Graceland-Fairlawn Funeral Home and Cemetery

I don’t have the words. I was blessed to work with Donnie for several years and witnessed on a daily basis his genuinely kind heart and service to others. Today he blessed my family and I beyond words. Currently out of state, I got the call late last night about the passing of one of our life long pets. Donnie worked with me virtually to take care of the paperwork and was there to greet, support, reassure and love on my kiddos. He definitely took a huge burden off my heart by being there for them. Donnie, I always knew you were called to do this job; today, you proved it yet again. Thank you, you are truly appreciated and I am extremely thankful for you!

My Mother passed after a short stay in hospice care. Our family called to get information regarding funeral plans & the same afternoon, Will was at our home to answer ALL our questions & concerns. We went to the funeral home where we met David to review & make final arrangements for Mom. He & all the staff were so patient & supportive. We had a service at the funeral home & also made a trip to Kentucky for burial. Our Mother looked beautiful, everything was as planned & couldn't have gone any smoother. We appreciate all the
hard work & time invested to make this experience, although hard, seamless.

I took my Fur Baby Thunder to Graceland-Fairlawn Funeral Home to be Cremated after he passed. An Amazing Gentleman by the name of Donnie Sutton who is over the Pet Cemetery and Cremation at Graceland-Fairlawn helped me through the process. He was very sweet, kind, caring, and compassionate. You could tell that he is truly called to do his job at helping people through the loss of their Pets. He went through all of the options with me, helped me pick out a beautiful Urn for my Thunder. When I took Thunder in Donnie took great care taking Thunder out of the back of my vehicle for me, and taking him into the building. Then Donnie took me into the office to go over all of the options available for pets. I went with the Cremation, and with the help of Donnie picked out a Beautiful wood Urn to put my Thunder in. Donnie also took a nose print, and paw print of Thunder's nose, and paw, and wrapped them up beautifully when I went to pick up Thunder's remains. I dropped Thunder off on Tue, and was able to pick up his remains the following day on Wed. Everything was packaged so very nicely, you can tell that great care and detail was taken and used to take the best care of my Thunder. The cost of everything was also very reasonable. I would defiantly Recommend Graceland-Fairlawn and Donnie to anyone who is looking to Cremate, or bury their fur baby. They are very kind, caring, and compassionate, good hearted people; who will take amazing care of you and your Fur baby. I highly recommend them and their team. I'm adding photo's of the care package that they sent home with me, and the beautiful Urn that Thunder came home in. A big Thank You to Graceland-Fairlawn Funeral Home, and to Donnie Sutton who took me through the process, and for taking such good care of my Thunder. You and your team were wonderful, and went above and beyond for me and my family and our Fur baby I can't thank you all enough.

I have had several conversations with Amy Marshall, who is a Family Service Provider at Graceland-Fairlawn. Her commitment and dedication to her job is second to none! She is very compassionate and has been very patient with me as I am a “question” person and have asked a myriad of questions. She never made me feel like I was bothering her and she answered all my questions concisely. I am very impressed with the way she represents Graceland-Fairlawn! She is quite an asset!

We lost one of our boxers in March of 2023. We brought her to Faithful Friends. Donnie is so nice and caring. Our pets are so much a part of our family and he treated her as just that, a family member. We even received a clay paw & nose print that we will cherish forever.
With having such a good experience with Donnie at Faithful Friends, our 2nd boxer just passed April 2024 at the age of 12. So we choose to have him help us say goodbye. And once again, Donnie went above & beyond to help us and to care for our fur baby.

From the moment I spoke to Amy Marshall I felt comfort. With a sudden death as a family we were unprepared to say the least. Family death is quite familiar to us as are funeral homes and directors. My previous experiences felt like a high pressure sales situation and left me more nervous than necessary. I never felt that way with Amy and Shawn. I felt like a real person having a genuine conversation with real people. They as a team including the digital staff went above and beyond for my family. I would recommend them to my own family and friends. I highly recommend you sit and talk with them if and when their services are needed.

