Santa Clara Cemetery & Mortuary — Local services in Oxnard

When I first came to Santa Clara Cemetery it was shortly after the passing of my grandmother (over ten years ago). She was a very special lady, near & dear to my heart. I can remember my son saying how it was important to him we be buried near her. I too, was hoping to make that possible. Well it just so happened we got to be right next to her. By the Grace of God we got the last two plots in that section. I was elated as well as relieved.

Most people my age are working on buying thier first home or their 2nd car. Not me. My focus over the last few years have been making sure my final wishes are taken care of. Well, I am happy to say, I just recently paid off all my funeral arrangements. And again I am relieved. Being a widow, it was important to me to take care of this before anything happens. I didn't want the financial burden to fall on my only child.

Vaneza Zavala has been working with us for the past couple of years and she understood what I needed. She made this transition as smooth as it could possibly be. She was caring, compassionate, & extremely professional when it came to our circumstance. I'll never forget how incredibly friendly she was to my son and I the moment we met to now. Thank you so much for everything you have done. We will continue to work with you and sing your praises wherever we...

It was a horrible experience. Maintenance workers made it a point to accost my wife & I because we were attempting to clean & touch up my mother's gravestone. It had deteriorated so badly that you could no longer read the inscription. & the surrounding gravesites were in really bad shape as well. Some were completely covered with weeds & debris, making it impossible to know where some gravesites were located. The weeds had grown over 2 feet high at the east end of the cemetery. The maintenance crew made it a point to use first an edger. & the following day, they showed up with a tractor grass cutter, making sure to pass me closeup to assure that dirt & debris flew in an effort to destroy the newly painted gravestone. I know had I given them some money, they would have stopped & waited another day to let the paint dry. I had made plans to buy a burial site for my wife & I since both my parents, grandparents, brother & sister are buried at Santa Clara. But after dealing with the cemetery's personnel, the lack of respect & outright hostility they exhibited, I told my loved ones that I don't want a gravesite. I don't want them to be held hostage to any abuse by cemetery personnel. Rather, I will be cremated & ashes thrown...

Today, while decorating my loved one’s grave ahead of Día de los Muertos, I had a very upsetting experience. I brought a garland and pumpkin solar stake lights—the same kind that many other graves around the cemetery had. When the first grounds worker told us we couldn’t place them, we respectfully agreed to remove them. Shortly after, a second worker arrived and said the same. We explained that we were going to remove the items, but they both continued arguing.We asked why other graves still had the same decorations. One worker even said to the other, “they are right, we should remove them,” but the other replied, “No, that’s upsetting for the families when they come and see things taken off.” One even stayed nearby telling us how to decorate.

This made us feel singled out, uncomfortable, and anxious, unable to spend peaceful time with our loved one. It was especially upsetting seeing that other graves still had the same decorations. We understand there are rules, but they should be applied fairly to every grave. People should be treated with compassion, especially during this meaningful time of...