F.W. Barnes & Son Funeral Directors

FW Barnes was very professional yet friendly and quite helpful while taking care of my mother’s funeral. I live in the U. S therefore didn’t know the protocol for funerals in Australia, and although my parents lived in Ballarat the funeral was to take place in Wangaratta which made the situation very convoluted.
Simon Prague took care of all the details and made a very difficult and painful situation much more bearable as I could concentrate on consoling my father who was heartbroken. Thanks to Mr Prague and his team the details of the funeral were easy. Details and orchestrating transportation to another city while being able to make the necessary purchases to effectuate a smooth funeral service for our dear mother was facilitated in the true sense of the word. It was made so easy by Mr Prague and his staff, and I am very very grateful for their help and compassionate ways.
Highly recommend FW Barnes without any hesitation.

Thank you so much for taking care of my Mum. You made a very sad and difficult day that little bit easier

Organising a funeral and all it entails is one of the most stressful times in your life. Recently it was necessary to deal with FW Barnes and the staff were helpful and pleasant. The Courier notices were taken care of but on publication were incorrect on the year of birth and a number of spelling of mistakes. I know every business is short staffed these days but these mistakes are so obvious and easily prevented. Perhaps proof of what was being printed between both these parties would have made sure that the information was correct. Imagine our disappointment on the day of the funeral, upon being handed a bookmark, to see the surname of the deceased incorrectly spelt along with a family members given name not even close to being spelt correctly. Surely this information was also proofread before printed or at least checked when delivered back to the funeral home. This made our day all the more upsetting for all involved and isn’t good enough.

I can't thank them enough compassionate, caring and thoughtful from beginning to end.
Losing my dad and wanting to see him whilst he was in their care and making it happen, I will forever be grateful for
If only they were situated in Melbourne I'd have them take care of my nephews service.

Thank you so much from my family to yours.

We had our Dads funeral at FW Barnes last week and we could not have been happier with how it went. Everything was very well organised and the communication was excellent. Having someone you can trust and rely on during a stressful and emotional time is very important, and Sharnie and Tanya were excellent. We had wonderful feedback from our family and friends about what a lovely service it was, and we were so grateful to be able to give our Dad the best possible tribute he deserved. If we could give them 10 stars we would, thank you Sharnie, Tanya and all the staff at FW Barnes. From The Rigby Family.

Most of the service was good and yes there was times they went above and done something great that they no longer do but what is most unforgivable is to have a live streaming that showed absolutely nothing of value to the family members that couldn't come over to be at the funeral and also the grieving wife has nothing of her husbands guard of honour from his fellow fire-fighters to look back on when she would be able to.

I don't know where to begin. Because of covid we had time restraints in which we had to return interstate because of lockdowns. Enter Kristy who was so gentle and compassionate to our needs who followed our wishes to the tee.upon just a conversation with my daughter stating how mum would have wanted a haircut she arranged for Emma to cut it. Thank you Emma you did a beautiful Job mum would have loved it. Because we didn't have a service Kristy opened up the chapel to us played our chosen songs whilst we all went and said our final goodbyes to my beloved mum Irma Wardrop I honestly can't fault anything I was kept up to date with every aspect. Finally it gave us comfort how quickly they got her from the hospital into their care because mum hated hospitals thank you all so much from the bottom of our hearts
Belinda Shepley and families

Having just said goodbye to my Grandfather for the last time, FW Barnes and Son's, in particular Kristy and Carl was nothing short of amazing. Their attention to detail, communication with all parties involved and care given to my Grandmother throughout this process meant she should say goodbye surrounded by their loving support.

Thanks for everything and making the process a smooth one.

F. W. Barnes & Sons were extremely proffesioal and compassionate throughtout the whole process of farewelling our beloved mother. They guided us through seamlessly, nothing was too much and their attention to detail was amazing. Mums funeral was beautiful - We can't thank the team enough. Special thanks to Kristy.

Really unhappy, not particularly with the service it's self, it was what it was.
Unfortunately I was overseas when my mother passed away. As such I sent a video to 'F. W. Barnes & Son Funeral Directors', it was last minute, I'll give them that (the evening before the service which was at 2pm the next day).
A family member was at the funeral home early in the morning to make sure the video was included. Despite the video link coming from 'Youtube', they were unable to down load or use it? Again fair enough, but what really is upsetting was the lack of communication from the Funeral directors! Given the chance I would have simply send the text to be read out during the service!
Also, while waiting anxiously for the service to start at 2pm Australian time/ 4am our time, 2pm came and went, then 2: 01,2: 02,203.finally around 5 past it started! Doesn't seem like a long time but when your on the other side of the world not knowing what's happening, looking for connection problems and generally going out of your mind, 5 minutes is a long time!
Lastly when the service was finished and I finally downloaded the complete service the celebrant had already started speaking. The video doesn't need to be a Hollywood production, but when you offer a service you should at least show a little panache with what you offer.
As mentioned the service it's self was ok, but the feed back from the directors and experience as somebody watching overseas was no good.

We recently laid to rest our dear Dad, William Opie and F. W. Barnes was our chosen Funeral Director
They treated our family with compassion and at all times showed huge respect for our Dad.
Their wonderful team quietly covered every detail and went the mile to personalise his service.
We are so thankful to them all and highly recommend our local Funeral Directors F. W. Barnes
Bill Opies Family.

F. W. Barnes and sons funeral directors are hands down the best choice for all your funeral needs. We have had the unfortunate experience of needing to say goodbye to a loved one not once, but twice this year and on both occasions F. W. Barnes have been outstanding at making a dreadful time a smooth and easy process. Even with the many extra challenges working around Covid presented. Both services had different requirements and aspects to be considered and both times it was an absolute pleasure to deal with the spectacular staff members. Their care and compassion from the very first hello to the final goodbye is above and beyond. Not a single member of staff ever make you feel like a request is too hard or a question too silly. The availability of the livestream service for those family and friends who aren't able to be present at the time of the service was such a fantastic option, it certainly made the venue restrictions less problematic. The small details that they add to the service and presentations make them flow beautifully and the family are supported every step of the way, even after the service has concluded. Their ongoing support after the event is a reassurance in the grieving process.

Good morning beautiful,
From the bottom of Barry & Roberts hearts, Thankyou so much for giving our beautiful mum the most beautiful service for our final goodbyes, your staff and yourself go above and beyond our expectations, we will remember your professionalism forever and could have asked for better people to care for our mum to begin her new journey
Kind regards and love
Barry, Robert, Shane

Back in February I lost my Mum, I was one of the lucky ones that I did get to have a funeral service for my Mum. The staff were wonderful, to my family and nothing was to much trouble. I am more than happy to recommend F. W. Barnes & Son