Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks Funeral Home and Memorial Park, Austin TX

The love and care Cook Walden Forest Oaks, particularly Harley Goebel and her staff was top notch! Any and everything we needed, they jumped through hoops to get it done. The service was beautiful and I feel my husband would have been pleased.

Our experience with Cook Walden Oak Hill was remarkable. The funeral director, Harley, was amazing. They truly made and extremely difficult event as dignified and caring as it could possibly be.

Hands down the worst customer service experience I have ever had. The staff never returns your calls or email unless it's money related. I was ignored, lied to by staff Cheryl and even the general manager Jamie. The excuses are almost comical. The grounds of the cemetery are horrific and a disrespect to the families and the people that are laid to rest. I absolutely do not recommend this place to anyone. There is no quality in the staff, the upkeep or anything related to this location

We have had a really bad experience with Cook Walden in my dad's passing this past June. They made an error in his death certificate which til date they have not resolved and instead directed us to contact the state. This was their error and should take responsibility to make it right. It has four months and unless we chase them we get zero response. The inscription on his memorial is still not done with no committed due date. In general we have found them to be unresponsive, sloppy in their work, and simply don't care once they get paid. I can not recommend Cook Walden to care for your loved ones after they pass away.

My 83 year old mother passed unexpectedly. Cook-Walden delivered a quality experience from beginning to end. Our Thanks

UPDATE Aug25 2022

Kaylee addressed the issue we had perfectly, thank you for hearing us and bringing a timely resolution to the problems we had, glad to hear measures were taken to insure further clients would not encounter a negative experience as we did.
Again thank you for turning a negative into a positive.
Kaylee has brought back integrity at Cook-Walden/ Forest Oaks

Thank you
McNabb Family

These people are horrible. $4000 to rent tent and chairs, There was no dignity in our loved ones burial with these people.
Known as the most expensive in the Austin area.
Known as the most rude in the Austin area.
I have multiple family members buried at this cemetery and none of their services were correct.
My family had to fight to get a headstone put in years ago.
The process of this most recent funeral was nothing but unnecessary attitude and exorbitant prices for every little thing.
If my family didn't have prepaid plots we would have went somewhere else.
Don't get confused their sympathies and kindness is for money only not you or your loved ones.
They still horrible.

Just having more than one staff member ready to answer questions and help.that was very amazing to me because I know they had other services that day. They made me feel like I was the only one there. I never felt alone or helpless they even provided water on trays to each person. Special thanks to Sophia. Who was extremely patient with me.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Pugin

The entire staff is professional, comforting and supportive. Both of my parent’s arrangements and services were unique and tailored to meet their wishes and the family’s requests. Their life celebrations truly were meaningful and memorable in every way.

I want to take a moment and thank Allyse for helping us during this extremely difficult time. No one tells you how hard it is to make decisions during these times and how many decisions you have to make at that. She really took her time to understand us and what we wanted for our loved one. She made this very hard time much easier and for that we are incredibly thankful.

Harley Goebel really connected with Jane as we described Jane to her in our first meeting. She invited us to bring items and photos that reflected Jane's life and interests; our family found the process of collecting those items to be very therapeutic. Harley and the Cook Walden team created a delightful display to share her life with those who attended Jane's service. The layout of the space - individual tables instead of pews or rows of chairs, the decorations, the scrolling photo display, all were perfect. It was a wonderful celebration of Jane's life. The Cook Walden team were very helpful and attentive to our needs and desires throughout the process. We so appreciate their genuine caring for us during this difficult time.

Designing a headstone is extremely overwhelming and emotionally taxing. Developing the perfect headstone for my grandfather felt so final it was really hard to start the process. Allyse helped us with the entire process and made it so much easier than I thought it would be. I can't thank her enough! She was patient every time I changed my mind and answered all my questions. Thank you for taking such good care of us and helping us during such a hard time!

Pastor Lonnie Smith delivered the most amazing, heartfelt, uplifting and inspiring service. It was perfect in every way and encapsulated exactly the man our father was/is.
Harley Goebel was extremely professional while remaining personal and comforting. She took care of everything and made it easier in a difficult time. The entire staff were so efficient, polite, and helpful.

The staff at Cook-Walden were very professional and sympathetic as we made all of our decisions. They made us feel comfortable and relaxed throughout the process. The service, flower arrangements, memorial photos and display were beautiful and we couldn't be happier with the way everything was handled. Many thanks to everyone at Cook-Walden.

We held my mother’s funeral service at Cook Walden/Forest Oaks earlier this month. My family is very grateful for the attentiveness and support from the Cook Walden team throughout the process of planning the service. The ceremony was so personal – from the table runners and accents in her favorite color, the photo slideshow, the music playlist, and especially the incredible display table of so many of her favorite, fun items. During that week of grieving and writing eulogies, the project of collecting my mom’s favorite things for her display table was such a joy! It was a lovely, unexpected way to bring celebration into the week, and the design team at Cook Walden totally exceeded our expectations with their creativity and care. Thank you to Harley Goebel and the entire team for putting together a service that my mom would have been proud of.

The staff at Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks took exceptional care of the family, and my mother after her recent death. We were comfortable and pleased with the arrangements and were told what to expect at each time. This is our second time working with this staff and we couldn't say more positive things about them. It's a difficult time, but they did everything they could to make it easy for the remaining family members.

They were very helpful and careful with our needs. And expectations were exceedingly met by the staff. Thank You sooo much for all your help in our healing process!