Striffler-Hamby provides a wide range of funeral services to meet your family’s unique needs. Whether you prefer a traditional funeral, memorial service, immediate burial or cremation, or if you simply want to make preneed arrangements, your family can depend on ours in your time of need.

Striffler-Hamby has been the premier funeral service provider in Columbus since 1923. With staff skilled in grief counseling and the latest technical services necessary for a respectful and meaningful service, Striffler-Hamby does its best to help families through this difficult time. Alta Ploeger at Striffler-Hamby sat down with SVM to tell us more about the work Striffler-Hamby is doing in our community.

Dealing with the passing of a loved one is difficult, what does Striffler-Hamby do to help?
When a death occurs, a family’s world has just changed forever. We consider it an honor when families choose us to assist them at such a delicate time. We take their loved one into our care with dignity and respect, and will guide them step by step in planning a fitting and unique memorial. We will meet with the family at the funeral home, or in the privacy of their own home. The entire staff of Striffler-Hamby and Parkhill Cemetery gives every family the courtesy and care we would want for our own family.

Through Dignity Memorial, Striffler-Hamby has a special relationship with the Veteran Community in Columbus. Can you tell us more about that?
Our veterans and public servant programs are designed to acknowledge and honor the brave individuals who have selflessly served our country and community. Striffler-Hamby at Parkhill Cemetery is grateful for their contribution. The Homeless Veterans Burial Program provides funeral services for eligible homeless and indigent veterans to ensure they receive the honors in death that their service in life merited. We are also offer benefits to members of the VFW and American Legions.

The Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall, a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., stands 240 feet long and eight feet high, and is inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 Americans who died or are missing in Vietnam. The Dignity Memorial® Vietnam Wall has traveled the U.S. in memory of those who have given their lives for freedom. After more than 20 years in circulation around the country, the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall is now on display at The Infantry Museum in Fort Benning, Ga. Unveiled on March 21, 2014, it continues to provide healing for the hundreds of thousands of people who will visit the memorial.
Recognizing the courage and selflessness of those who serve the public, Dignity Memorial® funeral, cremation and cemetery providers created the Public Servants Program for emergency service personnel. This benefit provides dignified and honorable tributes, at no cost, for career and volunteer law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel who fall in the line of duty.

Funeral services are often expensive. What advice can you give to families who are trying to balance a respectful service with a smaller budget?
Whether a family chooses to honor a loved one with a traditional service, an elaborate tribute, receive guests and family during a memorial reception, or desire a simple laid-back gathering, we work closely with them to ensure their loved one receives a suitable and respectable memorial designed just for them within their budget.

Beyond the expense, services are often emotionally draining for all of those involved. What services does Striffler-Hamby provide to help alleviate some of that pain?
Our team of licensed funeral directors and professional staff are trained and experienced in dealing with all stages of grief. Continuing education is a requirement for our staff and guarantees we stay up to day on the latest trends and demands of the funeral business. In addition, our Compassion Helpline is available at no cost to families or anyone wanting to talk with professional counselors. The Compassion Helpline is a valuable resource that offers support and guidance from professionally-trained grief counselors through a toll-free number. As a provider benefit, family members can call the number 24 hours a day, seven days a week for up to 13 months after a loved one’s service. Attendees at the service can utilize the helpline for up to three months following the service.

What steps can a family take to ensure that a service is personal and memorable?
There is no such thing as “one size fits all” when it comes to telling one’s life story. Every individual is as distinctive as his or her fingerprints. Providing a personalized celebration of a loved one’s life creates a memory that a family can look back on and know their loved one was celebrated in a way that was unique to them. A themed service or visitation is a perfect way to feature one’s life story. Displaying hobbies, combining passions, and exhibiting lifetime accomplishments are some of the things we incorporate in planning and designing a unique tribute. Our onsite event planner is available to assist families in planning a fitting and personalized tribute.
We were recently honored to receive the overall Grand Prize and 1st Place Award given by the International Cemetery and Cremation Association (ICCFA) for “Best In Personalization”. The KIP Awards (Keeping It Personal) has several competitive categories, and is awarded yearly a funeral homes located in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
Pre-planning arrangements can be made with our Family Service Counselors to guarantee a person’s wishes and personalization desires at their own memorial.

The Striffler-Hamby company has had a long history in Columbus. How will it continue to be part of the community for years to come?
Taking care of each other is what community is all about. Striffler-Hamby will continue to offer the finest funeral care and meet the essentials and desires of families during their time of need. Personalization, catered receptions, up-to-date technology, newly renovated building and interior furnishings, and offering more than funerals will continue to serve our community with refinement and dignity. Even though the funeral industry continues to change, our compassion for serving others does not.