Our Family's Story
Our founder, Henry Krill, came to Edgerton from Germany when he was about ten years old. In 1874 he was employed by Jacob Miller as a cabinet maker and undertaker and was also schooled in the art of embalming. In 1875, at the age of 26, he became a partner in the business with Mr. Miller and two years later became sole owner. His son, Oscar, joined him in the business as an assistant in 1910 and stayed with him until 1917 when he opened a funeral business in Bryan that he operated for twenty-nine years until his retirement. On January 17, 1917, another son, Edwin, a recent embalming college graduate, entered the business as a partner. The firm, known as Henry Krill & Son, continued with the practice of funeral service and operation of the furniture store until the death of the founder in 1938 after a total of sixty-three years in the trade.
Edwin took over his father's interest at the time of his death, sold the furniture portion of the business in 1939, and operated solely as Krill Funeral Service. He continued to operate it alone for the next twenty years until 1958 when he was joined by his son, C. Jon Krill. On July 1, 1964, Edwin retired from the responsibilities of the business by selling it to Jon and becoming an employee of the firm after forty-eight years as owner in the same location and remained in this capacity until his death in 1970.
Jon continued to operate the business and upgrade facilities to better serve families in their time of need. It was also during this time that Jon became a proponent of the village training individuals as emergency medical technicians and discontinued the ambulance service, which was a longtime commitment to the community, and turned it over to the village. To also foster greater understanding of death and related attitudes, he established a resource library covering various topics of death education for public use. Jon continued to operate the business until his untimely death in 1980.
J. Michael Krill took over operation of the business in 1980 and continues to operate it with his wife, Rebecca. In 1991 the Kundard Funeral Home in Edon, Ohio, was purchased from Ronald Kundard. The Kundard Funeral Home was an institution in the Edon community since 1890 when it was started by William Meyers in much the same way the Krills started. Mr. Kundard purchased the business from Donald Meyers in 1946 and continued to operate it until his retirement. In 1992 extensive renovations were made to the facility in Edgerton, increasing public space, preparation rooms and parking facilities. The Edon facility also underwent extensive renovation in 2001, continuing the Krills' commitment to the communities they serve.
In 2004 the Krill family decided to expand the funeral service operation with the construction of a new facility in Bryan, Ohio, which also included the addition of a crematory to better serve the growing trends in funeral service. This marks a return to Bryan, after a nearly sixty-year absence, where Edwin's brother, Oscar Krill, operated the Krill Funeral Home for many years before selling to Ralph Greenisen in the late 1940s. This location offers full traditional service along with in-house cremation options, a children's area, fully accessible entrance with no steps and a covered entry. We also are able to offer video tributes with the ability to show the video throughout the funeral home. The facility provides a warm atmosphere that will provide comfort in a time of need. As in Edgerton and Edon, our commitment to service will always be our number one priority.
