Reynolds Jonkhoff Funeral Home passes to sixth generation

Oct. 9—TRAVERSE CITY — One came to a realization at a very early age what she wanted to do for a career.

The other sister found her professional passion late in her undergraduate career.

However they came about it, sisters Chris Jonkhoff-Hater and Lindsey Rogers have taken over leading operations of the Reynolds Jonkhoff Funeral Homes & Cremation Services from their parents, Dan and Peg Jonkhoff.

The transition — under development for about five years at the funeral home inside the historic Perry Hannah House at 305 Sixth St. — officially took place earlier this year, making Jonkhoff-Hater and Rogers the sixth generation of the family to work in the industry. The family began in the industry when Gerrit Jonkhoff started the family's first funeral home in Grand Rapids in 1884.

"We have the passion to help people," the 36-year-old Rogers said. "We get to take the helm and keep the ship going in the same direction."

"It's a pretty cool legacy to continue on with and be a part of it," said Jonkhoff-Hater, who is four years older than her sister and has been a licensed funeral director since 2005. "Having Lindsey and I doing it together, plus having mom and dad so close and ... continuing to help us."

Dan Jonkhoff, a pilot for 40 years, has soared off into retirement while Peg Jonkhoff is continuing in her role as administrative director at Reynolds Jonkhoff. But the torch has officially been passed to the next generation.

The fact the profession has made it through so many branches of the Jonkhoff family is not lost on Dan.

"It's crazy special, that's for sure," he said while on vacation in South Carolina. "How often do you get lucky to have kids follow in your footsteps and have kids look up to you for wisdom and guidance?

"Plus I got to train both of them for years, more than 10 years for both of them. How cool is that?"

The passing of the torch from the fifth to the sixth generation happened on the final day of June. For an industry predicated on unpredictability, that was no mistake.

It was in June 1992 that Dan and Peg Jonkhoff became the fifth generation owners of the family funeral home, purchasing the business from Jack and Maxine Jonkhoff.

Dan and Peg Jonkhoff were 40 and 36, respectively — the same age Chris and Lindsey were this June.

"It was purely coincidence," Rogers said.

"It was very important for us" added Peg Jonkhoff. "We had 30 years as a goal and we adhered to it. It's so cool that it was 30 years to the month."

While Dan Jonkhoff said he will always be available to assist the sixth generation of funeral directors, he said it was important his daughters became the face of the funeral home.

So he took his love of aviation into an appointment on the Cherry Capital Airport Authority Board and becoming a partner in Legacy Learning Aviation, which aims to address the shortage of aviation mechanics.

Besides, Dan Jonkhoff was dealing with the same dynamic he did with his father. Jack Jonkhoff probably did the same with his father, Harold with Ralph and Ralph with Gerrit.

"It just became to the point where it was better for me to step back than to stay," Dan Jonkhoff said. "Lindsey and Christy needed to be their own people. When I entered the room, everybody comes to me for questions instead of going to Lindsey and Christy. I remember that happening when I was a young man.

"That's a good thing."

Different paths

Chris and Lindsey decided to take their turn at much different times in their life.

Rogers said she wanted to be a funeral director for as long as she can remember. Rogers said it was watching her father outside of work that led to her decision.

"Growing up, we would often go out to eat and everywhere we went, my dad always got a hug from folks in the restaurant," Rogers recalled in an email. "I thought, 'How cool!' My dad truly helps people. I want to be just like him."

After she graduated from Traverse City Central, Rogers went on to play golf for Bowling Green State University. Rogers earned her mortuary science degree from Wayne State University — the same school where her father earned his degree — in 2009.

Ironically, Dan Jonkhoff said he was the kid who stood up in kindergarten and said he wanted to be a funeral director when he grew up. He said that came from watching how his father and grandfather talked about their day.

"They always came home and talked about what nice people they helped today or what interesting people they met," said Dan, who never recalled either man complaining about work.

Rogers said when she was 8 years old she would help her mother plant the grounds, which earned frequent recognition from organizations like The Friendly Garden Club of Traverse City. Rogers started putting together holy cards and memorial folders when she was 13.

"I've been officially licensed since 2009, but I've been here really most of my life," Rogers said. "I've never considered doing anything else."

While she was also around the funeral home from a young age, Jonkhoff-Hater's first fell in love with another of the family's pursuits: golf. Jonkhoff-Hater was the first to play golf at TC Central and then in college, teeing it up for Michigan State.

"I really wanted to keep golfing," Jonkhoff-Hater said. "But it just wasn't my love and my passion anymore."

So after earning her degree at MSU, Jonkhoff-Hater enrolled at the Worsham School of Mortuary Science in Wheeling, Illinois. The school northwest of Chicago was the same one her grandfather, Jack, attended. Jonkhoff-Hater earned her license as a funeral director in 2005 and let the region lure her home.