Donnie Sutton, you did a great job with what you do. We have nothing but great things to say about you and your work. You were there when not just one of our fur babies passed on but all 5 of them. You did an outstanding job with making sure that we received the best service with each one of our dogs. We received their nose print, paw print, fur clipping, and most of all their remains. Before coming to Graceland for our cremations the company could not guarantee to get only our pet remains but receive somebody else's as well as ours. With Graceland, we are guaranteed to receive only our pets remains, which makes our hearts more fuller knowing we have something to remember each dog from.
So thank you Donnie Sutton and Graceland Fairlawn for all you have done to help the loss of our pets seem easier. We appreciate your services along with the kindness that you have given our family.
Best Regards
The Russell Family
Lorie & Robert Russell

I was very hesitant to use this funeral home because I had heard negative reviews from friends when it came to cremation of their pets. I was absolutely floored with professionalism of, particularly, Will. There was a mix up with my appointment and Will stayed late to receive my boy and did everything in his power to make sure he and I were taken care of. Donnie did an outstanding job with his paw print and nose print. When I see the clay, I can picture him with me. Outstanding job with pet cremation in my opinion. It's not a service I wish to use again for obvious reasons but, if needed, I will not hesitate to go here again.

My partner & I lost one of our fur babies, Graceland Fairlawn Funeral Home & Crematory was amazing to work with. DONNY was absolutely amazing, very attentive to our needs and wishes. Thank you so much for everything in our time of need. Absolutely outstanding service!!

Donnie Sutton was amazing helping us through the process of Duke's cremation would highly recommend Graceland to anyone especially for pet cremations ...Thanks again Donnie ..love always Duke Soberg's Family 🐶♥

Representative Amy Marshall provided personable and knowledgeable guidance for my wife and me as we navigated through the complexities of pre-need cremation arrangements. She understood our needs guidelines and provided the details needed to make better informed decisions. She has the natural ability to put people at ease and communicates effectively and thoroughly. As someone who finds humor in most of life’s events, I sometimes find my humor falling to blank stares. Amy read her audience accurately and met me effectively with humor on my communication level, which made the process flow more productively and effectively. Had I known how smoothly the process would unfold, I would have requested jelly filled donuts be available.

Amy’s pre planning could not have more professional and more reassuring, thank you so much. In addition funeral director Tony and his team did an excellent job last Saturday at Central Christian Church. Sandra Hunter’s family was in need of maximum guidance and understanding, you were there in our many needs. Thank you Graceland-Fairlawn. Charles Hunter 6/7/2024

Therese Allen assisted me with completing the arrangements after my mother’s death that she had pre planned several years ago. The wonderful coincidence that occurred was that Therese had known my mother personally which helped to make me feel very comfortable. Therese was kind and caring, completely professional and detail oriented. She helped me to carry out my mother’s wishes in the best possible way. Everything went very smoothly and exactly as promised. I highly recommend Therese and everyone at Graceland Fairlawn that I came into contact with. They helped me to honor my mother in a way that our family could be completely satisfied with. I could not have been more pleased with the service I received.

I want to thank everyone who helped me locate my great uncles grave. My grandparents, great uncle, and uncle are tnterned at Graceland Fairlawn cemetery in Decatur, Illinois.
I recently visited the cemetery after several years and couldn't remember all the plot locations.
I also want to thank the grounds keepers that keep the cemetery looking so nice.
Everything you all do is greatly appreciated!

Lost my girl just 2 days ago and brought her here..from the very start it was exceptional and couldnt of expected better. I now have reassurance that losing her and bringing her here shed be well taken care of! Thank you so much to the staff who set me up with everything and most of all to will for answering all my questions and concerns..being so very patient and understanding an avaiable everytime ive needed something answered.

Tony Lynch and Amy Marshall are two of the most caring and compassionate people I’ve ever met. Tony made mom look so rested and beautiful. He went out of his way to help me on his day off. Amy helped me pick out the casket and everything needed to make my mom’s funeral perfect. I really appreciate all these two did for me and my family. Thank you.

I was treated with upmost respect when I took my beloved Nugget in to have cremated...Donnie was very kind and sweet guy! I would recommend him for you if you decide to get your furbaby cremated...Thank you Donnie!

Donnie was very professional and kind. He treated us and our beloved Frayja with the most tender care. Made sure we understood what we were paying for and what services were included. He did tell us he may not be able to get a nose print, however he was successful and we could be happier. I would recommend him to everyone I know

These folks are beyond awesome,Donnie Sutton helped me arrange my dogs cremation,and even made a cast of his paws and nose...they are professional and they love dogs..my kinda people!!!

I recently buried my grandmother and used Graceland Fairlawn to make the arrangements for the funeral. The funeral director, Tony, was so very sincere and understanding with me. Will, the family service manager, was so very compassionate and at a time when I felt very lost as to what to do was so very extremely helpful. These two men helped make the simple but beautiful arrangements that my grandmother wanted. I cannot thank these two men enough and I would completely use the services of the funeral home again.