Westover Funeral Home

Veteran services at Westover Funeral Home

For veterans in Urbandale, IA, Westover Funeral Home coordinates military honors and burial benefits. In their own words: "Iles Westover Funeral Home offers veteran services and military honors. The Iles Grandview Park Funeral Home, part of the same family of funeral homes, operates a 'Retired Flag Cremation Program' where worn flags are collected, retired in a ceremony, and then placed with a veteran for cremation." On-site amenities include on-site chapel and reception areas, suited to flag presentation and honors ceremonies. Published pricing lists $4,985 for basic burial and $2,835 for direct cremation. Veterans may qualify for county or federal allowances toward these costs.

Veteran-related services offered include graveside ceremony, cremation services, direct cremation, memorial ceremony after cremation, veteran services, and military honors. Each service is coordinated with the family and, where applicable, with the deceased's last unit or branch honor detail.

On-site facilities of note include on-site chapel. These spaces accommodate full military honors details, family gatherings before and after the service, and the placement of the United States flag during the visitation period.

Published pricing at Westover Funeral Home: direct cremation from $2,835. That places direct cremation roughly 2% below the Iowa median ($2,905). Veterans who served on active duty for at least 24 months may qualify for VA burial allowance to offset funeral costs — this home accepts assignment of those benefits where eligible.

The nearest VA national cemetery is Iowa Veterans Cemetery in IA, approximately 14 miles from Westover Funeral Home. Westover Funeral Home can coordinate transport, scheduling with the cemetery's interment office, and the timing of military honors with the receiving committal shelter.

Iowa has approximately 577 licensed funeral homes serving its population, of which a subset specifically lists military funeral honors and VA benefits assistance among their services. Westover Funeral Home is among them.

Frequently asked questions

What sets Westover Funeral Home apart

• Owners Mark and Mike Iles maintain personal involvement, ensuring revenue stays local and empowering staff to meet customer needs, prioritizing their reputation.
• Staff are qualified, experienced, and specialized into a Care Center Team (for deceased care) and an Arranging Team (for service design), with extensive part-time support and continuous training, including serving as preceptors for the DMACC Mortuary Science program.
• Facilities include five funeral homes with diverse decors, chapel sizes, reception areas, and technological advancements like webcasting. Dunn's Crematory ensures secure identification protocols and offers a private family viewing area, while also focusing on environmental protection and cost control.
• Creative personalization is achieved through an in-house team of graphic and video artists, utilizing state-of-the-art printing, graphics, video, technical, and sound equipment to produce personalized memorial products efficiently and creatively.
• A satisfaction guarantee involves counseling families to understand expectations, continuous feedback through surveys (consistently rated 'Excellent'), and a commitment to reduce or eliminate charges if professional services or facilities do not meet expectations.

Military & veteran services offered

Burial & cremation services

On-site facilities

Affiliations & specializations

Religious traditions & languages

Religious traditions accommodated: Catholic, Episcopal.

How honors are coordinated

Military funeral honors are guaranteed at no cost for any veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. The funeral home arranges the honors detail by contacting the deceased's last unit or the nearest active-duty installation of the appropriate branch and submitting the DD-214 to verify eligibility.

For requests less than 72 hours from service time, families can call the Department of Defense's expedited honors line at 1-877-MIL-HONR (1-877-645-4667). See the full honors protocol.