City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation

Obituary
Jean Paulette (Sparks) French

Apex, North Carolina

Age 51.
Died 05/18/2022.

Jean Paulette (Sparks) French
Jean was the daughter of Edith and the late Edward Sparks, and the sister of Kathy Wyrick, Teresa Kelly, and Marsha Sparks. She was the mother of Abigail and Erin French, and the grandmother of Raelynn Davis. She was the aunt of Sarah Kelly, Jared Wyrick, Chad Wyrick, and Amy Wyrick Vest, and, of course, the dog mom of Ozzie. She was also so much more to all the lives she touched along the way.

Jean was born on January 6th, 1971, in Bluefield, West Virginia. She was raised in Lashmeet, WV, and later moved to Apex, NC. She attended Matoka High, Mercer Christian Academy, and obtained both a marketing and nursing degree at Bluefield State. She later completed further studies at North Carolina State University. Jean’s passion and purpose was a caretaker to all. She started her nursing career in labor and delivery, and absolutely loved it. She appreciated the chance to connect with people and help them through such an important and difficult time, and, knowing Jean, she shared funny moments with many expecting mothers. In her last years, she was a caretaker for her mom, surely the best all-in-one daughter and nurse combo you could ask for.

From a very young age, Jean had a close relationship with God. She was never short of love to give and always knew what was most important in life: the way she made others feel in her presence. She made family members feel loved, strangers feel seen, and always preferred a good laugh, even at her own expense. She lived life one day at a time, and always looked forward to better days ahead. Her family will never forget her warm embrace and long goodbyes, and we are certain there are many others who have fond memories with her to cherish. We are happy for her next adventure in the afterlife and can’t wait to see her again.

We love you Jeannie!

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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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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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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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