Editor’s note: The Akron Community’s Choice Awards, presented by the Akron Beacon Journal, celebrate the people and businesses that make Greater Akron a supportive place to live and work. Each year, readers are invited to nominate and vote for their favorite local businesses in dozens of categories. To nominate your favorites, cast your vote or learn more, visit this website.
Billow Funeral Homes & Crematory is one of Akron’s longest-standing funeral service providers, serving local families with funeral, memorial and cremation arrangements. Founded in 1875, the company describes itself as the first funeral home in Akron and continues to operate as a family-led business with deep roots in the community.
Its work is necessarily personal and often carried out during difficult moments for families. That makes its presence in the Akron Community’s Choice Awards especially fitting, as the program recognizes not only popular consumer destinations but also trusted service providers people turn to when care and professionalism matter most.
A celebration of community-driven recognition
The Akron Community’s Choice Awards invite readers to recognize businesses and organizations across a wide range of categories, including restaurants, health care, retail and personal services. Community participation is central to the program, with readers nominating favorites and helping determine which businesses earn recognition.
That public input gives the awards a grounded, neighborhood-level perspective. The 2026 nomination round opened in February, with voting starting in April. Nominate your favorite business here.
Generations of service in Akron
Billow says it has served Akron families since 1875 and now operates out of a Fairlawn chapel positioned near major roads, hotels, restaurants and parks. The funeral home emphasizes its large, renovated facility, flexible gathering spaces and on-site crematory, which it says allows loved ones to remain in its care throughout the cremation process.
The company also highlights its longstanding civic involvement in the Akron area through business, charitable and community organizations. For families planning a funeral or memorial, those details can matter as much as location, especially when they are looking for experience, space and continuity of care in one place.
What customers are saying
Billow Funeral Homes & Crematory holds a 5.0-star Yelp rating from a small number of reviews, with customers emphasizing compassion and attentiveness during difficult times. See more on Yelp. Reviewers describe staff members as thoughtful and accommodating, with praise for the way services were handled for grieving families.
“They did a fantastic job with my late son’s viewing and cremation.” — Yelp review
Location & contact
Billow Funeral Homes & Crematory
85 N Miller Rd, Akron, OH 44333
Phone: (330) 867-4141
Website: billowfuneralhomes.com
This story was created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Community’s Choice Awards business spotlight: Billow Funeral Homes & Crematory