Century of serving

Bryan Hugeback would love to go back in time — just for a day — to see where the funeral home that has been such a huge part of his life all started.On July 20, 1917, a funeral home owned by Bill Larkin, helped put a retired farmer named Nat Hilsman to rest, and 100 years later, that funeral home is still going strong.“A lot of things have changed,” Hugeback said, “but the one thing that hasn’t is our job is the same as Bill Larkin’s was. We help families through the grieving process. How we do that may not exactly be the same as it was in 1917, but that is our No. 1 job.”Over the course of 100 years, the funeral home’s name may have changed a time or two, but it has been a model of stability.Larkin owned the funeral home until 1961, when he sold it to Emmett and Mary Martin. In 1979, Leon Hugeback became the owner, and 17 years later, his son took over the business.That’s four owners in 100 years.“To me, that may be the most striking thing,” Hugeback said. “To have only four owners in all that time, that just hits me.”The “fifth owners” — Hugeback’s son, Andy, and his son-in-law, Drew Johnson — are waiting in the wings as Hugeback-Johnson enters its second century of serving families, some of whom are going through the toughest times in their lives. 
For more of this article, see Friday's New Hampton Tribune