OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MONTANA FUNERAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION

Pub. 1 2022 Issue 1

The-Lake-Funeral-Home

The Lake Funeral Home: Continuing a Caring Tradition

The Lake Funeral Home and Crematory follows a history of several funeral home names, one still well known in the state: the Retz Funeral Home.

The Retz Funeral Home operated in Lake County as early as the 1930s. It was purchased by Oliver Mosley, Jr. in the 1950s after his discharge from the service following the Korean War. It operated as the Mosley Funeral Home until 1986 when the Shrider Funeral Home in Ronan purchased and ran it as Mosley/ Shrider for many years. Ron Grogan joined the Mosley/Shrider Funeral Home in the early 1990s and worked alongside Ron Shrider before purchasing it in 1996, renaming it the Grogan Funeral Home.

In 2001, the funeral home was enlarged by adding a generous arrangement office to the front foyer, opening up the chapel for a more sizable seating area, and adding a retort on site. Rick Evans and Tom Vertin purchased the funeral home in 2012, renaming it The Lake Funeral Home and Crematory. Along with an extensive update of the facility, it included new carpeting, furniture, new lighting in the selection room, a redo of the preparation room, and another body refrigeration system.

Mr. Evans and Mr. Vertin purchased the Shrider/Thompson Funeral Home in Ronan in 2016 that operates as a satellite of The Lake Funeral Home. These funeral homes service the Mission Valley and all of Lake County. The staff has been with the firm for many years; Kim Congdon has been the manager for 10 years; Fred Nelson has been with the funeral home for 23 years, and Charlie Wilson has been with them for nine years.