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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

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

Standard Cremation Package

Cremation with Public Viewing & Funeral

Cremation Packages - Price list

 

Read more: Cremation Services

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.

A cemetery marker is not just a way to mark the grave, but it can tell the story of that person's life.  We enjoy helping you design a special cemetery marker to remember your loved ones.   We also recommend families place a stone on their graves before it is needed, so you can plan your design together.  We work hard to create quality monuments for the families we serve, and offer many choices, and easy ways to personalize the marker.  Let us make a design and give you an estimate with no obligation.

Patten Monument web site

Recent Obituaries

Jill Marie Powers

Of Jackson, Michigan, age 39, passed away Wednesday, May 12, 2021, at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, due to complications of Covid. She was born April 17, 1982, in Jackson, Michigan, the daughter of Thomas Richard Powers and Sue Alice (Hendrickson) Powers.

Jill graduated from Jackson Northwest High School in 2000, and then attended Jackson College. She worked in retail in the Jackson area and attended the St. John Catholic Church also in Jackson. Jill enjoyed dancing lessons when she was younger; she was artistic and funny.

Read more ...

William Blaine McAfee

of Milan, Michigan, formerly of Grass Lake and Chelsea, Age 79, entered into glory Tuesday, May 11, 2021, at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. He was born to William Kenneth and Alma Irene (Dragoo) McAfee, on April 30, 1942. Bill graduated from Strong Vincent High School in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1960 and then Allegheny College in Meadville, PA in 1964 with his BA in History. After graduation, Bill worked for the U.S. Public Health Service in New York from 1964 – 1966 until he enlisted in the U.S. Army where he served until 1969 stationed in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Bill worked in the Human Resources field and held a position as Reed City Manager from 1983-1986. In 1986, he accepted the position of Human Resources Director for the Washtenaw County Road Commission in Ann Arbor from 1986 –2005 when he retired.

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David James Hammel

Of Pleasant Lake, MI, formerly of Munith & Chelsea, age 53, passed away peacefully Friday, October 30, 2020 at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor following a short illness. He was born May 28, 1967 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the son of James W. & Doris Jean (McKellar) Hammel.  David graduated from Chelsea High School in 1985, and attended Washtenaw Community College. He worked as a Customs Compliance Specialist at Gnutti Carlo USA (formerly MS Precision) in Webberville. David loved hunting and fishing. His biggest joy in life was fishing with his son, Russell. He played guitar, and loved family music get-togethers, campfires, and watching sunrises and sunsets. He also wrote beautiful poems. He touched the hearts of many, and will be missed.

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Earlyne Hazel Figg

of Chelsea, Michigan, age 94, died Monday, May 3, 2021, at the Chelsea Retirement Community. She was born April 24, 1927, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the daughter of Rosina and Earl Krapf.
 
  Earlyne graduated from Pioneer High School and then worked for Argus, the AFL-CIO, and the Ann Arbor Public Schools. On August 31, 1946, she married Cameron Figg, a WWII veteran, in Ann Arbor. They resided in Ann Arbor for many years and then moved to their home on Crooked Lake, in Chelsea, in the 1970's.
 
Earlyne is survived by her nieces, Kay (Tom) Carlson of Northville, Susette (Mark) Freeman of Eagle, Idaho, Deborah (Tom) Jenks of Wheaton, Illinois; and a nephew, William (Vickie) Figg of Florida.
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Dr. John L. Zettelmaier

of Chelsea, MI, age 83, died Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at home and in the company of his family. He was born December 17, 1937 in Chicago, the first son of John C. and Eleanor (Stech) Zettelmaier. He moved with his family to southwestern Michigan in 1953. Upon completion of high school he attended Western Michigan University, earning a degree in biology in 1960. He then completed a master’s degree in limnology/fresh water biology from Michigan State University in 1961. His research was part of a pioneering study of the impact of pollutants on the ecosystem. He then attended the University of Michigan Medical School, graduating in 1965. He practiced family medicine for 35 years, first in the Kalamazoo area, then in Chesterton, Indiana, and finally in Chelsea. During the Viet Nam era, he served in a U.S. Army Reserve Convalescent Unit, achieving the rank of Captain.

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