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Charles Benton's hearse with Lawrence Merrick driving, 1903 |
C. F.
Benton and his wife operated the only funeral home in Chester Township. It was located on Main Street
between Grove and Sehler Streets. Mr. Benton died in 1926 and his wife continued
the business for several more years.
An article in the July 31,
1931 edition of the Coopersville Observer, states, “Mrs. C. F. Benton, who conducts Conklin’s funeral home and
undertaking establishment has had more than twenty years in this most exacting vocation and with the wide knowledge thus obtained
and with her never-failing fund of sympathy has found for herself a place in the hearts of those whose loved ones she has
prepared for their last rest. Since the death of Mr. Benton she has carried on the work they had been taking care of together
and has ably demonstrated her fitness for the task.”
Herbert C. Schaefer recalled
that Mrs. Benton was the undertaker for his grandfather, Carl F. Peters, who died August
3, 1930. The total cost of her
services, including the casket, was $300.00.
The building that housed
the funeral home is now a private residence.
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