Todd began a funeral service career when he was just 15 while growing up in Battle Creek. It was then that he began working for a couple who owned a funeral home nearby. He continued to work with them throughout his teen years, all the while developing a genuine interest in funeral service.
While in high school, Todd focused his attention on working toward achieving a degree in Mortuary Science. He received his high school diploma in 1979 and went on to graduate from college in 1981 and then mortuary science college in 1983. Though Todd had achieved his goal of becoming a funeral director, after 12 years of working at a Battle Creek firm he felt there was still something missing from his professional life. He knew funeral service would move in new directions in the coming years, and he needed to become part of a funeral home that shared that awareness. After interviewing at Rupert, Durham, Marshall & Gren he knew he had found the right place.
Todd's career with RDMG began at the Plainwell chapel and he was appointed manager of the Portage chapel in 1998.
The addition of the Life Story Network® to the RDMG Funeral Homes has been an important tool in working toward the future of funeral service. Using current technology to improve the way families experience funerals has only deepened Todd's love for what he does. What he enjoys most about his job is being able to help a family as they experience the grieving process. He receives the utmost satisfaction from helping a family to feel good, relatively speaking, about the funeral services he provides.
As a young man growing up between the small communities of Tecumseh and Clinton, Herb Ayres was willing to try almost anything. At Clinton High School, Herb lettered in golf, basketball, and football. He was also the editor of the school newspaper, president of the student council, and a member of the symphonic and jazz bands. Although he was active in all these things, it was golf that became Herb's real passion. He was intrigued by the game, which taught him great mental discipline. Plus, the sport allowed him to spend time with his father, who had already turned 40 when Herb was born.
After graduating high school in 1970, Herb accepted a scholarship to study aeronautical engineering. Meanwhile, he began working part-time in a funeral home owned by a friend of the family. Herb liked the job; so much so, in fact, that he soon decided it was the field he wanted to pursue. He graduated from Western Michigan University in 1974 and Wayne State University in 1976. By 1977, Herb had secured a position as a funeral director with the firm belonging to Bob Gren. Bob admitted to Herb that he was looking for someone to take over for him, and Herb turned out to be the perfect successor. Bob integrated Herb into the business, serving as his most valued mentor. True to his word, Bob sold the business to Herb as his health began to decline in the following years. Bob eventually passed away, but Herb would always remember his generosity and guidance.
Herb's approach when meeting with grieving families has been largely shaped by Bob Gren, though Herb's own encounters with death have influenced him as well. By the time he turned 45, Herb had lost many close relatives. This included his wife Pam, who had worked closely with her husband and had been instrumental in making the Portage chapel of Rupert, Durham, Marshall & Gren a reality. As difficult as these losses were, they allowed Herb to better help people who were going through similar circumstances. He developed a personal mission when working with families, which was simply to engage them as friends.
The addition of Life Story Network® to RDMG has helped Herb accomplish his mission. "Life Story Network® has given me the tools," he says, "to allow families to reach into their hearts and say and do things previously unsaid and undone - saying goodbye without regrets." With LSN, Herb is able to provide service that not only meets, but exceeds every family's expectations.
Since 1997, Herb has successfully been raising his three daughters by himself, though he admits that being a single parent is not easy. He currently lives with the youngest of his three girls in a Victorian home he has restored in Plainwell. Whenever Herb has any free time he spends it playing golf, the game he has loved since childhood.
Jim has loved music since the moment he could hear it. By the third grade, he was taking piano lessons from his dad, and by the fourth grade, he had started playing the cello. The cello remained his passion through junior high and high school. One summer, he was part of the All-State program at Interlochen National Music Camp. Jim also liked to sing, and sang in the South Haven High School Choir and the State Honors Choir. In college, Jim continued to indulge his musical ability, playing in the Western Michigan University Orchestra and singing in the University Grand Chorus.
