Dear Friends at McKenzie:

It is a year ago today that we came to you in such profound shock and grief to seek your services for our little Katie. What would we have done without you? I’m so grateful that I don’t have to answer that. I almost had to find out, though, when the hospital social worker took us first to one of your competitors. The treatment we received at their hands and the proposed expense of her burial through them were shocking.

What a contrast when we came through your door! Your gentleness, your empathy and your humility were profoundly appreciated, and all the more so by comparison. And the expense was less than half as much as we’d been quoted at the previous place of business. Most of all, your compassion was heartfelt. I understood why when I read the newspaper articles about how your got into the business.

I cannot imagine that you have ever provided your service for any family who caused you as many problems as we did; changing our minds at the last second about which services we wanted which caused you to have to race against time to retrieve her from the crematorium, asking you to keep her for weeks longer than you had anticipated while we raised money and fought legalities to bury her in another state. On top of all that you even transported her to the airport at no charge. Your patience and graciousness to us are elements rarely seen in today’s marketplace.

This mom’s heart cannot thank you enough for being there for us in a way that went far above and beyond the call of duty. This is obviously not just a business to all of you... it’s a ministry.

Christy Gillette