the deer come in at night and munch on the flowers! So peaceful & lovely here, it’s pleasant to come and stroll, watch & listen to all the birds, and laugh at the playful squirrels. The staff were very helpful after my mom’s death.

My Dad and my whole family on my Dads side is there and thank goodness. Its a beautiful location and they have always treated my family with respect. If you enjoy going to beautiful cemeteries to read the local history on the markers, I do recommend this.
My home town. I will always feel welcome when I visit there.

Marvin Nelson, the beloved music teacher at ECHS died several years ago. My sister was his pupil but I was not. (Three years older, I had «O» as a teacher.) Anyway… she called, would I go to the funeral?
Yep. First time I’ve been inside the building, which is odd as I grew up a block away. Noticed immediately how much its interior resembled my childhood church. (Not unusual as the Baxter family, from Sunset, also attended my parent’s North Berkeley church.)
Noticed that there was recorded music. Mr. Nelson would not have approved.
Noticed that there were throngs and throngs of people commemorating his life. Mr. Nelson would have been embarrassed.
And then the music began. Half a dozen trumpets (live, of course) sang out Aaron Copeland’s «Fanfare For the Common Man».
Students, teachers, relatives all began to tell tales about this remarkable man. (Turned out he was terrified to choregraph half-​time football shows… who knew?)
And in the end, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. We all trouped out into the California sunshine. Some of us to Fat Apple’s for coffee. Others to his graveside burial. All were invited to eat at Spenger’s on the Berkeley waterfront. (Another oldtime Baxter hangout.)
My first funeral at Sunset… definitely a five star moment. Who woulda known that the little girl who once took flowers off of the graves to sell at Sunset’s gates would be allowed inside the building. But life does have its surprises!
Thanks for the music, Mr. Nelson! Best trumpet concert I ever attended! And thank you to the Baxter family… for providing such a nice setting. Definitely nice digs.

You’ll find these spacious and well-​kept grounds at the end of Fairmount Avenue (and just a short distance from «Down on the Corner»).
Over the years, I have paid my respects or just walked around or to otherwise clear my head. This really is a peaceful and calming place. If you’re on foot, you can also access this property on the Kensington side and add to your walking options.
And the view of the Bay and SF, especially in early AM or around Sunset can be really stunning.

On a drizzy «dia de los muertos» and while reflecting on the three-​year anniversary of my grandfather’s passing, it seems appropriate to review the local cemetery.
It is hard to like a mortuary, cemetery, crematorium, and urn garden, but the Sunset View Cemetary Association in El Cerrito, California is a great independent family establishment that is celebrating it’s 100^th anniversary. The service is friendly, the site is well maintained, and the views from the property are incredible if you go there to reflect.
Besides visiting my grandfather’s grave on occasion, I know the cemetery pretty well because I often bike through it on the way to work. Some people find this disturbing but it is the shortest, safest, least car-​traveled route down the hill. And I joke that why be spooked out when my grandfather has made friends with all the other ghosts …
Seriously though the site is really large. The chapel-​esqe building and classic old cemetery at the corner of Colusa and Fairmont, are really just a fraction of the grounds. The first time I came through the back, I was shocked to see the size of the Mausoleum (an old spooky building which would make a great haunted house), the expansive lawns, and such treasures as a small waterfall. And really from the top of the property, the view of the bay and the city are absolutely breath taking.
And it is nice place to be reminded about the value of life on occasion. The flowers may get eaten by the deer but I still remember the impressions I got after Mother’s and Father’s day, to see so many grave stones in the back recently visited.
So I have to give this association a good review (even though since it is a cemetery, I can’t bring myself to give it 5 stars)!

I fell in love with the location of this cemetery when I stepped foot into this place. We were looking for a place for burial. My mother had passed away and after scouting many locations in San Jose and Colma, we settled her here.
The interior of the buliding is «old school» but they have recently renovated the bathroom tiles and countertops. They have finally fixed the waterfall fountain at the main entrance.
Very pleasant staff. The view is amazing, overlooking gold gate bridge and sometimes on a clear day, you will see Alcatrez or maybe it is Angel Island.
Very peaceful. At times you can see a deer passing by chomping on flower buds. They only allow fresh cut flowers.
This place has been a solace for me for 6+ years.
See the photo I have attached.