To earn money during college, Jim worked summers at the South Haven Hospital. It was here that he met a local funeral director who offered him a job at the funeral home. Almost immediately, Jim loved it. He soon graduated from WMU and enrolled at the Indiana College of Mortuary Science. After obtaining his degree, Jim served his country at the U.S. Army Mortuary at Than Son Nut Airbase, Saigon, South Vietnam.
After Vietnam Jim returned to the funeral home in South Haven for a couple years during which time he met the love of his life, the former Jane Arkins. Jim and Jane were married in South Haven and were blessed with the birth of their first son, Ryan, while they lived at the funeral home. A few months later Jim took a job with the Batesville Casket Company where he spent the next 26 years. Jim and Jane lived in Kalamazoo during this time which is where their second son, Patrick, was born. In 2001 Jim was involved in a special project-the Funeral of the Future-for Batesville. This work brought Jim closer to families again and to the important feelings they have when a loved one dies.
With this in mind Jim decided to become part of a new company called Life Story Network® and also to be a funeral director at Rupert, Durham, Marshall & Gren Funeral Home. This allowed Jim to pursue his new-found passion: changing the focus of funeral service from the death that occurred to the life that was lived. At a Life Story Funeral Home the focus is on the family, the memories of their loved one, and keeping those memories alive; Life Story Network is the company that will make all of that happen for Life Story Funeral Homes® across the country.
Life Story Network® is leading a transformation in the funeral service profession: "The Life Story process is a funeral business innovation that changes the way people remember the ones they love. Life Story Network® is not about burial, cremation, caskets, or urns. It's about the human heart." Jim is excited about the work he does because it allows him to help people in a way funeral service was never able to do before.
Jim & Jane still visit their native town of South Haven, especially during the summer months. For relaxation Jim and Jane like to walk the trails in Parkview Hills where they live, and spend time with their sons and their granddaughter, Shae. Jim continues to indulge his musical interests as well, singing in the choir at St. Augustine Cathedral and listening to classical music.
Christine discovered her fascination with the funeral profession at the age of 10. It was then that she attended the funeral of her four-year-old cousin, who she thought looked remarkably more peaceful lying in the casket than she had in life. This contradiction was intriguing to Christine and she promptly began asking all the questions she could. From this moment on, she knew what she wanted to do.
Though Christine became pregnant during her senior year at Hackett Catholic Central, the experience only encouraged her to pursue her career. She gave birth to her daughter, Kelly Renee, on September 25, 1991. With the support of her parents, Christine focused on her schoolwork and graduated in 1992.
Before and during her attendance at mortuary school, Christine took advantage of the opportunity to work for Betzler Funeral Home. Upon becoming a licensed funeral director, Christine began working for Scott Betzler, who owned a pet crematory named Precious Pets. Though she enjoyed this work, Christine wanted to be able to practice her trade in a conventional funeral home. Soon, the opportunity arose. Rupert, Durham, Marshall & Gren was looking for a part-time funeral director and Christine knew this would be a great place to work. Since 2001, Christine has gradually been taking on more responsibility with the firm, and in April 2004, she became a full-time funeral director.
Christine came to RDMG just as it began to employ the services of Life Story Network®. To her, Life Story Network® helps families realize the saying, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." She has witnessed overwhelmingly positive responses from families to Life Story Funerals® . Instead of feeling as if they are the target of a sale, families tell Christine that they feel like the funeral service centers entirely on them and the memories they want to share. "No one wants to come into our building," Christine says, "they do it because they have to, so I try to make the experience personal, comforting, and educational for them." She does this by allowing herself to be emotionally involved with a family, recognizing that by offering more compassion, she helps them to feel more comfortable with her and, in turn, the funeral process.
Making people comfortable is what Christine Broberg does best. In her personal life, she takes comfort in her family, with whom she spends most of her free time. Christine has been married to her husband Scott since 1995, and they share their home with their children, Kelly Renee & Allison Faye, two dogs, Daisy & Daphne, two kitties, Max & Macy and a slew of other animal friends.
Having been born into a family of funeral professionals, Jon Durham had never planned to be a funeral director himself. His father, Sheldon Durham, had been a licensed funeral director since 1955. The family lived above the Rupert-Durham funeral home in Vicksburg, where as a young man Jon would carry funeral flowers, set up chairs, and clean the chapel for forthcoming services.
