Long Before Funeral Cars, There was Shaw Funeral Home
It isn’t every day when a family business lasts for 100 years. In fact, it’s a milestone when any business reaches its centennial mark. When it does happen, it deserves a mention at the very least.
The Shaw Funeral Home in Battle Creek, Michigan is one of those businesses. This family owned and operated business has been around since 1866, way before the invention of funeral cars and other modern funeral practices. The current family that owns the business took it over 33 years after it began and has enjoyed success since then.
Although there have been big changes in the funeral industry, the basic core of it has not really changed, according to T.R. Shaw, one of the owners. “When you look back, it hasn’t changed a heck of a lot. Being there to take care of the family, that will never change.” Shaw went on to say that “95 percent of what we do is for the living.”
Family-owned funeral homes are quite common in The Great Lakes State, according to Phil Douma, the executive director of the 650-member Michigan Funeral Directors Association. “Michigan has a rich tradition of the multi-generational funeral service.” He went on to say that there is “a lot of pride in service to the community and we see often times generations going into business and keeping them in the family.”
We’ll write more about this monumental event in future blog posts as it is such an encouraging and uplifting story.
Filed Under: Funeral Cars
About the Author: 