Company Philosophy

Every employee in our company carries a pocket card that reads, “We pledge to treat every family as if they were our own, and today, your family is our family." We use these pocket cards to train our employees to make the right decisions. We often ask, “If it were your mother, would you have done anything different?"

Roberts Funeral Home and American Cemetery Services is a company whose goal is to provide families with the best possible service and merchandise available, and to have a reputation of being an ethical company throughout those communities. We have been innovators in our industry from the beginning, and are constantly looking for new ways to honor and celebrate those that are so important to the families we serve.

Prearranging cemetery and funeral items before there is a death in the family makes sense. It is a fact that families will spend more after a death occurs, than if they had purchased those items before a terminal illness or death occurs. It is our responsibility to assist our community in understanding the value in prearranging. That is why we offer planning guides and professional consultation services. Please contact us to get started today!

Company History

Our company began in 1961 when J.P. Roberts and his brother Chester Roberts purchased land north of Wooster and founded Sherwood Memorial Gardens. They also started Eastlawn Memory Gardens in Brunswick and Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Wadsworth in the mid-and-late sixties.

During the 1970’s and 80’s, J. P. and Chester split their multi-state company, and J. P.’s three oldest sons, Greg, Jeff, and Kirk, joined their father in business. Ashland County Memorial Park, one of our most beautiful cemeteries, joined our family; and Ohio’s first cemetery/mortuary combination, Roberts Funeral Home – Sherwood Chapel, Wooster, was established.

The 90’s and 2000’s brought Alex Roberts, the youngest of the 4 sons, and the addition of two more funeral home/cemetery combinations: Hillcrest Chapel in Wadsworth and Ashland Chapel. J. P. officially retired and his sons now own and operate the company. We created American Cemetery Services as the parent company of the cemetery holdings, and in 2001, Mt. Vernon Memorial Gardens, Ft. Steuben Burial Estates, Seneca Memory Gardens, and East Lawn Memorial Park in Marietta were added to our family. In addition, our on-site crematory Remembrance Cremation Center, was established in Wooster.

The 2010's brought new highs and lows. Jeff's son, Jarad joined the family business in 2010. Our newest funeral home, East Lawn Chapel, opened in 2014 in Marietta. And, sadly, both J. P. and Greg, passed away in this decade. They left a lasting impression on how we serve our families their optimism still permeates how we look to the future. Kirk's son, Michael joined us in 2018 after honorably serving in the United States Marine Corps.

Jeff, Kirk and Alex Roberts are all licensed funeral directors and manage different areas of the company. Jeff works as our CFO and oversees all of the cemetery operations to make certain that all of our cemetery grounds are properly maintained and that our administrative staff keep accurate and up-to-date records; Kirk provides at need and prearrangement services through his professional family service staff; and Alex oversees the funeral home operations to make sure that all of our funeral home families are given the highest level of compassion, unquestioned dignity, and professional service.