San Diego, California, based on the Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Mexican border, is home to nearly 1.4 million people. As the economic heart of the San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan area, there are around 18 funeral homes in San Diego, serving bereaved families in the local area.
San Diego has a strong affiliation with U.S. Defense Forces, playing host to the largest naval fleet in the world and various navy facilities. As many as five per cent of all civilian jobs in the wider county of San Diego rely on the military. This means that San Diego funeral homes may have extensive experience liaising with the armed forces to organize military funeral honors. Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, reserved for veterans and based on Point Loma, is closed to new interments, except when a family has an existing plot or in the rare case of a disinterment.
Civilian cemeteries in the city include Mt Hope Cemetery, managed by the City of San Diego, Glen Abbey Memorial Park in Bonita, and La Vista Memorial Park, located in National City, part of the wider San Diego metropolitan area. There are also various faith-specific burial grounds, such as Holy Cross Cemetery & Mausoleum, the only Catholic Diocesan cemetery serving San Diego county, and the Home of Peace Jewish cemetery.
Like many of the United States’ major cities, San Diego is home to people of all different cultures, religions and beliefs. There is a particularly significant proportion of people of Asian heritage – almost 16 per cent of the entire population. The Filipino community is the largest of these, followed by Chinese, Vietnamese and Indian. In addition, around a quarter of San Diego residents are Mexican American, with a third of the city being Hispanic or Latino. As a result, among the choice of funeral homes in San Diego, residents should be able to find services suited to any cultural requirements.
Although Christians account for over two-thirds of San Diegans, 27 per cent of the city’s populace are not affiliated with any particular religion. Therefore, San Diego funeral homes may have some experience arranging secular or Humanist funeral services.