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OUR HERITAGE
Sorenson Funeral Home History as taken from February 12, 1998 issue of the Crawford County Avalanche.
“Sorenson Funeral Home Updates Facility As Business Passes Century
Mark” by Shirley Schmook Established in 1892 by George Sorenson
(1873-1936), the Sorenson Funeral home was initially located in the 100
block on Main Street in Grayling where Advanced Business Machines is
now found. A brother of George’s, Olaf, owned and operated a
sporting goods store in the building recently occupied by Cartright and
Danewell in downtown Grayling. Olaf also advertised as a “soda fountain
and ice cream parlor” and handled a “complete line of cards, books,
letter-writing materials and much-much more.” George Sorenson and
another brother, James, were partners in Sorenson Brothers Furniture
Store and George engaged in his funeral practice in conjunction with
the furniture store operation. An Avalanche advertisement at
year-end circa 1906 said of them, “this store also has an undertaking
service that is modern in every detail. They are completely equipped
for this line of work as both James W. and George Sorenson understand
their business and are well known for the courteous manners and gentle
sympathy when their services are required.” The familiar
eight-sided coffin actually evolved through generations of cabinet and
furniture makers. Crafting decorative coffins was as common to them as
are kitchen cabinetry to the carpenters of today. Many of the early
funeral homes of the country were originally operated as a natural
extension of the furniture store business. George Sorenson
married Anine Johnson (1891-1964) in Grayling and the couple had four
children: Thorvald became a radiologist working in Grayling and
Highland Park hospitals, eventually acquiring his Ph. D., Alfred
remained as a funeral director in Grayling, Loretta married Jerome
Kesseler of Grayling and Keith owned and operated a funeral home in
Daggett. All four are now deceased. Alfred J. Sorenson joined his
father and older brother, Thorvald, in his family business and was
called “Bud” by everyone in town. He married Doris Harnois of Saginaw
and they had three daughters; Marlene (Lippard), Denise (McEvers), and
Marcia (Sullivan). After George Sorenson died in 1936, his two
young sons, Thorvald and Alfred attempted to carry on the funeral
business, but were not able to keep it going. There was a short lapse
in the business until 1938, when Alfred Sorenson obtained his
embalmer’s and funeral director’s licenses. Alfred “Bud” Sorenson
and his wife, Doris, opened their funeral home business in 1938 at 306
Chestnut Street in Grayling. This place was much too small, so in 1940,
Bud and Doris purchased the large building at 500 Michigan Avenue to be
their new location. This building at the corner of Michigan Avenue and
Chestnut Street was originally the Presbyterian Church building and at
the time Bud and Doris purchased it, it was the home of Amos and
Matilda Hunter. The Hunter’s lived in the upstairs portion and operated
their dairy business in the basement. The Sorenson’s lived and
operated their funeral home business in this location for many years.
It was not until 1968 that A.J. “Bud” Sorenson and his wife, Doris,
began construction of the current location on North Down River Road.
This fine brick building was completed in 1969 by Hallmark Construction
of Lansing. Hallmark was also responsible for designing and
construction the former Graying State Bank building (now Citizens Bank). In
1976, Alfred and Doris decided to retire. Derek and Denise (Sorenson)
McEvers purchased the funeral home from her parents and they have owned
and operated Sorenson Funeral Home since that time. The McEvers have
recently completed an extensive refurbishing of the interior of the
building. The casket-display room in the lower portion of the building
had undergone some renovation. AuSable Construction of Grayling did
much of the general work in the basement level“¦ Derek McEvers
said much has changed in the funeral business since he was first
licensed in 1958. “in the old days, all that was required to the casket
was a wooden box.” Bud and Derek used to construct these
“roughboxes” themselves. “When Harvey Roland managed the lumberyard for
T.P. Peterson, (now Wolohan’s) we’d call and give him the dimensions,
and he kept everything pre-cut for us. Everything was worked out by
size and he kept a listing of the sizes we used.” In 1972, the City of
Grayling began to require a “rigid container” for burial purposes and
the concrete vaults came into regular use. McEvers said the “first
protracted viewing of a body was that of Abraham Lincoln after his
assassination. He was moved across country by train for several days. And that was when embalming really got started, as sanitation, preservation, and restoration of the deceased were at issue. There
were seven recorded deaths the year the Sorenson’s Funeral Home opened
for business n 1892--“¦This many deaths in a small village was not
uncommon in the late 1800’s. Typhoid outbreaks and influenza were
natural assassinations, especially for the elderly and the very young. 1999-2004
Dean Meyering became the new Funeral Director and sole proprietor on
June 17, 1999. | 
