Nakamura Mortuary

“I and the family of Wanda Chambers are saddened and disappointed at the level of service we received from Nakamura's. In the most difficult time of our lives instead of receiving comfort and support, we felt stress and anxiety in trying to ensure the dignity of our mothers services as discussed in our initial meeting on August 1st 2025. I have documented a series of mistakes and careless actions that must be addressed. I would like to talk with Mr. Chace Ward to provide details of our experience. Mahalo; Terrence Chambers In short and in order. During our initial meeting on 8/1/25 an arrangement was made for a private viewing of Wanda for a small group of out of town family on 8/20/25 for 10:00 am. When the family arrived Mr. Gaskin the mortician had no knowledge of the arrangement. Although the family believes he did the best he could to salvage the situation, we feel that this didn't have to happen if the communication was given. On 8/22/25 the day before Wanda's Memorial service I arrived at the offices to pick up all the related items and the programs and they had not been prepared. While waiting at the mall I received a draft program by email from S. Bartolomeo with her stating that they can start printing the programs with my approval, but I replied that it was wrong in that the picture on the front was supposed to be on the back and even worse the picture on the back was not the one provided to Chasity at the initial meeting. I arrived at the offices shortly there after to resolve the issue and Sharmaine told me that she picked some random photo off the tribute page to use on the program? I still have the emails sent to Chasity with one having the front program photo stating front picture and the second email stating back program picture and big framed picture.It was stressful getting these issues resolved and completely unnecessary with the proper communication. 8/23/25 the day of Wanda's Memorial service I arrived to the location early so as to receive the flower arrangement but became concerned when the flowers had not been delivered and services to begin in an hour with some guests starting to arrive. After a couple phone calls and a half hour later, Chasity calls to say she put the wrong date in for the flowers being the Viewing date instead of the Memorial Date that we had agreed upon at the initial meeting. Chasity said the flower vendor could try and do something but it wouldn't be on time. The family feels disrespected that this was even proposed and that the flowers were not delivered as discussed. This was completely avoidable. On 8/26/25 I sent an email to Chasity inquiring about Wanda's death certificates The response I got was that it takes 4-8 weeks. In response I ask Chasity if she could please verify that proper documentation has been submitted and her response was that the Admin team has sent in all documentation. I got a call on 9/17/25 that DC,s had arrived and I picked up the next day. There is a note on the bottom of the DC that states as follows: LATE FILING - FUNERAL DIRECTORS CERTIFICATION FILED AUGUST 27, 2025. It appears that the documentation was provided to the State only after I asked for and was assured that it had been submitted. I have documentation on all of the issues I just explained. I received an email survey from Nakamura's on 9/26/25, and although I requested to speak with Mr. Ward the director of operations on that day as stated in the first paragraph of this review, no one has reached out. I allowed some time to pass before I posted my experience on this Google post because I was hoping that someone would have looked into and at least reached out to have a sincere dialog. Making posts like this is not my style, but my Mother prepaid in full a deluxe funeral package and I will not let the indifference and disrespect my family has experienced to be buried under a survey that states that they hope to resolve any discrepancies of service, only to not be acknowledged or dignified with any response. Sincerely Terrence Chambers”

“Seems professional, but a hot mess. All my father wanted was to be cremated and get a military sendoff as he was a Purple Heart recipient for his actions in Vietnam. (Edited portion: As part of the $2,000 fee for the cremation there was an "ID viewing" which was not clearly described so it was only attended by two people. All we really wanted, however, was the burial space at the veterans cemetery with the 21 gun salute which they said they would take care of.) When they filled out the paperwork for the military burial for me to sign, they didn't include many pertinent details, had the form upside down, and marked him as FEMALE. I asked for them to revise the paperwork but it was still a mess so I filled out the form again myself. When my family arrived at the cemetery, no military honors because they forgot to file that paperwork. I might as well have done everything myself, the staff at Nakamura's are incompetent. If they don't know how to do something they shouldn't offer to do it.”

“I was the only family member on island to represent dad. My sister and brother could not get a flight on such short notice. And I called them from Nakamura's, from the: "don't gotta wait no more" room. (they gone) I shared with them how Chasity and Michael are professional angels who made my visit special instead of routine. As we dealt with business Chasity and Micheal came from their heart and soul, so I felt as if my own ohana were with me. Thank you, Ohana Mortuary.”

“Despite the difficult circumstances, our experience with Chasity at the mortuary was warm, compassionate, and deeply comforting. She gently guided us through all the available options for laying our beloved mother to rest, without ever pressuring us toward any particular choice. Everything was handled with such care that the process felt seamless and surprisingly easy. Chasity and her team helped us manage details we hadn’t even considered, given our emotional state. Thanks to their thoughtful support, we were able to say goodbye in the most meaningful way possible. One especially touching gesture was the option to keep a small portion of our mother’s ashes in a beautiful, heart-shaped glass keepsake. It was a simple yet profound way to hold her memory close. We are truly grateful for the kindness and professionalism shown to us during such a tender time.”

“Michael Gray was amazing and made us feel really comfortable discussing something that could be difficult. We are grateful and feel more at ease for our children knowing they don’t have the burden of arranging for our resting place.”