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Cole Funeral Chapel
Cole Funeral Chapel is a family-owned funeral home committed to caring for your family. An independent funeral home in Chelsea, Michigan, our mission is to meet your needs whatever they may be. We provide a wide range of services, from sitting down with you to discuss future needs to grief counseling after the death of a loved one.Our funeral home was founded in 1898, and was purchased by Donald Cole in 1977. His son, Allen, bought the funeral home from his father in 1999, continuing the tradition of service to the Chelsea area.
We know that making funeral arrangements can be difficult, so let us help you every step of the way. We have a professional staff equipped with many resources that can provide assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please feel free to call anytime, or e-mail us at staff @ ColeFuneralChapel.com
Cremation Services
We offer choices in cremation service, including:
- direct cremation with no services
- cremation followed by a memorial service or visitation time
- a complete viewing and funeral followed by cremation
We want to help your family choose services that fit your needs. We will walk you through your options without pressuring you, and we will help you to compare the costs of different options. Regardless of your choice, we will treat your loved one with respect, we will help you write and place obituaries, we will obtain death certificates promptly, and help you chose the final resting place for your loved one's ashes. We will not try to sell you services or merchandise you do not need.
Cremation with Public Viewing & Funeral
Cremation Packages - Price list
Read more: Cremation Services
Steps for Planning Ahead
We understand how difficult it is to plan funeral services, so our staff is available to help you in any way that we can. Please call us and we will walk you through every step of planning, and we will offer choices to make the services just right for your family. To help you understand the process, here are some of the steps you can choose to do ahead of time:
Funeral Planning
☐ Fill out basic pre-arrangement information sheet. 15-20 minutes, no charge. This provides the basic information we need to write obituaries and fill out the death certificates. It gives us some information about the type of services you want. Click here to download the Pre-Arrangement form
☐ Fill out funeral service information sheet. 10-15 minutes, no charge. This provides information about the funeral / memorial service you would like: who should lead it, type of music, readings, etc. Click here to download the Funeral Service Information Sheet
☐ Itemize funeral goods and services. 30-60 minutes with funeral home staff, usually at the funeral home, no charge. You choose the goods and services you want, and we will create an itemized funeral bill so you can know the anticipated costs. This is an estimate only, but lets you make many of the decisions in advance, and guides us and your family as to your wishes.
☐ Pre-pay your funeral invoice. 15-30 minutes with funeral home staff. After itemizing the services you want (see previous choice), you may pay for the funeral in one lump sum, or in payments, and lock in the prices for your funeral bill. This saves your family from worrying about paying for your funeral.
Memorial Planning
☐ Choose your cemetery marker. 30-60 minutes, cost vary greatly. You may choose the type of stone or gravemarker you want, and lay out the exact design for your stone. You may wish to save the information until after the death, or have the stone cut and delivered.
☐ Plan a memory slideshow. 30-60 minutes, $95. Choose 30-70 photos to be put into a slideshow that can be played at the visitation and/or funeral. You may put sticky notes on back to indicate an order to the photos if you wish, or to label slides. You may choose to narrate the photos in your voice.
☐ Write a letter to your loved ones. No cost, time will vary greatly. You may write a letter to your spouse or children to be read and re-read after your death. It could be read publicly, or just given to those you choose after your death. We will be happy to file it with your pre-arrangement. Please put in sealed envelope with the name of the recipient on the outside.
Recent Obituaries
Susan Bower
Susan Bower peacefully fell asleep in death on March 17, 2023 at her home in Chelsea. She was 71 years old.
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William G. "Bill" Moller, Jr.
of Chelsea, Michigan, age 91, died Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at his home. He was born March 26, 1931, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of William G. & Marie (Kreitner) Moller Sr.
Bill graduated from Sewanhaka High School on Long Island in 1949. He earned his Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytech Institute in Troy NY. Bill was commissioned as a Naval Officer (3 years active duty during Korea). He worked for Union Carbide as a Product Engineer for 4 years. He earned his MBA from the University of Michigan in 1962, and his PhD in 1969, from U of M's Rackham Graduate School. Bill did research at Syracuse from 67-72. He moved to Chelsea in 1973, taught at U of M, and served 7 years as Associate Dean at the U of M Business School. He enjoyed reading, music, playing golf, and cross country skiing. Bill was a former member of St. Paul United Church of Christ, where he served on the board. He was a member of the RPI Men's Honorary Society, co-captain of the Lacrosse team in college (made All American), and helped establish the Lacrosse team at U of M.
Read more ...Melvin "Mel" Leach
Of Chelsea, MI, age 89, died Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at his home. He was born April 27, 1933 in Chelsea, Michigan, the son of Clarence L. & Theresa M. (Schwab) Leach.
Mel served in the Army from 1953-55. He worked for the Village of Chelsea in the Wastewater Treatment Plant for 33 years. Mel was a member of the Rod and Gun Club and the American Legion.
On August 10, 1957, he married Barbara Wilson in Toledo, Ohio, and she preceded him in death on Dec. 8, 2019. Survivors include two daughters, Cynthia (Wesley) Mikesell of Fremont, and Susan (Ron Wolfe) Leach of Jackson; sons-in-law Adrian Carlino of Carlos Paz, Argentina, Daniel Spaulding of Jackson; 3 grandchildren, Nicole (Jason) Adams, Justin Degregorio, Anthony Degregorio; 4 great-grandchildren; 2 great-great-grandchildren; and 4 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by two daughters, Karen Carlino and Kathy Spaulding, and one brother, Merle Leach.
Read more ...Lois Ada Marie Gibson
Lois Ada Marie Gibson of Brighton, Michigan, age 89 passed away Friday, March 17, 2023, at Trinity Health Hospital in Ypsilanti. She was born April 24, 1933, in Oceana County, the daughter of Earl Willard and Elizabeth Caroline (Boelke) Shirtum.
Lois graduated with a Bachelor’s of Education from Albion College and a Master’s Degree from Wayne State University. While raising her family, she and Harry fostered 5 children and hosted foreign exchange students. With her family raised, she continued her devotion to service by teaching the visually handicapped in the Detroit Public School system for 20 years, retiring in 1995. Spare time was spent taking their grandchildren on adventures in education. Lois was an active and devoted member of Immanuel United Methodist Church in Eastpointe, Grace United Methodist Church in Chesterfield Township and Chelsea First United Methodist Church in Chelsea. For 25 years in retirement, Lois volunteered first at Corewell Health (Beaumont) Hospital in Troy and then at Chelsea Hospital in Chelsea where she served as President of the Auxiliary.
Read more ...Betty L. (Lausen) Pope
of Chelsea, Michigan formerly of Ann Arbor. Betty passed away just one day shy of her 100th birthday, yet the legacy of her strength, will and heart live on.
Betty was born March 15th, 1923 in Rockford, Illinois, beloved daughter of Howard and Bessie Lausen. At the age of 15, she moved with her parents to Ann Arbor where she lived until moving to the Chelsea Retirement Community (CRC) in 2006. During her 25-year career at Hoover-NSK she worked as a supervisor in sales paving the way for future women in business. Betty was passionate about her family, instilling integrity, a good work ethic and kindness to others.
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