By the time Jon graduated from Vicksburg High School in 1981, he knew he would continue with his education; the problem, however, was deciding on a course of study. Since he had been so close to the funeral profession as a child, Jon was anxious to explore another career. He decided to begin Pre-Med coursework at Kalamazoo College. With only a vague ambition in the medical field, Jon was heavily influenced to go in another direction following a significant death in his family.
When Jon's grandmother, Effie Rupert, passed away, the experience of her death gave Jon new insight into his father's responsibilities as a funeral director. For the first time, Jon became very emotionally invested in a funeral and could appreciate his father's critical role in making the event come together. This experience ended up putting Jon's life in a new direction. He transferred to the University of Minnesota in the spring of 1983, where he studied Mortuary Science. He graduated in 1985, returning to Vicksburg later the same year to begin working with his father.
As a funeral director, Jon has done his utmost to give every family the most fulfilling experience possible. His sincere and straight-forward manner has been able to put families at ease, allowing Jon to communicate with them effectively. Creating this intimate connection with families has given Jon the chance to better understand their emotional needs.
Today, Jon's work intently focuses on implementing what he has learned. In the past few years, Life Story Network® has become his new vehicle for bringing families a heightened level of service. He has passionately nurtured the company from its inception, and continues to guide it into the twenty-first century.
Building and maintaining Life Story Network® is a labor of love for Jon, who spends much of his free time researching and gathering information for the business. Luckily, surfing the Internet is another of his interests, as are waterskiing and walking. Jon is also active in the community, serving as a member of the Vicksburg Rotary Club and the Vicksburg Historic Village Committee, a trustee of the Vicksburg Community Schools Foundation, and a volunteer at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.
Family has always been a principal part of the McCowen household. Steve McCowen was born in Jackson, the town where he grew up with his younger brother, Jeff. Since the family was very close, his parents and grandparents were his strongest influences in early life. Both of Steve's grandparents lived in Kalamazoo and has many fond memories of spending time at Milham Park as a kid.
When Steve was in high school his dad, in fact, recommended him for a position at a funeral home. The attempt to get him out of the house in the summer worked and proofed to sit a path for the future. Steve liked working at the funeral home so much that he decided to pursue the profession as his career. Upon graduating from Lumen Christi High School in 1990, Steve spent the next two years at Ferris State University, then transferred to Xavier University to attend the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. He obtained his degree, but tried unsuccessfully to find a position in his hometown of Jackson. He worked in Battle Creek for the next year until a Jackson post became available.
Steve's return to Jackson brought him to the next stage of his professional career, He spent 5 years working for a firm in his hometown. During this time Steve got married and although the married ended 7 years later, they had three wonderful children together: Mackenzie, Joey, and Stephen II.
In 1999, Steve had attended a funeral for a family friend in Gaylord, Michigan and unexpectedly it led him to a new chapter in his career. At the service in Gaylord, Steve introduced himself to the owner of the funeral home, Chuck Nelson. Before the end of the summer, Steve had accepted a position working at the firm.
Soon Steve had moved to northern Michigan with his family, working for a man he truly admired: "Chuck taught me the finer details of not just funeral service, but life itself. I couldn't be the person I am today had I not worked for Chuck Nelson, he was a great mentor, at the right time in my life." Steve remained in Gaylord through 2003, when he decided to move back downstate to be closer to friends and family. As the family began to prepare for their move, Steve came into contact with RDMG.
Although his life in Gaylord had been wonderful, Steve finds his position in Kalamazoo equally stimulating: "Working for a Life Story Funeral Home® enables me to give each family a great funeral experience. We give people the tools they need to continue archiving the memories that mean so much to each family. If a memory isn't written it will one day be forgotten and that would be really sad."
Steve loves his job, but, just as in childhood, the McCowen household revolves around family. Steve enjoys spending his free time with his children because, he says, "They are the single most important part of my life."