Reviews of Caldwell's Luce-Layton Mortuary & North Coast Crematory (Mortuary)

Wally Rogers

Renee Caldwell was recommended to me. With Mom's passing, I cannot tell you how much I relied on Renee for on what to do next. She gave it freely without any committment as I came to grips with a death in the Family. So after that I decided to hire her for more of her help and advice even though a nearby mortuary handled the cremation. Like your wisest Aunt, she guided us through the decisions to make, helped with the obituary and newspaper, paid everyone for us so we only had one payment to make for her. She was the crutch I could lean on. I am so grateful for the patient understanding way she took me through everything. I am so glad she was recommended to me.

Wally Rogers

Renee Caldwell was recommended to me. With Mom's passing, I cannot tell you how much I relied on Renee for on what to do next. She gave it freely without any committment as I came to grips with a death in the Family. So after that I decided to hire her for more of her help and advice even though a nearby mortuary handled the cremation. Like your wisest Aunt, she guided us through the decisions to make, helped with the obituary and newspaper, paid everyone for us so we only had one payment to make for her. She was the crutch I could lean on. I am so grateful for the patient understanding way she took me through everything. I am so glad she was recommended to me.

Victoria Lynn Derrick Byrd

Thayer Saints in my eyes and Thayer kind hearted people very good in that kind of business Thayer doing.

Victoria Lynn Derrick Byrd

Thayer Saints in my eyes and Thayer kind hearted people very good in that kind of business Thayer doing.

Dave Meher

I worked as a licensed funeral director/embalmer for Jim and Renee Caldwell during the mid 1990’s so I can offer an insider/behind the scenes perspective of Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary. It’s significant to add that I was unexpectedly fired from their employment after working there for less than two years. You may wonder why someone who was fired would take the time to write a favorable five-star review. I will explain. My own dear mother passed away three years ago in December. Her arrangements were handled in another state, but her passing changed my views on an occupation that I feel let me down and that I’ve long since left behind. Having had a unique view of the funeral industry, I am well aware of every positive and negative aspect of the business. As a result, I came to realize that I had only one expectation from the funeral providers involved in mom’s care. I wanted to know that my beloved mother’s remains were treated with dignity and respect; nothing else mattered at the time. Price didn’t matter. The quality of the embalming and funeral service didn’t matter. As long as I knew that mom’s physical remains were treated with the highest of dignity and respect, nothing else mattered to me. It wasn’t that the other considerations had no value, but that knowing she was treated well was so significant to me that everything else paled in comparison. During my five year stint in the funeral industry, I had personally witnessed a licensed funeral director too intoxicated to do his job, stealing from the company, financially cheating the grieving consumer, and even worse, being told by my supervisor that if a family gets cheated then that is their own fault and problem for not being informed. All of these were from Portland area funeral homes. In addition, another funeral home that I wasn’t involved with was found guilty of things far more horrific, beyond anyone’s imagination, things that I don’t want to describe here. Caldwell’s was the last funeral home I worked at before leaving the profession behind for good. I can tell you from someone who had worked with Renee, she has impeccable ethics. Never once while I was under their employ, did I ever doubt or question the ethics of the Caldwells. Before I worked for Caldwell's, I had seen almost everything wrong with an industry that is expected to have the highest morals. During my short time at Caldwell’s, I felt such a huge sense of relief that finally I had found a funeral home that matched my values. Although I had, and likely still have, differing views with Renee on good business practices, we were in perfect agreement on respecting the responsibility and trust given to us to properly care for your loved ones as well as obeying the established state and federal laws. I haven’t known Renee in the past 22 years, yet I have no doubt that she continues to honor the public trust in the daily operation of her funeral home. If my mother had her services in Astoria instead of out of state, I would have gladly chosen Caldwell’s to handle the arrangements. The fact that I had previously been fired by Jim and Renee never changed the respect I have for them as funeral home owners and individuals. Renee was a dear friend and I knew her to go beyond the call of duty to help someone in need. She has a rare sense of compassion and caring that is both much needed and well suited for working in funeral service. My firing was simply the unfortunate result of a very stressful occupation getting the better of decent people in a heated moment. Even though I am not a native Astorian and now reside in the Rocky Mountain area, I still consider the North Oregon coastal area my home. The good people of Clatsop County can know that Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary is a wonderful asset to the community. Caldwell’s is certainly deserving of a five star rating in my opinion.

Dave Meher

I worked as a licensed funeral director/embalmer for Jim and Renee Caldwell during the mid 1990’s so I can offer an insider/behind the scenes perspective of Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary. It’s significant to add that I was unexpectedly fired from their employment after working there for less than two years. You may wonder why someone who was fired would take the time to write a favorable five-star review. I will explain. My own dear mother passed away three years ago in December. Her arrangements were handled in another state, but her passing changed my views on an occupation that I feel let me down and that I’ve long since left behind. Having had a unique view of the funeral industry, I am well aware of every positive and negative aspect of the business. As a result, I came to realize that I had only one expectation from the funeral providers involved in mom’s care. I wanted to know that my beloved mother’s remains were treated with dignity and respect; nothing else mattered at the time. Price didn’t matter. The quality of the embalming and funeral service didn’t matter. As long as I knew that mom’s physical remains were treated with the highest of dignity and respect, nothing else mattered to me. It wasn’t that the other considerations had no value, but that knowing she was treated well was so significant to me that everything else paled in comparison. During my five year stint in the funeral industry, I had personally witnessed a licensed funeral director too intoxicated to do his job, stealing from the company, financially cheating the grieving consumer, and even worse, being told by my supervisor that if a family gets cheated then that is their own fault and problem for not being informed. All of these were from Portland area funeral homes. In addition, another funeral home that I wasn’t involved with was found guilty of things far more horrific, beyond anyone’s imagination, things that I don’t want to describe here. Caldwell’s was the last funeral home I worked at before leaving the profession behind for good. I can tell you from someone who had worked with Renee, she has impeccable ethics. Never once while I was under their employ, did I ever doubt or question the ethics of the Caldwells. Before I worked for Caldwell's, I had seen almost everything wrong with an industry that is expected to have the highest morals. During my short time at Caldwell’s, I felt such a huge sense of relief that finally I had found a funeral home that matched my values. Although I had, and likely still have, differing views with Renee on good business practices, we were in perfect agreement on respecting the responsibility and trust given to us to properly care for your loved ones as well as obeying the established state and federal laws. I haven’t known Renee in the past 22 years, yet I have no doubt that she continues to honor the public trust in the daily operation of her funeral home. If my mother had her services in Astoria instead of out of state, I would have gladly chosen Caldwell’s to handle the arrangements. The fact that I had previously been fired by Jim and Renee never changed the respect I have for them as funeral home owners and individuals. Renee was a dear friend and I knew her to go beyond the call of duty to help someone in need. She has a rare sense of compassion and caring that is both much needed and well suited for working in funeral service. My firing was simply the unfortunate result of a very stressful occupation getting the better of decent people in a heated moment. Even though I am not a native Astorian and now reside in the Rocky Mountain area, I still consider the North Oregon coastal area my home. The good people of Clatsop County can know that Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary is a wonderful asset to the community. Caldwell’s is certainly deserving of a five star rating in my opinion.