Testimonials

While my husband and I were out of state, his brother, a Marlbourough resident, passed away unexpectedly .
From the moment Richard answered our first phone call ( at 10 pm in the evening ) up until and including the day we met with him to settle up the funeral affairs, Richard was so kind, compassionate, competent, efficient and friendly.
Through many conversations, he guided us through this sad process with gentleness and support.
From that first phone contact to our final goodbye some days later, he was always there for us.... answering every question, every phone call, every concern.
He is warm and friendly and knowledgeable and thoughtful....I cannot recommend him highly enough!
I teased him at our last meeting, saying I would write this testimonial and give him a high rating.... if 5/5 is the highest possible recommendation that can be given, with absolutely no reservation , I give him a 6 ... yes if the highest rank is 5/5, Richard easily exceeds even that so I give him a 6!

Fitzgerald and Collins Funeral home was referred to us by so many friends in the area. We didn't think twice before contacting them. Richard, from the first moment we spoke on the phone and met him in person, was so sensitive, supportive and compassionate during this difficult time. They took care of all small details of the funeral arrangements. Even with the restrictions of COVID, Richard and his staff did an excellent, excellent job coordinating the flow of the service. Everything ran so smoothly and we are forever grateful to him and his staff. We sincerely left that day with a new friend. We highly recommend their services. Thank you Richard!

I’ve been preparing a review for a business that is called upon when a family is at their weakest, dealing with arrangements when a family member passes on. Collins funeral home, was the the business our family called, on our darkest day this past February. A few of us drove to meet Richard after an exhausting morning of watching our beloved Gramps/Dad leave this beautiful life, into his external life. Richard came outside upon our arrival, and right from the start made us feel as if we were entering a family members home to mourn our loss! Richard, was able to charm my nana as he asked questions about my gramps and allowed all of us to shed tears of happiness and sadness as we looked back on the beautiful life he had. The day of the wake was just as touching- we were able to make this time(PRE COVID) personal as family and friends gathered to say good bye. Richard and his staff went above and beyond to help us send our Gramps off with the celebration of his life he deserved. My grandfather was a veteran of the Korean War. With his passing our family wanted to be sure we gave him the military honors he deserved. We waited almost 6 months(because of COVID restrictions) to have a burial. The send off with military honors that Richard and his staff arranged for our gramps was AMAZING! Our family is in awe of the veterans on motorcycles, waving the American Flag 🇺🇸, the service men who stood at his urn and presented the American Flag to my grandmother and the taps that played in the background. We could not recommend Collins Funeral Home to other families more. We are sad that our business and interactions with Richard and his staff are finished, but hope that this review can warm someone’s broken heart as they prepare to say their final goodbyes to a loved one. Thank you Richard, and staff for being so compassionate, and making us feel like we were all a big family. You truly make a hard good bye, into a beautiful memorial ❤️ The Zilembo Family

My mother passed away recently. We had no previous experience with Collins Funeral Home, but felt for a variety of reasons, including parking, it was the best option for us. Our expectations were exceeded on all levels. Richard was professional, polite, and consistently helpful. I think we all felt that it was as if Richard was a member of our family committed to making sure our mother had the exact tribute that she would have felt honored by. The price was fair, and the facility was clean and nicely decorated. I would not hesitate to use Collins FH again should the need arise.

Our Mom passed away on 11/12/2019, Richard went above and beyond to help all of the family through this most difficult time. He was supportive, kind, considerate .... We could not ask for anything else, Richard made a hard situation so much easier. Thank You.

It's amazing that when your going through a hard time and having to plan a service for a lost loved one , you find a funeral home like Fitgerald &Collins who understand and are compassionate and understanding and go out of their way to not only plan everything and leave no detail unturned, but go out of their way to help as much as they can. Not only did we find the most amazing funeral home, but we feel we left having new a friend. Mr. Collins. Not at one moment did Richard make it feel like a business transaction. He made you feel like you were planning a loved ones services with a friend. I would so very highly recommend Fitzgerald & Collins. I cant say enough great things about him. Thank you Richard for everything! I would never go anywhere else!

My mother recently passed and my family searched in the Marlborough area for a funeral home. We were fortunate to have selected Collins to handle all of the arrangements during a sad and very stressful time. Richard Collins is an excellent administrator making sure all of the details of my mother’s service and burial were handled with care and compassion. I would highly recommend Collins Funeral Home to those families in need of a Funeral Director that can ease the pain of losing a loved one.
Joseph Mannarino

Richard Collins at Fitzgerald Collins Funeral Home assisted us as our Funeral Director in 2016 and again in 2019. (Sad I know.)

