Borek and Jennings open new chapel next to Howell Memorial Cemetery (2024)

Borek and Jennings open new chapel next to Howell Memorial Cemetery (1)

HOWELL TWP. — A pair of longtime Livingston County funeral home owners say they have converted a former credit union into the most modern funeral home location the Howell area has seen in more than 100 years.

Todd Borek and Karl Jennings have opened Borek Jennings Funeral Homes, Howell Memorial Chapel, in a former Lake Trust Credit Union bank building at 1700 W. Highland Road/M-59.

Borek and Jennings say the new, approximately 9,200-square-foot location offers numerous advantages, including improved accessibility for mourners, on-site parking and its proximity to Howell Memorial Cemetery, which is next door. It will also be a meeting place for grief support groups.

"The biggest advantage is much more modern architecture that lends itself to having both intimate and open spaces," Jennings said. "Here we have both, places for people to gather, and we made sure we have places where people can be quiet together."

The pair will retain ownership of the funeral home's previous location in an historic building at 312 S. Michigan Ave. in downtown Howell, which operated as a funeral home since the early 1900s. They are gearing up to establish a new funeral home brand, which would be a separate business there with a different name. Those plans will be announced soon, they said.

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"A lot of funeral homes are converted houses," Borek said. "While they are very warm and inviting, and stately even, they are not like this," he said, adding that it was easy to convert the former credit union into a modern funeral home.

"It's hard to run out of (the previous location) because it's an old house," Borek said. "We just felt we needed to improve."

Borek and Jennings open new chapel next to Howell Memorial Cemetery (2)

The chapel where services take place formerly housed bank offices behind teller stations, which were removed. Now up to 239 guests can gather for services inside.

The offices now can be used to meet people arranging funerals for their loved ones, as well as administration.

The converted bank provides a large lobby area with couches and a cafe for refreshments, and it can seat about 30 people.

In the new location, everything is on one floor, which makes it more accessible to people will mobility problems, including seniors and those who use walkers or wheelchairs.

"We want people to come and be comfortable and fully connected to what is happening," Borek said.

The new location also has more parking, as opposed to the Michigan Avenue location, where most mourners had to walk to the site.

"There is ease of access (at the new location) for people getting parking spaces, and they don't have to navigate sidewalks in winter," Jennings said.

The former drive-up teller window has been removed and the area now offers a new covered side entrance.

A back room for support groups has a separate entrance as well. The funeral home offers 27 healing support services, and had been conducting support groups offsite at churches and other venues, including the Howell Opera House. They also have an after-care specialist working on bring other grief support resources to the county, which could use the new funeral home to assist people experiencing the loss of a loved one.

"We also love the fact (the building is) right next to the cemetery," Borek said. "For us to be right next door to the cemetery just makes sense."

They will celebrate a grand opening of the facility from 3 to 6 p.m. Oct. 14 with a public ribbon cutting and flag-raising ceremony.

An evolving history of funeral services

The way people conduct funeral services has changed over the last century.

"In the past, every funeral was in the home. They would prepare the deceased in the home and lay them out in the parlor," Borek said.

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Around 1880, what is now Cleary's Pub in downtown Howell, was a furniture and undertaker's shop owned by Asa Van Kleeck. Historically, furniture makers would also sell coffins.

F.C. Schnackenburg took over the Cleary's Pub location and the Schnackenburg family built the home on Michigan Avenue downtown in 1904. The Lamb family later took it over and added an addition to the home that still exists today.

Borek and Jennings open new chapel next to Howell Memorial Cemetery (3)

Borek and Jennings purchased the downtown Howell funeral home from James Lamb in 2000, naming in Borek Jennings Funeral Homes, Lamb Chapel, in honor of its history.

Borek said they are happy to be back up to four funeral homes — the three Borek Jennings Funeral Homes locations and the future brand in downtown Howell.

They have operated a Borek Jennings Funeral Home location in Hamburg Township the longest, since 1992. The Hamburg Township location had been the newest funeral home constructed in the county, until now.

Following the 2020 sales of funeral homes in Manchester and Brooklyn to Eineder Funeral Homes & Cremation they purchased funeral home in Pinckney last year.

Borek and Jennings open new chapel next to Howell Memorial Cemetery (4)

New plan in the works for downtown Howell building

The historic funeral home on Michigan Avenue will still function as a funeral home.

"The model we'll use downtown will be simpler, less expensive," Borek said. "We'll provide service packages that are presented in a way where people can easily make decisions when they are in the acute loss period."

They are expected to announce a new name for the downtown location in the near future.

"We're going to establish (the new location) and then we will be reestablishing downtown in a couple months," Borek said.

He said he will consider to expanding to more locations in the future.

ContactLivingston Daily reporterJennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com.

Borek and Jennings open new chapel next to Howell Memorial Cemetery (2024)
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