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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 Chapel Our 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 Chapel We 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.

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.

View Other Trusted Funeral Homes Near Montgomery, Alabama & Ridout Chapels

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Amenities

Location

Flexible event space
Facility is available to host your personal events
Large-capacity chapel
Celebration of Life center
Facility is designed for personalized funeral celebrations
Veterans cemetery section
Flexible chapel space
Our chapel can be used for hosting your religious events
Mountain views
Outdoor pavilion
Waterside views
Multiple chapels
Cemetery spaces available
Custom headstones and markers
Piano or organ on-site
Family estate lots
Family estates are a distinguished tribute to a family legacy. They can be customized with stained glass, benches and landscaping
Flat markers
Grave markers that sit flush to the ground in the material of preference
Upright headstones
Mausoleums
Private or Community spaces for urns as well as caskets, that can be Indoor or outdoor
Reserved veteran parking
Coffee lounge
Pet friendly
On-site cemetery

Cremation

Cremation remembrance jewelry
Private viewing before cremation
Cremation options
Cremation niches
Option for home delivery of ashes
Option for mail delivery of ashes
Sent through postal mail service, signature required.
Cremation gardens

Service

Arrangements by phone or email
Complete funeral planning, including electronic signature, without needing a funeral home visit
Catered events
White-glove service
Locations offering the highest level of service and care
Large reception area
Event planning
Services available to support planning events
Outdoor event venue
Options to have your personalized celebrations on outdoors on our property
Funeral service video production
Services available to create a tribute video for the service or obituary from photos and videos.
Audio and video equipment
Live music available
Popular funeral music selections
Intimate gatherings
Meeting space
Space available for corporate and organization meetings
Marker unveiling
Ceremony where the tombstone is placed at your loved one’s gravesite
Overnight visitations
In-home visitations
Services available to coordinate visitation or viewing at a private residence
Black car service
Police escort available
Cemetery flower arrangement delivery

Religious & Cultural

Multicultural funerals
Latin music selections
Feng shui design
Catholic cemetery section
Jewish cemetery section
Shomer/watcher available
Tahara room
Ritual washing
Kosher catering

Other

100% service guarantee
Livestreaming of services

How may we help you?

Plan Ahead

A Death Is Near

A Death Has Occurred

GET CUSTOM QUOTE

INCLUDES EVERYTHING YOU NEED:

Filing for death certificates
Securing burial permits
Helping with insurance claims
Giving guidance on Social Security survivors benefits

Every detail remembered

100% SERVICE GUARANTEE
If for some reason you’re dissatisfied with any aspect of your service, we’ll refund that portion of the service.
LIFETIME FLEXIBILITY
If you want to make changes to a prepaid plan, we are always available to discuss your options.
RELOCATION PROTECTION
Our prepaid plans are transferable to any of the qualifying Dignity Memorial providers in North America.