The loss of a loved one is one of the worst things any of us will ever endure in this lifetime. Unfortunately, we've had to experience it multiple times over the past years in multiple states and with multiple different funeral homes.

I can not express in words how comforting it was to hire Richard at Fitzgerald Collins Funeral Home in Marlborough, MA to handle our family member's funerals with trust, respect, solidarity, compassion, and true professionalism! I found him not only to be very knowledgeable and informative but most importantly he was extremely transparent and HONEST with us about everything. I'm not much of a pushover and I've definitely seen other funeral homes prey on distraught people (such as my mother when my father passed) but my experience with Richard and his funeral home was the exact opposite which was refreshing! He didn't try to BS me and after planning so many funerals over the years I would have seen it coming a mile away if he had tried.

Thank you Richard for treating us and our family with the utmost dignity and respect and most of all for being an honest person! Always continue to treat your customers the way you'd want your family to be treated (which is how you treated us) and I have no doubt that God will continue to bless your business. Thanks for being an advocate for our family through this time of grief. (Both times!!!)

Highly recommended local business! A+++

This was my first time dealing with a member of my family passed away. The service provided by this company special Richard was magnific he make or sad time Match easier helping us with everything. Thank you so much.
God bless you and your company.

We cannot thank you enough for the wonderful work you did.  You made the worst time of our lives just a little bit easier by being so pleasant, sympathetic, accommodating, and professional.  Everything from the cleanliness and coziness of the funeral home, to the warmth and attentiveness of you and your staff exceeded our expectations.  While this is not a process anyone wishes to go through, you will be highly recommended as an establishment and team to facilitate such arrangements flawlessly.  You were truly a pleasure to work with.  Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

How does one express gratitude for the handling of a loved Dad? I will tell you that my father death and the handling of the business and personal effects exceeded my expectation. I felt at times Richard and the staff were part of my immediate family and my father was their dad also. As a person who is paid to be the critic and to root cause the issues, I am still in awe of the handling, personal touches to alleviate some of the processes concerning my father death and allow more time to grieve. I am thankful that the foresight my parent chose so many years ago with having Richard handle the arrangements was truly a wise one. It is very hard to impress or exceed my threshold for excellence. They have set a new bar for all to achieve, I am so thankful and grateful.



Paul X. Bolt,



RVA/RVC International Registered Auditor of Business Quality Systems



Advanced Supplier Quality Engineer



Certified Quality Technician and Quality Engineer (ASQ/USA)

In the journey of our lives certain people enter to help us.
We recently lost my mother very suddenly and with much help and compassion Richard arranged everything to have mom flown back home.
During this most difficult time everyone there helped us to give our mom one of the nicest services, making all of us feel a little better. WE would recommend Richard and his associates when you need someone to make sure all your loved ones final wishes are taken care of. ALSO if the weather is nice Richard asked us if we would like some white doves released at the cemetery, truly a very memorable touch, sending your final prayers up to heaven  as you say your final goodbye,,,,,
Thank you again for all your wisdom and help in making us feel like family and not a number.  Sincerely,
                            Bob and Denise

I recently lost my mother a short year and three weeks after losing my father and we knew exactly who to go to with the final arrangements. Richard Collins and his associates went above and beyond to make the entire process as smooth and painless a possible for both my fathers'' services and my mothers'' services. He treated us like family, and made my entire family feel at ease.



Thank you Richard, great work and God bless!!



Sincerely,



Mark Daniels

For anyone that is faced with the emotional and daunting task of having to plan a funeral wake,  mass and related services I would suggest that you first consider visiting Director Richard Collins of Fitzgerald & Collins and use them as a benchmark to gauge all others. The caring expertise, compassion and professionalism that I experienced during this trying time was exceptional. Richard and his associates took the time throughout the entire process to stop and ask questions, offer suggestions and make sure they could assist in relieving some of the anxiety and truly make the experience memorable.  For the 400 plus visitors to my wife Kelly, the only comments I received was of happiness for her and amazement with how the presentation reminded them of their personal relationship with Kelly.
Respectfully, Thank You

Fitzgerald & Collins take great pride in everything they do.  Dealing with Richard and his brother through a very difficult time made it a little easier.  They were there for everything!  Anything and everything we needed or asked for, they made sure it happened!

