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Josh Freeman
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FLINT - One of the city's best-known funeral homes is closing its doors next week and merging with three suburban funeral homes.
Brown Funeral Home, 1616 Davison Road, is closing June 9 and consolidating into the Brown Funeral Home location off Hill Road in Grand Blanc Township, Hill Funeral Home in Grand Blanc and Reigle Funeral Home Sunset Chapel in Mt. Morris Township.
Don Lada, Brown Funeral Home's well-known and frequently honored director, will remain with the company, working out of the three other locations.
Funeral home officials said they have no immediate plans for the building once it is closed.
While it was officially a funeral home, the Brown facility has become much more than that for the city's east side, and its loss will be significant, said Kate Fields, executive director of the Greater Eastside Community Association.
"That is devastating for the east side of Flint, devastating," Fields said. "We don't have a community center on the east side of Flint, and they closed the school (Homedale Elementary) on the east side.
"Because of that, Don Lada has allowed us to use Brown's for a variety of meetings. Our Eastside Business Association meets there; we've had tax foreclosure prevention meetings there and housing counseling."
The funeral home also will be remembered by many as the place where thousands came to mourn Kayla Rolland, the Buell Elementary School first-grader slain by a classmate in 2000.
The business has sentimental value for many, Fields said.
"I can't tell you how important it is to all the people who grew up here and their parents," Fields said.
"You'd have a funeral and it would almost be like a gathering place for the old neighborhood people. The person who died may not live in Flint any more, but out of tribute to all their friends and family, they would have their funeral at Brown's."
The funeral homes involved in the consolidation are part of the Dignity Memorial Network, which is operated by Service Corp. International in Houston, Texas, Lada said.
Lada, 69, the recipient of numerous community service awards, said he will stay working with the company and has no plans to retire.
"I've really been blessed," said Lada of his continuing career and community service. "This is another opportunity to bring other groups together. It gives me a chance to meet new people and expand my relationships with other people.
"I'm not changing what I do. I'm just reporting to a different spot in the morning."
The funeral home is being combining with the other facilities for efficiency reasons, said Lada and Vern Pixley, Dignity's market director.
All funeral pre-arrangements previously made at the Davison Road location will be safe, secure and honored by the other three locations, officials said.
"The focus we have is on improving our service," Pixley said. "We are excited about the opportunity of combining staff and facilities, and we think this will do nothing but improve and build up our service levels."
When asked if the move will mean employee layoffs, Pixley said the company will look at staffing levels as the consolidation occurs.
Lada said business at Brown Funeral Home has been affected as Flint's population has shifted out of the city.
Pixley said Lada will continue to be a key figure in the company.
"Don is a very important part of what we do," Pixley said. "Don has been instrumental to our service in the Flint area. He's won every award and been recognized by every organization ever developed in Flint. He's an integral part of our organization."
Lada, who lives in Richfield Township, is a regular attendee of Flint school and city meetings with his wife, Dee. He has worked at Brown Funeral Home since 1971 and spent several years as its co-owner until it was bought by Dignity in 1988. Under Dignity's management, Lada, a licensed funeral director, has continued working as a consultant.
The community programs sponsored by Brown - including the Dignity Memorial Escape School, Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program and Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall - will continue through the other three funeral homes.
"Our commitment to our families in Flint remains as strong as ever," Lada said, adding he and his wife will continue to be active and volunteer in Flint.
"My wife and I are cheerleaders. That's our goal." |
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Fri Jun 01, 2007 10:10 am |
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Ryan Eashoo
F L I N T O I D
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Thats terrible Josh, that place has helped so many families grieve, not to mention help build a better EASTSIDE.. The LADA Family are hero's in my eyes, they do so much and give unconditionally. That place will be missed!
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Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com |
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Fri Jun 01, 2007 8:43 pm |
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