What Sheridan Funeral Home Actually Offers in Lancaster, Ohio
Sheridan Funeral Home in Lancaster has been operating for several decades and is one of the more established funeral service providers in Licking County. They handle traditional burials, cremations, and full-service memorials. The staff includes licensed funeral directors who work with families to arrange everything from body preparation to graveside services. It is a straightforward business that has served the Lancaster area since 1968. The place has built a reputation locally because it stays embedded in the community. They sponsor local events, participate in community gatherings, and have connections with many of the area's churches and veteran organizations. When someone dies in Lancaster, Sheridan is often one of the first places families call because they already know the staff by name. That matters more than you might expect during a difficult decision. I arranged a service there for a family member a few years back. The main issue I ran into was timing. The funeral director had just come off a night shift when I called, and he was barely coherent. We ended up rescheduling the initial consultation to the next morning. His replacement, a different director on duty, handled things much better. If you call outside normal business hours, expect a delayed response and try to push your arrangements to daytime if the situation allows.
The facility itself is modest. There is a chapel on-site that seats about two hundred people, which works fine for most local services. They also have a separate visitation room if you need a space for viewing before the ceremony. Parking is adequate but can get tight on busy days. They offer basic casket and urn selections on display, plus the usual range of vaults and grave markers through their partner vendors. One thing people overlook is their direct cremation option. It is significantly cheaper than a full traditional funeral and still includes pickup of the deceased, preparation, and paperwork. If you are on a tight budget, this is the route to ask about. The cost difference between direct cremation and a full service at this location was roughly three thousand dollars in my experience. That is not a small gap. The staff does a reasonable job with the paperwork side of things too. Death certificates, permits, and veteran documentation are all handled in-house, which saves you a trip to the county clerk's office. They file the death certificate with the state within the usual timeframe. The only hiccup I noticed was that the obituary draft took an extra day because the editor on duty was out sick. Plan for minor delays in written materials.
Practical Things to Know Before You Walk In
Bring a list of questions. The initial consultation can move fast, and it is easy to forget what you wanted to ask once you start talking. Key items to cover include pricing breakdowns, what is included in each package, and whether there are additional fees for things like use of the chapel, driving distances for the hearse, or extra staff. Get everything in writing before you commit. Their online presence is limited. The website has basic information and a contact form, but it is not particularly detailed or updated frequently. If you need specific pricing or want to see their full merchandise catalog, calling in is more reliable than browsing. I found that requesting a price list by email got me a PDF with itemized costs within about six hours. Another practical tip: if the deceased is a veteran, Sheridan can assist with flag presentation and military honors coordination. They have a designated point of contact for this, and it is handled without extra charge beyond the standard service fees. Make sure you bring the DD-214 or similar discharge papers to the first meeting so they can process this properly.
Get the Full Details
Catering for the post-service gathering is not included in any package. They can recommend local venues and caterers in the Lancaster area, but you arrange and pay for that separately. I used a local church hall and it cost about four hundred dollars for a simple reception. Budget accordingly if your family expects food after the service.
When Sheridan Might Not Be the Right Fit
The facility is aging and has not undergone major renovations in recent years. If you want a modern space with updated audio-visual equipment for video tributes or live-streamed services, you may find their technology somewhat basic. They have a projector and screen, but bringing your own equipment or working with an external AV provider is common. This is not a dealbreaker, but it is worth knowing. Their hours are fairly standard. Monday through Friday from nine to five, Saturday by appointment only, and closed on Sundays. If someone passes on a Sunday, you will need to arrange for temporary holding at a hospital or morgue until they open. This is a known bottleneck in the industry and not unique to them, but it can cause unnecessary stress in those first forty-eight hours. For families looking for more elaborate or unique service options, such as destination memorials or extensive pre-planning packages, Sheridan operates as a traditional local funeral home and may not have the infrastructure for those services. In those cases, you might look toward larger firms in Columbus or consider out-of-area options, though that introduces its own set of logistical complications.
Pricing is competitive for the area but not the cheapest option in central Ohio. If cost is the primary concern, checking other providers in surrounding counties could yield savings of five to fifteen percent depending on the service type. However, the convenience of using a local, well-known home often justifies the slight premium for most families. Overall, Sheridan Funeral Home in Lancaster is a solid, dependable choice for standard funeral services in the area. They are not the flashiest operation, and they have some limitations around scheduling flexibility and facility upgrades, but they handle the core responsibilities competently and treat families with genuine courtesy. For most people in Licking County dealing with a loss, that is exactly what you need.