In the journey of our lives certain people enter to help us.
We recently lost my mother very suddenly and with much help and compassion Richard arranged everything to have mom flown back home.
During this most difficult time everyone there helped us to give our mom one of the nicest services, making all of us feel a little better. WE would recommend Richard and his associates when you need someone to make sure all your loved ones final wishes are taken care of. ALSO if the weather is nice Richard asked us if we would like some white doves released at the cemetery, truly a very memorable touch, sending your final prayers up to heaven as you say your final goodbye,,,,,
Thank you again for all your wisdom and help in making us feel like family and not a number. Sincerely,

Bob and Denise

I recently lost my mother a short year and three weeks after losing my father and we knew exactly who to go to with the final arrangements. Richard Collins and his associates went above and beyond to make the entire process as smooth and painless a possible for both my fathers'' services and my mothers'' services. He treated us like family, and made my entire family feel at ease.

Thank you Richard, great work and God bless!!

Mark Daniels

Dear Mr. Collins,

THANK YOU. You thought of everything and no amount of gratitude could thank you for all you did for my mother and her family. I don''t know what my sister and I would have done without your help and understanding. Even now, a year after my mother''s death, I still think about all the many details you took care of so that we, as a family, could grieve. It comforts me to know that YOUR family was looking out for my family when we really needed it.

Hope all is well with you and yours.

Sincerely,

Alice Therese Christian Fehl

For anyone that is faced with the emotional and daunting task of having to plan a funeral wake, mass and related services I would suggest that you first consider visiting Director Richard Collins of Fitzgerald & Collins and use them as a benchmark to gauge all others. The caring expertise, compassion and professionalism that I experienced during this trying time was exceptional. Richard and his associates took the time throughout the entire process to stop and ask questions, offer suggestions and make sure they could assist in relieving some of the anxiety and truly make the experience memorable. For the 400 plus visitors to my wife Kelly, the only comments I received was of happiness for her and amazement with how the presentation reminded them of their personal relationship with Kelly.

Thank you is such a small word for what you have done for me and my family. At such a sad time in my life it brings me peace knowing my dad would have been happy with his arrangements. I so appreciate that some of our unconventional requests were taken care of with so much kindness and thoughtfulness. Richard you and your staff made a sorrowful time in our lives bearable. I can not thank you enough.

Kelly

I know I have said this over and over again but THANK YOU!!! No one can understand unless they have gone through what Chris and I have gone through. It's hard for people to see why someone like you could touch our lives so deeply. We have always talked up a storm about you and what you have done for us. No one appreciated what was going on behind the scenes for Ian, it was hard to explain to everyone. After you (once again) took care of Chris's Dad, everyone realized why you had such a special place in our hearts. You did (once again) a wonderful job taking care of Chris, Pat, Jimmy and the family. Pa looked peaceful :) I thank you for that. I know if it wasn't for you doing everything, Chris wouldn't have been so relaxed and at ease. Your work is not an easy thing to do and you do it flawlessly. People come into our lives for different reasons and we couldn't be more blessed to have you come into ours. Thank you for taking care of Chris. There needs to be more you's in this world :)

Fitzgerald & Collins take great pride in everything they do. Dealing with Richard and his brother through a very difficult time made it a little easier. They were there for everything! Anything and everything we needed or asked for, they made sure it happened!

Richard Collins is an excellent funeral director. His caring, supportive manner comes though even on line and on the phone. I live on the west coast and took care of my ailing mother in Alabama. When she passed she wanted the funeral held in Massachusetts where she grew up. After speaking to Mr. Collins and letting him know my wishes, he organized all the arrangements and made sure things were done as I wanted them. The helpful, efficient manner of Richard Collins and his funeral home made this difficult time less taxing and more organized. Holding the funeral in a different state than where my mother passed was made far easier with his help. On behalf of my family and friends, thank you for making this difficult time far less stressful.

Kind Regards, Debora Trask

Recently, having experienced the unexpected loss of my brother in a foreign country, I was at a loss as to what to do, who and where to turn to and what arrangements to make. After contacting Mr. Collins, he immediately called the Guatemala Embassy and took care of all the arrangements. He broke through the red tape and brought my brother "home" to his family and friends. Mr. Collins and his representatives were so supportive, as if they were family, guiding me step by step and comforting me along this sorrowful journey to lay my beloved brother to rest. Through this entire experience, he embraced me with support, knowledge and professionalism and in doing so, made the impossible, possible. No words can express my gratitude for what he did for my family, friends and especially myself. God bless you Mr. Collins,