Sinai Memorial Chapel

i found the staff to be very pleasant and efficient.
Robert Malinow goes above and beyond: he Is a complete professional in a business where it
really matters, kind and compassionate.

If you must have a funeral, you cannot get better service than this. Neither impersonal nor smarmy, they are dignified, respectful, aware of and proactively r3esponsive to your needs, and fully on top of everything. They do everything that needs to be done, and they do it efficiently and on time: when they say they’ll do X by date N, they do it. Coverage and billing are all clearly explained.
And this although I didn’t call them until the day of the death. (We did already have a burial plot, but that was it.)
Previous family funerals in the South Bay had been handled by gentile morticians: they were kindly, but they did not really understand the needs and comfort zones of Jews, even secular Reform Jews. We’d known there was a Jewish mortician in San Francisco, but figured that was too far away. Then I learned of Sinai in Redwood City and figured that’s a lot nearer.
Turned out it’s just a branch office of the mortuary in San Francisco, actually, but the distance is of no concern to them, and transport was all arranged by them. I am so glad I went here. Of all the things you need to worry about around a death in the family, the details of the funeral are a burden that can be handled here, and I have warm memories of the service to which they contributed so much to make that way.

Superb service at a very difficult time.
Mom and I visited Sinai Chapel in 2006. At that time, we met with Wayne Rose. He patiently explained all of the options. Never any pressure to choose expensive options. He seemed genuinely interested in giving Mom just what she wanted. Mom made her selections, Wayne recorded them and filed them away.
Fast forward to 2013. Mom’s health declined very quickly. WIthin days of our understanding she was very ill, she was gone. I called Robert Malinow, he instantly put his hands on the 7-​year old pre-​needs form. He updated the prices and emailed them to me within a few hours. The prices had increased only 15−20%. It was quite reasonable. Some of the prices actually went down!
I went to Sinai Chapel a few days later and finalized the financial arrangements. I was very, very glad Mom had arrangements in place. It was a tremendous load off my mind. I knew we were carrying out Mom’s wishes to the letter.
If this was the end of my Unilocal review, Sinai would get 5 stars for being so professional, honest, efficient and reasonable. But there is much more.
For religious reasons, my sister wanted my Mother buried the next day… in New Jersey! Impossible due to the time it takes to get letters of transit to transport a body across state lines; impossible because Mom died on a Friday night and state health offices are closed on weekends; impossible because we couldn’t assemble the family that quickly.
My sister called, screamed and harangued Sinai Chapel several times to release the body. Each time, the staff at Sinai were very professional. Robert called my sister to soothe the waters — above and beyond the call of duty. Robert also advised me on the order of the service and specific psalms and prayers — again, above and beyond. He also had to coordinate with the funeral home in NJ — more effort on his part. Robert did what was necessary, which is far more than what we expected or paid for.
Then, 1 to 2 weeks after the funeral, I received a call from Cheryl Bartkey, a grief counselor. She asked how I was doing and offered bereavement support. Who does that? Out of the blue — a warm and compassionate person calling just to help. All part of Sinai’s service.
So, if I could give 10 stars, I would.

Wayne Rose of Sinai Memorial Chapel is a very kind, compassionate, and professional individual. Last year, when we had to plan funeral services, Wayne met with us and patiently explained everything we needed. We could sense that he cared deeply for and respected our concern to have a proper service. We felt very comfortable working with him. He never tried to sell anything to us. We cannot thank him enough for helping us take care of something so difficult.