dignity in service

Cedar Crest Funeral Home and Crematorium, a family-owned and operated business, opened its doors for business in November 1st 1981. The idea to start the business was the brainchild of Mr. Robert Murdoch and his wife, Mrs. Ruby Murdoch, who at the time, realized that there was an opportunity to not only provide quality funeral care, but create an opportunity to train and develop young Bahamians and create a legacy of Dignity in Service.

Throughout Cedar Crest’s history, the company has always operated with a licensed Funeral Director and today, Audley Fraser, son of Mrs. Ruby Murdoch-Hill, licensed in the state of Texas and nationally in the USA since 1983, serves as Managing Director for the group. He provides day to day management for Cedar Crest in New Providence and also supports Cedar Crest’s second state and nationally licensed Funeral Director, Jamal McSweeney, who manages Cedar Crest’s second Funeral Home, Yager Funeral Home and Crematorium in Freeport, Grand Bahama.

Audley Fraser and Jamal McSweeney have earned a stellar reputation of providing Dignity with Service and carry the respect of thousands of Bahamians whom they have assisted either directly with funeral services, and/or grief counseling. The business receives many compliments on its caring and sensitive style of operation and flexibility to work with families throughout financial challenges, particularly at the time of grief and specifically, in ensuring that their loved ones are respectfully cared for. They make it a point to get to know their families intimately and provide the highest level of service – this is why Audley and Jamal personally attend every funeral service in New Providence and Grand Bahamas respectively, and Mrs. Murdoch is often seen as a member of the congregation for all of the services in New Providence where she resides. Audley explains that while his employees are trained and qualified to provide a full range of funeral services and grief counselling, he attends services to ensure that the company maintains its quality of service and lives up to its motto, Dignity in Service.

Audley and Jamal also personally mange the company’s 24-hour after-hours service telephone, as they want to ensure that families in grief receive the highest level of service possible and they are able to quickly respond at any hour to someone in need. This level of service quality is important as the company ensures that its brand and quality of service are consistent and immediate decisions can be made for any family, particularly during the initial hours of grief. They consider that any call on the 24-hour service line has priority over any personal obligation as it is their commitment to always be available for families in their time of need.

The group has also differentiated itself from competing funeral homes as it is the only funeral home in The Bahamas to have installed state-of-the-art “green burning” and environmentally friendly crematoriums. This significant investment was made not only because of their equal appreciation and care for the environment, but more so, because they wanted to ensure that during cremation, the deceased remains are treated with the highest level of respect, and the crematoriums installed operate efficiently and do not pollute the environment. What is really amazing is that these new and modern crematoriums can complete a cremation in as little as 2 hours, reducing the normal period almost in half and there are very little emissions into the environment.

The company has earned a stellar and professional reputation throughout The Bahamas, and regularly provides funeral services in Andros, Abaco and Cat Island, and is flexible enough to cater to the entire archipelago. Audley insists that the same level of service that is provided in New Providence and Grand Bahama is not compromised in the Family Islands and will not hesitate to send any of its modern hearses to a Family Island to ensure that the group’s reputation is not compromised. They have also earned the respect of the medical community as being patient and respectable funeral directors who believe that their reputation and quality of service they provide, as well as referrals and repeat clients, should sell the company – they have made it a point to not solicit business directly from any of the local hospitals and/or medical staff, even it means going without a service. Mrs. Ruby Murdoch-Hill explains that during the first stages of death, the deceased family is most vulnerable and the Funeral Director’s primary role is to assist or facilitate the family’s need and not attempt to solicit business during a period when they are most vulnerable.. Audley feels that soliciting through medical staff and/or the various hospitals goes against the grain of his professional training and also shows a lack of disrespect to the deceased and their family. Moreover, and aligned with the group’s motto, “Dignity in Service” the company instead focuses on ensuring the highest and completely professional level of service, at the most affordable price, with the best products available in the industry, as its primary advocacy for referral, repeat, and new business.

Throughout the company’s history, Audley and Jamal continue to upgrade their skills and invest in the highest quality of products available and its operating principles mandate that it uses only the very best embalming products. While it is no secret that the company has not increased its prices in more than 10 years, they have instead invested in training of its employees, networking nationally to ensure that its reputation remains of the highest standard, and providing the very best care available during periods of grief. At any time, the company has a full inventory and range of local and imported caskets, from the highest quality manufacturers in North America, and through its excellent reputation, can import a specialty casket in less than 48 hours. In other words, the group will never compromise its deliverables whenever a deceased family has a special need.

This family-owned business, with full-service funeral homes and crematoriums in New Providence and Grand Bahama, has earned its reputation or caring, sensitivity, and professionalism from the time of the first call and long after the burial or cremation. The company also extends its cremation services to other funeral homes throughout The Bahamas and has pledged to provide complete flexibility to any funeral home wanting to use its cremation services and to provide the cremains in less than 24 hours after the paperwork has been finalized.

The group also has an extensive global network and relationship with the embassies represented in The Bahamas and Funeral Homes throughout the world, and can handle direct shipments to any country. Although regular direct shipments of remains are provided to the Caribbean, North America, the company has also shipped remains to Europe, Africa, Central and South America and have been complimented for not only their high level of service, and ease of doing business, but also for the quality of care provided that equals that of more developed countries. This is particularly why the company ensures that its licensed Funeral Directors continuously upgrade their skills and only the best products are used at all times.

Any family that has used Cedar Crest or Yager’s services will confirm that the service is of the highest standard and professionalism, regardless of its price being among the lowest in the market. This is what has caused the group to proudly declare “Dignity in Service” as its motto and to always ensure that every customer feels welcomed and fully satisfied during their periods of grief.