Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park and Mortuary

Embracing diversity and serving all cultures

We love the diversity of our multicultural community, and it's our honor to serve all faiths and cultures.

As part of the cultural melting pot that is the San Fernando Valley, we are experienced at funeral and burial customs for Armenian, Islamic, Middle Eastern, Hispanic, Filipino, Hindu, Buddhist and Vietnamese people. The teams at Pierce Brothers Valhalla speak English, Spanish, Armenian, Arabic, French, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Russian and many Middle Eastern dialects.

Funeral home amenities

The traditional funeral home chapel has high ceilings, stained-glass windows and pew seating. The peaceful space seats 135 people. Elegantly appointed, the chapel has cream-colored walls, crystal chandeliers, ornate carpeting and marble tile with circular medallions—much like what you’d find in a cathedral. It has a state-of-the-art audio-visual system for music or memorial slideshows.

The chapel sits on the west side of the funeral home; the east side of the building has 2 visitations rooms and a lobby. The visitation rooms have a private, home-like atmosphere to give families areas to gather without formality.

The building is wheelchair accessible for elderly and physically challenged guests. A flower shop on the premises allows families to conveniently add floral touches when appropriate.

Personalized funerals

We’re more than happy to conduct a traditional ceremony, but we also love designing services that reflect unique lives.

Personalization can take many forms. Many people choose to have memory tables where family and friends place pictures and other meaningful items that remind them of their loved one. During the funeral, guests visit the memory table to see and reflect on the artifacts of their loved one's life. Some families even chosen to gift-wrap the items from the memory table and give them to guests after the service.

For others, personalization might mean a motorcycle in the our chapel or a fireworks display. For veterans, we work the local American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars chapters to design funerals with military honors.

From simple to elaborate, we collaborate on ways to celebrate life.

On-site crematory

Pierce Brothers Valhalla funeral home has an on-site crematory, which makes planning a cremation a simpler process and ensures you that your loved one never leaves our care.

You can choose to hold a cremation before or after a funeral or memorial service—or you can opt for no service at all. Some families want to watch the cremation, and we can accommodate that need as well.

You have many choices when it comes to cremation. Our team explains them all and answers your questions along the way.

History

Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park was founded in 1923. The funeral home opened in 1952.

The Spanish Mission Revival cemetery entrance structure was designed by architect Kenneth McDonald Jr. For the decorative stone castings, McDonald hired Italian-born sculptor Federico A. Giorgi, who created 30-foot-tall statues of elephants and lions for the 1917 film Intolerance and the exterior of the Million Dollar Theater.

Grand rotunda and concerts

The cemetery's grand rotunda was dedicated on March 1, 1925. To celebrate, English contralto Maude Elliott performed a concert; picnickers spread blankets on the grassy expanse between 3 reflecting pools and flat cemetery markers, which were a new concept for the time. The area soon became a tourist attraction and was often used for concerts broadcast by radio station KELW.

A final resting place for many entertainers

Over the years, many entertainers have chosen Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park as their final resting place. Here are just some of those people:

• Oliver Hardy of the comedic duo, Laurel and Hardy
• Leigh Harline, composer of Disney’s When You Wish Upon a Star song
• Cliff Edwards, voice of Jiminy Cricket
• Arthur Q. Bryan, voice of Elmer Fudd
• Bea Benaderet, voice of Granny on Looney Tunes and Betty Rubble on The Flintstones
• Robert Lowery, one of the first actors to play Batman
• Mae Murray, silent movie actress
• Barton MacLane, actor in I Dream of Jeannie and The Maltese Falcon
• Willie Best, actor
• Madame Sul-Te-Wan, actress
• Bud Westmore, makeup artist for Creature of the Black Lagoon and The Munsters
• Yakima Canutt, actor and stuntman

Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park cemetery

Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park spans 101 acres in Burbank and North Hollywood, and has provided quality burial and cemetery services for residents in the San Fernando Valley for almost a decade. The cemetery was among the first to feature all flat markers, which we believe creates a more inviting, park-like setting.

Burial options

You have a choice when it comes to your or your loved one's final resting place. We aim to meet the requirements and desires of most any family, culture or religion.

We have plenty of space for in-ground burials, including private estates and semiprivate family benches. Built-to-suit estates allow a family to work with a designer to create the exact memorial they desire.

Mausoleum of Eternal Love is the newest mausoleum at Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park. The multilevel outdoor mausoleum opened in 2016 with room for more than 750 entombments and 140 cremation niches.

Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park also offers multiple cremation gardens, columbaria and the Garden of Remembrance ossuary. Core monoliths are large granite rocks hollowed out to hold cremated remains.

A multicultural cemetery

Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park serves many Armenian families. The Garden of Mount Ararat, with a mosaic of Mount Ararat, is dedicated to the Armenian community. Two additional sections for Armenian burials opened in 2017: Argishti and Erebuni.

Many Hispanic families also choose the cemetery. The newly opened Jardin del Angel is a tranquil space with a number of interment options especially for that population.

Water conservation

California’s water situation is dire, and we work to use our water in the most responsible way possible. We have implemented a number of conservation steps, including using reclaimed water from Burbank.

Visit the cemetery

Photos tell a story but there's nothing like seeing something for yourself. We invite you to visit the cemetery anytime. If you would like a guided tour, please call us.

The Portal of the Folded Wings

The Portal of the Folded Wings is a final resting place for many aviation pioneers, including daredevils. A memorial to Amelia Earhart and others honors their accomplishments. Among those interred in this section of Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park are several celebrities.

At the entrance, to this section sits a large model of a space shuttle. The tribute to the astronauts who lost their lives on the Columbia and Challenger shuttles is a scaled-down model built for the movie Armageddon and donated to the cemetery after the movie.

The Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation is 75 feet of marble, mosaic and sculpted figures. It includes a colorful tile dome and female figures stretching their arms to the heavens. It was originally built in 1924 as an entrance to Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park, but aviation enthusiast James Gillett was impressed by the rotunda's proximity to the airport and Lockheed Aircraft Company. He conceived a plan to use the structure as a shrine to aviation and worked to that end for 20 years.

The repurposed shrine was dedicated in 1953 by aviation enthusiasts who wanted a designated burial ground for pilots, mechanics and other pioneers of flight. The dedication ceremony took place on the 50th anniversary of flight: December 17, 1953.

To this day, the shrine stands as a tribute to the brave men and women who took to the air. Memorial tablets in this sacred portal hold the cremated remains of famous flyers; bronze plaques on marble walls memorialize Americans who devoted their lives to the Air Age.

The Portal of the Folded Wings also includes a small aviation museum. Run independent of the cemetery by volunteers, it showcases the history of flight and is free to enter on weekends.

We care for our community

Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park and Pierce Brothers Valhalla Mortuary are always looking to find ways to make positive contributions to our community.

Our staffs have participated in various Alzheimer’s walks and are involved with local athletics, including coaching and refereeing for Little League, high school and college sports. Members of our teams are active in Knights of Columbus, Kiwanis, Masons and Rotary Club.

On Memorial Day each year for 90 years and counting, we hold an event to celebrate the men and women in the armed forces. We invite the local military academy, Boy Scouts, retired and active military, politicians and the public to join us for a small parade and barbecue.

In 2007, the cemetery hosted the traveling Vietnam Wall exhibit. Previous to 2007, the wall had not been in Burbank for decades.

In the fall, we host a Día de los Muertos celebration and a BBQ to honor civil servants like city workers, police and firefighters.

Last but not least, we host concerts at local parks throughout the San Fernando Valley.