May 2021

Page A24 MAY 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A Funeral Directors Research,Inc. AMRA INSTRUMENT, LLC 623 N. Tower (P.O. Box 359) Centralia, WA 98531 “the shorter the supply line the better off you are” WEB DIRECT GIFT & PRICING TM ® www.amrainstruments.com www.preproomdirect.com 6 sides. 60 square feet. 60 private niches. 330 community spaces. Outstanding ROI . Your Wilbert Granite Choices provider can prove it. Find them at tinyurl.com/granitechoices or call 1.888.WILBERT The numbers don’t lie: GRAN I T E CHOICES Big revenue. Free Supplies. FREE Operator Training Video. Settlements can now be used to purchase cremation supplies from our affiliate company, New England Cremation Supply. Customer Loyalty Rewards Program Family Owned and Operated since 1995 Cremation Metal Recycling 800-664-8365 cremation metal recycling - responsible recycling charitable foundation cmr@metrocast.net www.cremationmetalrecycling.com 3” HEARSE NAMEPLATES 1-8 spaces $80.50 per nameplate 9-13 spaces $92.50 per nameplate 14-15 spaces $109.00 per nameplate 16-18 spaces $119.00 per nameplate Many Letter Styles and Sizes Available DEDUCT $10.00 each for Satin Aluminum Finish Klontz Funeral Home and Cremation Services joins Foundation Partners Group By E lleanor S tarks B easley , cfsp Founder and Executive Director 100 B lack W omen of F uneral S ervice , I nc . Funeral Service is a privileged calling to serve the grieving and the bereaved. For Funeral Directors, the meaning of death is service. It is our responsibility to take the mystery out of it and help those who are overwhelmed with emotions. Those in the new generation of Living Legends have lifted the spirits of millions of families through their education, training, service, professionalism and compassion. Their leadership and success have broken down barriers and made them trailblazers, mentors and role models to many funeral colleagues. As we share family heritage and achievements, we recognize that every journey is different. Most importantly, their journeys are not finished yet! Please use them as mentors, ask questions, visit with them, and share their stories with others. Congratulations to the 2021 100BWFS Living Legends of Funeral Service. The 100 Black Women of Funeral Service want to make their profession the go-to career for those who know the importance of compassion, commitment and excellence in service. Email us at 100BWFS@gmail.com. Celebrating a New Generation of L iving L egends of F uneral S ervice and their Contributions to the Industry A F uneral D irector ’ s J ourney The Making of a Legend ORLANDO,FL— Foundation Partners Group has an- nounced the acquisition of Klontz Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Auburn, WA. The acquisition grows Foundation Partners Group’s footprint in Wash- ington to 11 locations. “Gary and Judy Klontz are well known in their com- munity for their high level of service and strong value sys- tem,” said Tom Kominsky, Foundation Partners Group chief financial officer. “Klontz Funeral Home is a valuable addition to our growing portfolio in the Pacific North- west and we are thrilled to welcome the entire team to our Foundation Partners family.” Gary Klontz has been in the funeral profession for more than 50 years serving the Auburn and Tacoma communities. After starting his career inTacoma, Gary returned to his home town, Auburn, WA, and purchased a funeral home with his brother-in-law. They sold their business in 1988 and Gary continued to work in funeral management until 2004, when he opened Klontz Funeral Home and Cremation Services. “Having been in the business this long, I’ve seen it un- dergo significant changes,” said Klontz. “Foundation Part- ners understands the impact of those changes and knows how to adapt to a community’s needs. We look forward to working together in this next phase for our business.” Klontz said his family’s top succession planning prior- ity was finding a partner whose values aligned with their own. “We are part of the community and we needed a partner who would maintain our legacy of service,” he said. “Everyone I know who works with Foundation Partners loves it. We saw how well everyone got along and we liked the dynamics of their partnerships.” Foundation Partners Group is one of the industry’s most innovative providers of funeral services. The com- pany owns and operates a network of more than 160 fu- neral homes, cremation centers and cemeteries across 20 states. Their organizational structure allows them to em- brace and grow the legacies of the local funeral homes they acquire while leveraging the economies of scale, deep understanding of technology, and their ShareLife® customer experience-centered approach to deliver truly innovative and compassionate care to the families they serve. Visit www.foundationpartners.com to learn more. Online ADS Classified www.nomispublications.com Victor and Lola March M arch F uneral H omes Baltimore, Maryland 2 0 2 1 - 2 0 2 2 1 0 0 BWF S P ow e r C o u p l e signed his position with Coopers and Lybrand to join the family business as controller when the growth of the busi- ness required full financial oversight. Victor’s wife, Lola be- gan working at the funeral home as a receptionist along- side his siblings, all licensed morticians. Lola obtained her morticians licenses in 1988 and later began managing the newly constructed funeral home, March-West. That same year, Victor was elected CEO. In 2001, their son, Victor Jr joined the business as director of IT and their daughter, Carmalita, who joined the business in 2003, now manages three funeral homes. March Funeral Homes operates seven funeral homes in three different states and a crematory. Vic- tor and Erich, along with Robert Bruce created Business Office Service Systems (B.O.S.S.), computer management system to the funeral industry to over 1,200 funeral homes across the country. The system was sold in 1998. The 100 BlackWomen of Funeral Service congratulates this funeral service couple and their third-generation legacy. ry, LLC was established. For over 18 years, Premier has been serving the Conyers community and surrounding cities with dignity and respect. This power couple is a member of the Cremation Association of North America, and was honored with their Crematory Operator Certification award in 2002. The 100 Black Women of Funeral Service congratulates the Wilsons for being a 2021-2022 power funeral service couple and Living Legend of Funeral Service Honorees. P remier C rematory LLC Conyers, Georgia Ray and Ruthie Wilson 2 0 2 1 - 2 0 2 2 1 0 0 BWF S P ow e r C o u p l e Rienard A. “Ray” Wilson was exposed to the funer- al service industry as a teen through his family-owned fu- neral home, Wilkins & Hart Mortuary in Asheville, NC. After graduating from the Gupton Jones College of Mor- tuary Science, where he met his wife, Ruthie Lee Bryant Wilson, a funeral director, embalmer and certified cre- mationist, Premier Cremato- The William C. March Funeral Home was es- tablished by Carrington March and his wife, Julia Roberta March in 1957. Their children, Victor, Cynthia, Annette and Erich assisted the funer- al home with tasks that did not require a license while growing up. Vic- tor, a graduate of Loyola University and a certified public accountant, re-