Johns-Ridout's Mortuary-Elmwood Chapel photos icon

Highlights

  • service-guarantee

    100% Service Guarantee
  • flexible-event-space

    Flexible event space

  • large-capacity-chapel

    Large capacity chapel

  • celebration-of-life-center

    Celebration of Life center

  • veterans-cemetery-section

    Veterans cemetery section

Limited-time savings

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About

Johns-Ridout's Mortuary-Elmwood Chapel in southwest Birmingham, Alabama, is a long-established provider of funeral and cremation services to people from a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds.

Our sister location, Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleum, is located less than a mile away from the funeral home and provides everything you need for burial services. Working together, the funeral home and cemetery allow you to handle all your funeral and burial decisions. The funeral home and cemetery teams always strive to meet your unique needs as you honor and celebrate your loved one.

All faiths and cultures welcome

Johns-Ridout's Mortuary-Elmwood Chapel is a Birmingham funeral home that's committed to accommodating people of all belief systems and cultures. We believe funeral services should reflect the uniqueness of each life. In addition, we strive to help families create one-of-a-kind memorials that capture and convey the essence of a loved one.

Chapels and reception spaces

Chapel at Johns-Ridout's Mortuary-Elmwood ChapelOur funeral home is 20,000 square feet in size and includes a spacious, light-filled chapel called the Celebration Chapel. This chapel comfortably seats as many as 250 guests and has a traditional, formal atmosphere. We also have a smaller, more contemporary chapel called the Maple Room and it can accommodate approximately 45 guests. In addition, the Celebration Room at Johns-Ridout's Mortuary-Elmwood Chapel is ideal for hosting a reception before or after a memorial service.

In 2017, Johns-Ridout's Mortuary-Elmwood Chapel renovated for greater comfort and beauty. From new landscaping outdoors to fresh paint inside, our funeral home has an up-to-date, modern look that appeals to today's families.

Cremation services

Not everyone knows that there are many cremation options. If you are interested in cremation, the funeral home team can explain the process and different options. From a direct cremation without a memorial service, to a witness cremation, to a full funeral service before or after the cremation and more, we help you understand this increasingly common choice—and handle all of the cremation arrangements.

You can count on us

Sitting area at Johns-Ridout's Mortuary-Elmwood ChapelWe provide professional, compassionate service as you and your family navigate difficult times. The experienced teams at Johns-Ridout's Mortuary-Elmwood Chapel and Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleum are dedicated to exceeding expectations by ensuring each funeral, cremation and burial is both personal and memorable. Please call us whenever you need us. We are here for you.

Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleum

Comprising approximately 400 acres in southwest Birmingham, Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleum is one of the larger cemeteries east of the Mississippi River. Our park-like property offers a tranquil final resting place and a serene environment in which to remember your loved one.

Special landscaping feature at Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleum.Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleum is predominately a cemetery for traditional ground burial, but we also offer lawn crypt entombment and cremation interment. The cemetery is known for its large Asian mushroom carved out of a tree, which was created by an artist in the 1930s to symbolize joining the earthly life with the eternal.

Notable interments

Mausoleum exterior at Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleum.Many notable people are interred at Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleum, including Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama football team. Former Alabama governor and United States senator Braxton Bragg (B.B.) Comer is also interred at our cemetery, along with other Alabama politicians, such as Russell McWhorter Cunningham and Joseph Forney Johnston. In addition, baseball legend Fred E. “Dixie” Walker is interred here. We also have music notables, including Eddie Kendrick (Temptations founding member and singer) and Henry Strzelecki (renowned bass musician)—both men born in Birmingham.

Community service and support

The teams at Johns-Ridout's Mortuary-Elmwood Chapel and Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleum are engaged members of the Birmingham and Jefferson County communities, hosting "planning ahead" seminars and memorial events that are open to the public.

Close up view of veterans memorial at Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleum.We participate in the Homeless Veterans Burial Program, founded upon the belief that every veteran deserves a dignified and honorable burial. It is a cooperative effort with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, local medical examiners, coroners, veterans’ advocates and veterans’ organizations. Through the HVBP, homeless and indigent veterans, who have no family to claim them, are identified and provided with proper military burials.

Additionally, we participate in the We Honor Veterans Program—a collaborative effort of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the Department of Veterans Affairs—as well as the Dignity Memorial® Public Servants Program, which provides no-cost funerals for career and volunteer law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency services personnel who fall in the line of duty.

Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleumentrance.History

Our cemetery was founded in 1900 as Elmleaf Cemetery on what was then Montevallo Road. In the 1920s, the named was changed to Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleum. Today, the cemetery is located on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, near Johns-Ridout's Mortuary-Elmwood Chapel, which was established in 1962.

In May 1987, Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleum joined what is now known as the Dignity Memorial® network, North America's largest network of funeral, burial and cremation service providers. Johns-Ridout's Mortuary-Elmwood Chapel joined the same network in 1996.

As we grow and evolve, we remain committed to upholding the legacy of personal and professional service that the people of Birmingham and surrounding communities have come to expect.

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Amenities

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100% SERVICE GUARANTEE

At Dignity Memorial, we take our promises seriously. That’s why we offer a 100% service guarantee. We strive to get every detail right the first time, every time. If for some reason we don’t and you’re dissatisfied with any aspect of your service, we will remedy it quickly and fully.

Learn about our Dignity Difference benefits.

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Remember the one you love

Remember the one you love

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Ratings & Reviews

Verified Customer Reviews

Since 2005, many of our customers have taken the time to tell us how we did each year via our Voice of the Customer program. Our star ratings and comments from families come directly from these surveys.

"Due to COVID the number of funerals were more than usual, therefore, some things (obtaining paperwork for a grave marker) probably took more time than normal. I didn't meet with a staff person in person because I live out of town and did all the arrangements on line. I believe the staff performed wonderfully under the circumstances"

jd-power-verified-checkmark Verified Customer

January 2021

"Jeff Estes took great care of us while we made arrangements for my aunt's funeral. He helped us from beginning to end. He included all the details necessary to have a very nice service. I highly recommend you contact Jeff if you need assistance."

jd-power-verified-checkmark Verified Burial & Memorial Service Customer

January 2021

"From our first meetings at Elmwood offices and cemetery to our last experience with them, we have been completely satisfied and impressed. Everyone is professional and caring. It was quite evident that they were there to help us. Lynn and Don made sure we had every question answered. They were attentive and accommodating to whatever we needed. Anything we mentioned or suggested, they assured us it would be done - and it was. In terms of worry about the service and burial, our family could not believe that such an experience could be made into something we would treasure. We will never regret our choice of Elmwood."

jd-power-verified-checkmark Verified Burial & Memorial Service Customer

January 2021

"My family experience during my mom funeral arrangements was unique and very educational in giving our mother a nice Home Going Service .This experience also taught us to focus today on preparing for our own funeral expenses,"

jd-power-verified-checkmark Verified Burial & Memorial Service Customer

January 2021

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