Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home & Forest Park Lawndale

Contemporary and classic accommodations

Established in the 1920s, Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home is a warm, welcoming and uplifting space with an abundance of natural light and neutral colors. We have several chapels, staterooms and hospitality rooms to suit your funeral service needs.

With 3 chapels to choose from—Grand Chapel, Colonial Chapel and Chapel of Angels—families can truly customize a loved one’s service to their needs and wishes. The Grand Chapel and Colonial Chapel are located inside our funeral home; the Chapel of Angels is on the cemetery grounds.

Grand Chapel

Grand Chapel seats up to 250 people in a setting with stained-glass windows and comfortable pews. This chapel also features a family room, clergy room and private areas, as well as an open foyer available for personalization and as a display area for families to share photos and mementos of their loved ones.

Colonial Chapel

Colonial Chapel is a more intimate chapel for funeral ceremonies, seating 75 to 100 people in chairs instead of pews. A corridor leading to Colonial Chapel gives the comfort of home with couches, high-back chairs and tables.

Chapel of Angels

Featuring Gothic architecture, Chapel of Angels at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery has a view of the water and accommodates 75 to 100 guests.

Reception rooms and more

Our funeral home offers two areas for catered gatherings. The reception room seats about 55 guests or can accommodate 75 to 100 people standing. The smaller hospitality space accommodates up to 30 people. These areas are entirely customizable, and our team of experienced funeral professionals will make sure every catering detail meets your specifications.

The funeral home also has an on-site floral shop.

Call us for unmatched service

At Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home, we understand that losing a loved one is an emotional and difficult experience, and we are committed to providing compassionate, professional and personal service. Our team is available to work with you one on one to create a meaningful memorial as unique as your loved one.

Please contact Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home if you need of immediate assistance, wish to tour our facility or want to meet with a member of our team to discuss funeral planning options.

Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery

Situated along the picturesque banks of Brays Bayou on approximately 300 acres, Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery exudes romanticism with a tremendous amount of history reminiscent of various eras. Large native trees, beautifully designed memorials, and secular and religious features lend the property a park-like atmosphere.

Burial and cremation options

At Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery, families have many ways to memorialize the lives and accomplishments of their loved ones. From lawn interment spaces, mausoleums and estates in our many lush gardens to our monument park with elaborate memorials and statuary as well as a number of cremation and other customizable, built-to-suit selections, the options are nearly endless.

With a tranquil lake, flowing fountain and 2 islands situated nicely for committal services and Life Well Celebrated® events, the property is a serene place of reflection.

The expansive grounds include 3 lawn crypt gardens—Garden of Angels, Garden of Love and Garden of Peace—which are beautifully manicured with flat stones. While all of these lawns are similar in look and feel, the Garden of Angels includes options for granite monoliths along the perimeter. Cemetery property is also available overlooking Brays Bayou.

The Abbey Mausoleum has both indoor and outdoor mausoleum crypts and stained-glass windows inspired by Tiffany designs. Private, built-to-suit family mausoleums are also available.

We offer a variety of cremation memorialization options, including a unique room within the Chapel of Angels that houses a custom-built cremation niche bank with curved glass, marble accents, LED lighting and personalization.

Notable burials

Over the years, Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery has become the final resting place for hundreds of local dignitaries and notable people. This includes our founder, J. D. Eubanks; J. Robert Neal, founder of Maxwell House Coffee; Walter Fondren, founder of Humble Oil Company, now Exxon Corporation; Senator Lloyd Bentsen; Robert E. “Bob” Onstead, founder of Randall’s Food Markets; and others.

Visit the cemetery

We invite you to see Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery for yourself. If you would like a tour of the property, please call us.

History

Truly a place to remember, Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home and Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery has a longstanding history in Houston, dating back to 1921 with the first recorded burial at the cemetery.

The funeral home and cemetery were officially founded the following year, in 1922, on 49 acres as the first funeral home and cemetery combination in Texas, offering families the ability to plan for a funeral and burial at convenient sister locations.

Five years later, J. D. Eubanks—a judge from Kansas City—purchased the cemetery and began acquiring additional acreage. By 1941, the cemetery totaled approximately 300 acres along Brays Bayou in the East End. Since that time, Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home and Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery have continued to build on their offerings, providing families with a multitude of funeral, memorial and burial options.

The landmark cemetery is the final resting place for people from all walks of life, including hundreds of well-known local dignitaries and notable people. Houston Press has twice recognized the property as the "most beautiful cemetery in Houston."

Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home and Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery were owned and managed by the Eubanks family until joining the Dignity Memorial® network of funeral, cremation and cemetery providers. With nearly a century-long history, we are committed to providing the compassionate care you expect from a locally operated establishment coupled with the value you deserve.

Diversity and veterans affairs

Each member of our funeral home team is committed to a standard of excellence, ethics and honesty. Our wealth of experience affords us the privilege of working with families of all faiths, backgrounds, customs and cultures. From small services and gatherings to large processions and family participation, we respect every family’s wishes to help bring honor and recognition to the lives of their loved ones.

Additionally, we participate in the Dignity Memorial® Homeless Veterans Burial Program, 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 Homeless Veterans Burial Program, homeless and indigent veterans who have no family to claim them are identified and provided with proper military burials.

We are also committed to the Public Servants Program, which honors public servants, including police officers and firefighters, who fall in the line of duty.

Community involvement and events

We place a high importance on giving back through local partnerships and sponsorships. Over the years, our team has been involved in and supported the Rotary Club of Harrisburg, the East End educational programs, East End athletics program and other area organizations.

To complement this community involvement, we invite the public to visit Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home and Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery periodically during the year for events that we host.

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day

On both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, we give those who visit the cemetery fresh flowers and keepsakes as tokens of love.

Memorial Day

Our annual Memorial Day event takes places at the Field of Honor, a location on our cemetery grounds honoring veterans. Featuring a poignant presentation with bagpipes, a horse-drawn caisson and riderless horse, the service includes the placing of a wreath and honors parents of fallen soldiers. We transform the large hospitality room in our funeral home into a military museum with exhibits on past and present histories of war. Generals, elected officials and local dignitaries are regularly present for this event.

Día de los Muertos

A Día de los Muertos celebration is held at the funeral home on the green area outside The Grand Chapel. The program includes traditional folkloric dancers in costume, mariachis, and traditional baked goods and refreshments, including pan de muerto. We also create an altar on which guests can place personal tributes for their loved ones. In addition, an educator, artist or scholar from the Houston Hispanic Forum speaks on the history of the Day of the Dead, and a member of the clergy delivers a formal blessing.

The holiday season

The holiday season can be tough for those dealing with grief and the loss of loved ones. To memorialize those who have passed and bring families together, we host a Tree of Remembrance event during the holidays. This includes a bilingual service, harpist, madrigal choir performance, words of hope from local clergymen, a video tribute with photos of family members and a keepsake for attendees. Families are invited to place an item on our Christmas tree in memory of their loved ones.