"I wanted to be back in Traverse City and my parents always made the funeral home a welcoming place," she said, remembering when microphones and an empty chapel would turn into the family version of "American Idol" long before the show's TV debut.

"It's one of the coolest places to work at. I never have the same day twice and I get to meet new people everyday. I get to make friends and become a part of people's lives."

Similar approach

There is no way to separate death from the profession of being a funeral director, but both generations of the family said the opposite is more the case.

It's more about celebrating the life someone lived.

"In addition to helping families, I also like planning events to celebrate life," Rogers said of funerals. "It's so clouded by the stigma of death."

"Funeral directors are a lot like social workers, nurses and caretakers," Jonkhoff-Hater added. "We just like to help people."

The best way to help people is to be a good listener, especially considering the event that brings people to Reynolds Jonkhoff.

"This job isn't easy," said Rogers, who said humans have two ears and one mouth for a reason. "We help people at the hardest times in their lives."

"We stand on excellence every day, that's our goal," Peg Jonkhoff said. "And being a good listener. That's how we pick up on what people want. They don't know what their options are. That's where we have the expertise and that's what we've done for six generations."

Dan Jonkhoff and his daughters — in completely different conversations over a span of weeks — even mentioned the same word. It's about bringing control to what can be a chaotic situation.

"We give people control back," Jonkhoff-Hater said. "When people are sick or dying, they have no control over the situation. After passing, I get to give people control back and help them adjust to their new normal. It's one minute, one day at a time. Grief is so different for everyone."

"When there is a death, the family is not in control," Dan Jonkhoff said. "The situation is in control, the hospital is in control. I get to give the families some control back and that's a huge help to give that control back."

"I'm a guide," Rogers said. "I don't want to pressure anybody into things. Everyone grieves at their own time and at their own pace."

The fifth and sixth generation of Jonkhoffs also know the history of the funeral home is not just the Jonkhoffs. Not even close.

There are a total of five licensed funeral directors on staff with Don Rigda, Shawn Lowe, Joshua Gatiss and Rick Harkert joining Jonkhoff-Hater and Rogers. There's also Funeral Service Specialist Megen Fryer in addition to retired funeral directors like Rick Harkert and Dan Johnkoff available.

"It takes a village to make the happen and we couldn't do it without our work family," Jonkhoff-Hater said. "We have a great group of people that want to come to work and help people."

"We couldn't be more proud of (our daughters) and the team," Peg Jonkhoff said. "Because it's not just us. Aces in their places, I say."

The generations

Gerrit Jonkhoff established one of the first funeral homes in Grand Rapids along with his son, Ralph. Harold Jonkhoff and his sons, Jack and Bob, continued the family business in Grand Rapids. Jack eventually sold his share of the GR business to Bob and purchased a funeral home in Caledonia.

Jack and Maxine Jonkhoff and sons, Dan and Tom, moved to Traverse City in 1976 and bought the Reynolds Hanson Funeral Home from Fred and Roberta Hanson, according to a history provided by Peg Jonkhoff. Jack, Maxine and Tom lived at the funeral home from 1976-1984 with the name eventually changing to Reynolds Jonkhoff.

In addition to mentoring its own family, the Jonkhoffs are doing the same for others. That includes people like Bruce Zenner II and Wayne State mortuary science student Henry Parvel. Reynolds Jonkhoff owned the Kalkaska Funeral for a decade before selling it in December to Zenner.

Reynolds Jonkhoff and Kalkaska Funeral Home also have an exclusive arrangement with Creekside Crematory so family members can be with those that passed. Reynolds Jonkhoff also added a garden tent for services, first out of necessity during the pandemic and then for people wanting an outside funeral.

While the transition from the fifth to the sixth generation of Jonkhoffs has been in place for a while, Dan Jonkhoff said there was never an emphasis on it.

"It's just cool how special each day is that I get to help someone," he said of his daughters. "I think that's why they went into the profession, to help someone. And both of my kids did it because they wanted to, not because I made them."

The same is true for the seventh generation. Rogers has two boys ages 7 and 9 while Jonkhoff-Hater has two girls ages 3 and 4.

"Lindsey's two boys and my two girls, they're all great little kids with good hearts," Jonkhoff-Hater said. "I have no worries. It will be up to them if that's what they wish to decide."

"We will never pressure them," Rogers said. "If they want to do it, great. If they don't want to do it, great."

But there may be early indications that Chris' daughter — named for her grandmother — may be eyeing a seventh generation already.

"My daughter, Maxine, came in to work and saw all the (historical) pictures up," Jonkhoff-Hater recalled. "She said, 'I think my picture should go between you and Aunt Lindsey.' I told her, 'That's not how generations work.'

"She said, 'I know. But I'm your daughter and I think my picture should go there.'"