A funeral home for today

When you walk through the doors at Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home, you sense a modern, upscale vibe. In 2017, our spacious funeral home underwent extensive renovation. We transformed the space with plush contemporary furniture, beautiful gray tones, new hardwood-style tile flooring and modern art. In addition to the chapel, we have many other beautiful spaces where you can hold funerals, visitations and receptions. Our building also has a coffee lounge and flower shop for added comfort and convenience. 

Groups of many sizes, events of any style

We call our chapel Dignity Hall. It seats up to 350 people with flexible chair seating. With 50-foot arched ceilings, stained glass windows and a new sound system, this room is ideal for a funeral service or large visitation.

The Dogwood Room is the most traditional room in the funeral home. With a combination of mahogany-stained and stone walls, couches, tables, chairs, stained glass windows and a sparkling chandelier, this space holds approximately 100 guests for a visitation or catered reception.

The Nashville Room is a more contemporary space with an upbeat Nashville theme. This room accommodates 50 to 100 guests and converts into 3 separate spaces if needed.

If you prefer an even more modern space, the Cosmopolitan Room is decorated with large vases, white orchids, backlighting and contemporary white couches and chairs. Often used for catered gatherings and visitations, this room comfortably accommodates 50 people.

The Library Room is another unique option. Resembling a cigar lounge with leather furniture, this cozy space exudes Southern charm. It holds 50 guests for gatherings and visitations.

A large flexible event room is used for formal, seated dinners and visitations of up to 200. From a breakfast buffet to an ice cream social, a candy bar to a fried chicken dinner, we can handle most any catering request.

Let's celebrate life

Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home offers a plethora of funeral and cremation options, and all of our services are designed to help you through one of the most personal and challenging stages of life. We understand that losing a loved one is an emotional and difficult experience. That's why we're committed to providing compassionate, professional and personal service.

Want a funeral at a winery? You got it. We'll pull a motorcycle into the chapel or release 100 red balloons into the sky. Whatever reflects your loved one's passion and personality, it is our promise to work with you to design a memorial service as unique as your special person.

Cremation services

We specialize in cremation services that honor loved ones in personalized ways, and families love our transparent pricing. With expertise in scattering ashes and a friendly team who pays attention to every detail, we provide service that is second to none.

More and more people are choosing cremation over traditional burial, but most aren’t familiar with the many options:

• a cremation without a funeral or memorial service of any kind.
• a funeral with your loved one present, followed by cremation.
• a cremation followed by a scattering, cemetery memorialization or celebration of life—or all three.

For those who wish for a more momentous memorial, Neptune Memorial Reef is an underwater cremation garden off the coast of Florida. A Celestis Memorial Spaceflight takes ashes into space for a little while or forever.

There are many options for cremation—and they're not all equal. Here's what you can expect when you choose us for your loved one's cremation:

• Custody of care guaranteed. Our custody-of-care program helps safeguard the identification of your loved one from the time we bring them into our care until the time we return them to your family. We check, cross-check and check again, every step of the way.
• Exclusive custody of your loved one. We use only crematories owned and operated by Dignity Memorial^® providers or trusted partners. Once your loved one is in our custody or that of a trusted partner, they’re in our care until they’re returned to your family.
• Licensed, certified, conscientious staff. All Dignity Memorial crematory operators are licensed and certified by Cremation Association of North America, or CANA. Only one person at a time is cremated, and the cremation chamber is thoroughly cleaned before the next person is cremated.

Read more about our cremation services.

Woodlawn Memorial Park cemetery

Spanning 133 acres, Woodlawn Memorial Park has provided a lush and peaceful final resting place for Tennessee families for generations. With beautiful rolling hills and large trees providing an abundance of shade, our cemetery is very park-like, featuring a combination of flat and upright markers. Thompson Lane separates the grounds into 2 sections, north and south.

The cemetery offers traditional in-ground burial, above-ground private mausoleums, build-to-suit areas, outdoor niches, mausoleum niches, bench inurnment, family cremation estates and more. Our mission is to provide personalized memorialization that suits your desires and traditions.

Historic north side

On the north side of the cemetery, you will find the funeral home building and many of the property’s historic elements, some even dating back to the Civil War. A natural spring that was used for water during the Civil War sits adjacent to 2 historic cabins, 1 of which was built on the Harding Farm in the 1800s. It was part of 1 of the 1st settlements outside downtown Nashville. Located between these 2 cabins is the Spring House, a building used to store water for Civil War hospital camps.

Great Cross mausoleum also sits on the north side of the cemetery property. Built in the shape of a cross and standing 5 stories tall, Great Cross is the larger mausoleum. It holds 20,000 crypts and includes a replica of Christ’s tomb on the 1st floor.

Other burial options

The north cemetery grounds feature mostly flat bronze markers, though it does have 2 upright sections. There is also a serene fountain area surrounded by private estates. Gazebo Estates—private estates with a gazebo located in the middle—is located here, as well as Cross Garden, Cremation Gardens, Garden of the Grand Tour and the Last Supper Private Estates Garden.

South side of the cemetery

The south side of the cemetery is the older section of the cemetery and also features mostly flat bronze markers. Here you will find a 2-story indoor mausoleum, Woodlawn Mausoleum. The Bell Tower chimes every hour from the south grounds.

Lynn Anderson and other notable burials

As the final resting place for Lynn Anderson, country music legend, Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Memorial Park is honored to host and maintain the Lynn Anderson Rose Garden. The garden, unveiled in June 2018, features the largest collection of the Lynn Anderson Hybrid Tea Rose, crowned "Queen of Show" by the American Rose Society.

We are honored to have been chosen as the final resting place for those in an around Nashville for many years, and among country music stars, other notable burials include university presidents, politicians, astronauts and entertainers. Nashville bus tours frequent our cemetery showing visitors famous burial sites.

Community involvement

Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home and Woodlawn Memorial Park invite the public to join us for events throughout the year. On Mother's Day and Father's Day, we distribute fresh flowers, poems and refreshments to families visiting our properties. Memorial Day is similar: We hand out flowers, flags and refreshments to families visiting the property. Flags also line our main driveway. A 30-year tradition, our Easter sunrise service brings out local clergy and professional musicians for a beautiful service in Dignity Hall. We also serve breakfast to our guests.

In addition to our hosted events at the funeral home and cemetery, we place a high importance on community involvement. Our team supports various programs through Nashville military organizations and FiftyForward, which provides classes and other activities for people over 50.

Visit us

Please contact us if you need immediate assistance or would like to discuss planning ahead. While our photos convey a lot, we invite you to see our funeral home and cemetery property for yourself. You are welcome to visit, or call us to set up a guided tour. We are always here for you. 

History

Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home and Woodlawn Memorial Park have served Nashville families since the early 1900s. Established by Raymond Ligon, the cemetery was originally a family-owned farm, handed down through the generations. After the cemetery was developed, Raymond added a funeral chapel. It was eventually expanded to include facilities for visitations, a family lounge, living quarters for Raymond’s family and team, and administrative offices. The funeral home has undergone many renovations over the years.

A unique memorial park

Raymond's concept for a memorial park with ground-level memorialization was unusual for the area, as most cemeteries had upright granite or marble memorialization. The cemetery has seen many additions through the years, including 2 mausoleums: Great Cross and Woodlawn South. Today, Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home and Woodlawn Memorial Park are both members of the Dignity Memorial® network of funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers.