Why choose Phaneuf?

Service

Phaneuf Funeral Homes and Crematorium has been serving New Hampshire families in their time of need for more than 110 years. We have a long history of caring, compassionate service for both the deceased and their loved ones planning a final goodbye. We are consistently told that our staff has made a difficult time easier for the families we serve.

We believe that end-of-life ceremonies should both honor the dead and celebrate the life they lived. Our specialty is creating and arranging ceremonies that are as unique as the people they honor. From full military honors to video vignettes representing the special characteristics of the deceased, we work hard to help families tell the story of their loved one and plan fitting sendoffs for them. We are happy to help customize something truly unique—tell us your ideas, even if they don’t immediately seem possible, we will advise and do our best to get as close as possible; we never mind getting creative and always provide something really special.

In addition to that, we work with families to pre-plan their end-of-life services. People pre-plan for a number of reasons: to ensure their wishes are known; to spare their survivors the stress of making arrangements after a loss; and for peace of mind. We believe pre-planning is a beautiful gift you can give your family.

Longevity

Fourth-generation family businesses aren’t particularly common. We have worked hard to ensure that our company is positioned for the long term. The staff at Phaneuf all embody and represent our culture values; they are passionate, humble, authentic, unconventional and empowered. We use these values, and the operational systems and processes we have developed, to provide consistently world-class service to our client families.

Phaneuf Funeral Homes & Crematorium is the only funeral home in the United States to earn the Achievement of Excellence – the highest level of recognition in the Granite State Quality Awards, which is based on the Malcom Baldridge National Quality Award, the worldwide standard for performance excellence. Phaneuf earned this recognition, in part, for our customer-focused culture and our approach to strategically grow and sustain a family-owned business in an industry where larger corporate chains are the trend.

We thrive to be the regional service provider of choice by disrupting and redefining the death care industry.

We look forward to serving you.

Arthur O. “Buddy” Phaneuf
4th Generation Funeral Director

603-625-5778 | buddy@phaneuf.net

Purpose Driven Mission

Here at Phaneuf, people are our focus. We have always had a long-term strategy to make sure we are invested in all of our stakeholders, from our clients to our staff. We have been in business for more than 110 years and have grown our presence with each decade—our success is a direct result of a commitment to excellence and an evolving ideology of customer care.

When we hire and train our staff, our key focus is on individuals who are passionate, humble, authentic and just plain nice. What’s more, we look for people who will help us create a friendly and helpful environment where everyone feels welcome.

While we value the traditions and methods that have helped build our industry, we are always cognizant of new trends and emerging ideas on death, dying and funeral services. A devotion to customer service means that we place our resources where they are wanted and needed—for example, we seek to provide value for clients and visitors alike through our site, blog and social media presence.

Finally, we recognize that we would not have gotten to where we are had it not been for our exceptional community. In order to give back, we frequently collaborate with local businesses, host events that benefit the entire community, and work to remain aware of what is needed and how it may shift in the future. Nothing happens in a vacuum, so we are invested in building long-term connections that create trust and inspire confidence in all who walk through our doors.

To learn more about our generations-long legacy of community and family support, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Eco-Friendly/Green Practices

At Phaneuf Funeral Homes and Crematorium, we are proud to promote sustainable and eco-friendly practices wherever possible. In keeping with this goal, Phaneuf recently became the first New Hampshire funeral home to partner with the Green Burial Council, offering an eco-friendly burial package.

Working alongside cemeteries and funeral providers, the Green Burial Council began the green movement in the United States in 2005. Responding to consumer needs, many cemeteries across the country are now catering to green standards by doing away with headstones and mausoleums, instead recording burial sites with GPS technology. If you are interested in learning more about the options and possibilities that are available, you may find further information through the New Hampshire Funeral Alliance

In doing our part to be eco-friendly, Phaneuf’s green package provides everything necessary for burial that is in keeping with green cemetery conventions. We eliminate formaldehyde-based embalming processes and opt for a biodegradable hand-woven willow branch casket instead of metal or hardwood alternatives. If you decide to choose your own burial container, you may even consider something entirely different such as a burial pod.

The green option uses no toxins that can contaminate ground water with waste and avoids putting anything chemically-treated into the earth.

Reducing Our Carbon Footprint

Choosing the cremation process in place of a traditional burial has been growing across the country. Cremation services do result in the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, but Phaneuf Funeral Homes and Crematorium is the first funeral home in New Hampshire and Vermont to offset its carbon footprint from cremation.

Phaneuf has committed to a decade of projects with NativeEnergy of Burlington, VT, to offset the carbon footprint created by cremation. By making a long-term commitment, Phaneuf will effect positive change via projects that reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) in the United States and aid those who do not have something many of us take for granted – clean drinking water. One of the projects Phaneuf supports is a clean water effort in Ethiopia. The donations will help provide more than 6 million gallons of filtered water to the Sidama Zone.

“Through each monthly contribution, the Cremation Society of New Hampshire supports NativeEnergy in providing five families—of six people each—access to clean water for more than a year,” said Titus Kabega of NativeEnergy. “We are honored to work with Phaneuf Funeral Homes and Crematorium as they embark on this journey toward reducing their GHG impact. Each month’s commitment helps avoid 33 tonnes of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere over the 10-year life of the project.”

In Ethiopia’s Sidama Zone, 75% of the population consumes unfiltered water from rivers, lakes and rain pits, which can cause deadly typhoid and diarrhea. Phaneuf’s contribution to NativeEnergy adds a water filtration system to the region as well as community-based training in proper sanitation and hygiene practices. While the Sidama Zone is known for its coffee production, it has little access to sanitation resources for its 8,500+ people.

“This is a win-win situation. By offsetting our own carbon footprint, we can help save lives,” said Buddy Phaneuf, President of Phaneuf Funeral Homes & Crematorium. “Going green is a priority for Phaneuf and The Cremation Society. We are aware that cremation services use natural gas and have CO2 emissions, and we want to counteract that effect on the environment and work towards becoming carbon neutral.”