City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation

Obituary
Jean Massengill

Raleigh, North Carolina

Age 91.
Died 03/01/2023.

Jean Massengill
Jean Elizabeth Massengill passed from her earthly life into her heavenly one on March 1st, 2023.
Jean was born on August 1st, 1931 at Tucker Carson Sanatorium to the late Ernest and Lucille Graham. She attended Hugh Morson High School in Raleigh and graduated from Lee Edwards High School in Asheville, NC in 1949. She then went on to St. Mary's Jr. College and shortly after, married her high school sweetheart Robert "Bob" Massengill Sr. in 1951. She began work at Noland Company as a switchboard receptionist and later worked at the NC Department of Revenue.
Jean was a 63 year beloved member of Edith Chapter # 160, Order of the Eastern Star in Cary, NC. She served as Worthy Grand Matron in 1984-1985.
One of Jean's many gifts was her creativity. She opened The Knitting Corner in the early 1960s at Ridgewood shopping center for 10 years. Afterwards she went on to Wake Tech for floral design, which led her to opening the "Flower Haus". She started off in a small house on Heather Drive in Raleigh before moving to a larger location on Oberlin Road and adding a second location at Mission Valley. She loved how a flower house in Germany, one of her many trips, around the world, was spelled as Haus. Hence the name –Flower Haus. Both of these locations were sold and the final move was to Swift Creek shopping center in Raleigh. She enjoyed every minute with the people she worked with. Jean was always an avid entrepreneur which led her to receiving The Order of the Longleaf Pine award issued by the governor of North Carolina.
Cary was Jean and Bob's home from 1962 to 2006 where together they raised her two precious children on Washington St. with many wonderful neighbors and friends. In 2006 she and Bob moved back to Bob's childhood home on Powell Drive where they enjoyed the memories of their youth.
Jean was an active member of Westover United Methodist Church in Raleigh for many years. She served as financial secretary, UMW president and lay leader. She helped to establish the contemporary service with the help of the pastor at the time and other members.
Jean was a godly woman who loved with her whole heart.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Ernest and Lucille Graham, her spouse Robert "Bob" Massengill Sr and her son-in-law Rev. Thomas Denny Jr.
She is survived by her two children, Robert "Bobby" Massengill Jr and Susan Denny.
The sunshine of her life were her grandchildren Jennifer Denny-Proffitt and her husband Edmond of Raleigh, Kory Denny of Raleigh, Charles "Chip" Denny of Texas, Emily Livengood and her husband Garrett of Pfafftown and Spencer Denny of Raleigh and her precious great grandchildren, Hayleigh, Kory, Austin, Ryan, Eliana, Josephine and Abel. She is dearly loved and missed by all who knew her.
A memorial service will be held on Monday, March 6th at 11:00am at Westover United Methodist Church, 300 Powell Dr. Raleigh, NC.
Memorials can be made to Westover UMC.

For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.


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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.

Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.

Our Promise

Apples to Apples

Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.


The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.

Genuine Care

We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.


Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.


We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.

State Wide

Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.


Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.

Our Services

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Direct Cremation

$1196.75

Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.

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Cremation with Solidified Remains

$2875.66

We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.

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Cremation with Visitation

$1917.84

City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.

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Immediate Burial

$2497.50

An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.

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Traditional Funeral

$6081.48

We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.

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Green Burial

$3033.75

This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.

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Aquamation

$2640.59

As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.

City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremations