Provided a zoning change is permitted, Feuerborn Family Funeral Services will move its operations from 14 N. Buckeye St. to the south side of U.S. 54 between Iola and Gas, Iola Rotarians were told Thursday. After refitting, the funeral home will occupy what is now the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints, which has 9,000 square feet of floor space.
The church has been for sale for several years, the result of a declining congregation.
Reuben Feuerborn purchased Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Memorial Chapels in May from David Yokum, giving the Feuerborn brand a greater presence in this area. It also has funeral homes in Colony and Moran, as well as its flagship facility in Garnett.
Feuerborn said that leaving the Buckeye Street location, where the funeral home has been since the early 1900s, would make it possible to do more of what a modern funeral home does. The one in use today has been kept apace with improvements, but it does not lend itself well to services Feuerborn wants to offer, he said. Yokum sold the funeral home to Feuerborn in May.
The new quarters will permit several advantages, Feuerborn said, including all being on ground floor. It will have room for funeral dinners and gatherings on site and accommodate many more people for services. He pointed out some families are caught in the lurch of not being affiliated with a church, which leads to concerns when planning services and associated events for friends and family.
The present funeral home will be put up for sale.
At 42, Feuerborn has been involved with the Feuerborn family mortuary business since his public school years, “and never considered anything else” for an occupation, he said.
He gave Rotarians opportunity to ask questions, and they did, including how embalming is done, whether a crematory would be a part of the new quarters and about rules and regulations affecting mortuaries.
A crematory will not be a part of the new funeral home. Feuerborn has an arrangement with Dingle & Son Mortuary, Ottawa, for cremation services.
Laws and regulations are many for mortuaries, he said, though some urban legends aren’t true: An unembalmed body may be taken across one state line and embalming is not necessary prior to cremation. Some families have embalmed bodies available for viewing before cremation, however.
Feuerborn was asked about cost of cremation and mortuary services, and said they were much like buying a car. It depends on the model and what all is wanted, he replied.
