Joseph P. Clavin Sons, Inc. - Funeral Directors Since 1886 — Local services in New York

It is a strange feeling to write a review of a funeral home.

For me, it was easy to overlook the importance of a funeral home until the time comes. Then I saw how important their role was at a time where we really needed help and guidance, but in our case, had little time or know-how as to who to choose, and we were very fortunate to have connected with Clavin.

Our experience with Clavin is from my mother-in-law’s service and funeral. She passed away in May 2023 and at the time of her passing had lived in the Boston area with us since 2016. My wife’s family emigrated from Greece and she and my mother-in-law spent many years in Bay Ridge in a tight knit Greek community. By the time my mother-in-law died, our family had relocated many years ago and my mother-in-law died in the Boston area, where we live. It was very important for us to bring my mother-in-law “home” back to the Greek community in New York. This meant my wife had to choose a funeral home far away from where we currently live.

My wife called Matthew and he immediately handled all of the logistics of transporting her to their home and was always available to speak with my wife. He made sure that everything was done according to the families’ wishes. When we came to Brooklyn for the viewing and the funeral, everyone within the Clavin group was professional . The viewing beautifully done, and they did everything right from the way the photographs were arranged to the parking of guests’ cars to handling the flowers after the funeral donating them to local charities like hospitals.

It is hard to express how important their skill, professionalism, and empathy meant to our family. While I did my best to give some examples above, we also heard from those who attended the showing (most of whom live in Brooklyn) on how helpful the staff was, and that based on other funerals attended that Clavin is held in very high regard by the Greek community (btw as the name Clavin implies I do not think they are Greek but I am mentioning this because it seems like they are held in very high regard locally).

I could keep going on how highly we thought of Matthew (one of the Clavin family members), but I think you get the gist of our appreciation and satisfaction. Finally, I want to mention this review was NOT solicited but comes out of our gratitude during a...

Superior in every way. It is clear that Clavin Funeral Home is a family business and that everyone involved takes great pride in their work. Everyone - from the valet to the owners - stepped up to make my father's recent wake and funeral the beautiful, organized, and solace-filled celebration it was meant to be. The upstairs room is decorated beautifully and tastefully. And every detail was tended to with care. 10+ stars. Seamless and high quality, in every way. I received many words of praise from our family and friends who have attended wakes held with the competition in Bay Ridge. Before the wake, they questioned my choice. After the wake, they commended me for making the right decision. They wondered if I had paid double the price when, in fact, Clavin was comparable or slightly lower for better service. The two words that come to mind as I reflect on my dealings with Stephen and Matthew Clavin over the last few months, as I prepared for my Dad's death, are 1. PATIENCE, and 2. INTEGRITY. From minute one, I felt at ease. I knew that I was dealing with honest people. During the proceedings last week, I was shown great understanding and patience. There were 20+ revisions to our father's obituary, plus some last minute requests by family members. Stephen simply kept updating the website and delivering immediately, with great patience and kindness. Throughout the whole week, Stephen and Matthew were available, responsive, and above all, calm with me, my mother, and my sister. Starting with the 3AM phone call to retrieve my father's body from home hospice, to the post-funeral questions I had about social security, I felt great respect and compassion. The Clavins clearly operate with high integrity in all dealings. Finally, I'd like to say that Stephen's professional style is especially soothing. As he directed my guests from the burial site to the repast launch, addressing mourners, and as he dealt with our priest, I took a deep breath and just smiled. I realized that I was in the presence of an honorable man and a class act. My Dad would've...

My brother Richard passed away in January of this year, while on vacation in the Dominican Republic. I called Clavin funeral home immediately. They had handled everything when my mom and later on my aunt, passed away, and did a great job. From the beginning Matthew Clavin and his brother Stephen were kind, compassionate and professional. Due to covid restrictions in the DR it took almost 4 weeks for the DR to allow him to be sent home. During this whole time Matthew and Stephen kept me updated on the process and also dealt with the US Embassy and the funeral home which was also handling the process, in the DR. When he finally came home, Matthew picked him up at JFK and brought him to their funeral home in Bay Ridge. Since we were not having a wake due to covid, my son and I visited him there and said our goodbyes. Matthew and Steven were fantastic and very helpful. On the day of the funeral, Matthew handled everything at our family church, Holy Innocents and then at Green-Wood Cemetery. It was a beautiful and poignant funeral at the church and then burial at Green-Wood, where our brother Rich was laid to rest with our parents. All in all, Clavin funeral home did an extremely good job, from beginning to end. They are family owned and have been in the same family since 1886.I recommend them to anyone who needs a funeral home in Brooklyn or anywhere in the city. Thank you....