Plan from anywhere
You are busy. On the go. Now you can plan from your house or on the move. No more coordinating schedules for a meeting. Take care of yourself and you loved ones in the comfort and privacy of your own home.
OUR HERITAGE
We stand behind our reputation and will continue to serve our community with the values instilled by our funeral directors.
Imagine a funeral home where all the guests are like family, where you feel at ease, appreciated and like a friend. Envision a funeral home that embraces funeral traditions while meeting the needs of all generations. Picture a funeral home that is large enough to serve families yet is bright and comfortable like home.
At Merkle Funeral Service, we treat you like family, not a number because this isn't just a business, this is our way of life. Excellent service is so important to us, we put it in our name.
Merkle Funeral Service can meet the needs of our families with conveniences such as: a full service florist, professional catering, valet parking and a warm familiar face to great your guests. We can also meet the needs of our community by providing a comfortable, intimate place for functions such as Bible studies, ladies' gatherings and coffee hours for socializing.
Imagine a funeral home where educating the consumer about value and options takes precedent over everything else.
One doesn't need to imagine anymore. Merkle is "Monroe's Premier Service Provider."
We invite you to visit our facilities. Merkle Funeral Service is different, we are making a fresh start for funeral service in Monroe.
North Monroe
On July 17, 2007, Merkle Funeral Service opened its doors for business in Frenchtown Township making it the first new funeral business in the area in over 65 years. It is located on 3.7 acres at the corner of North Monroe Street and Santure Road. The funeral home's architecture has a look and feel of a tastefully appointed home making its guests feel comfortable and at ease.
Guests experience a difference the moment they walk through the front door. Cathedral ceilings and skylights letting in natural light welcome visitors as well as a corner sitting area with gas fireplace. We offer a large family lounge with bistro tables for catching a quick snack, and a full size refrigerator to hold the largest of meat trays. This area of the building is also complimented by an outdoor patio, children's playroom, and baby changing stations in both restrooms.
Merkle Funeral Service has always been committed to a new perspective in funeral service arranging by offering a Matthew's Merchandise Room displaying a corner portion of each casket style instead of a complete unit. This process is much less evasive to the bereaved. The merchandise area also holds selections of burial and cremation vaults, cremation urns, keepsakes and gifts, and casket customizing and personalization options.
This location was the first in Monroe County to contain a full-service floral shop, Floral Expressions. Floral Expressions is operated by our lead floral designer: Jane Woodbury, who once owned Old Town Floral Designs and it serves general customers as well as funeral service clients. Although, the floral work shop has since moved to our South Monroe facility the gift shop remains for client convenience.
South Monroe
The Bennett Funeral Homes Inc. began on May 15, 1965, by Darrell Bennett and his wife Jean, when they purchased the Maurice Funeral Homes. At that time the Monroe Funeral Home was located at 218 Washington Street in the City of Monroe. The Erie Chapel was located at 9156 Suder Avenue in Erie Township.
In 1980, to better serve their families, the Bennett's built a new state of the art facility in Monroe Charter Township. This modern funeral home spans more than fifteen thousand square feet, and is located at 14567 South Dixie Highway (M-125) just South of Albain Road.
In 2013, Merkle Funeral Service expanded and moved into the now Merkle Funeral Service, South Monroe. This facility houses our full service floral work shop, Floral Expressions with Jane Woodbury as the lead floral designer, it serves general customers as well as funeral service clients.
There is a new gift shop off the main lobby and we are constantly updating this facility. We have also added technology with L.E.D. screens and the ability to record services on DVD. We hope to continue improvements well into the future to give Monroe a facility to be proud of.
Erie
Merkle Funeral Service acquired the former Bennett Funeral Home located at 9156 Summit Street in Erie, Michigan on November 15, 2009.
The Erie facility was originally built as a personal residence around the turn of the twentieth century. It is believed to have become a funeral home in the 1950's. In 1965 Darrell and Jean Bennett purchased the facility then known as the Maurice Funeral Home.
The facility has undergone many changes throughout the years. The Bennett's added the current gathering area in the 1960's, and added the rear entrance and enclosed handicap ramp in the 1980's. In 2002 the facility seen more change with a major renovation and the addition of a handicap restroom.
Since our purchase in November of 2009 many new and exciting changes are taking place. We have added a merchandise room offering keepsakes, gifts, monuments and memorials, caskets, urns, vaults, etc... We have also added technology with plasma screens and the ability to record services on DVD. We hope to continue the modifications well into the future to give Erie and the rest of the South County Community a facility to be proud of.
Brian S. Merkle, President of Merkle Funeral Service stated; “I served as the Manager of the Erie location for the Bennett’s for several years, and I am excited to be back in the South County Community.”
DUNDEE
On October 15, 2018, Merkle Funeral Service acquired the former Cover Funeral Home in Dundee, Michigan. Robert and Cheryl Cover, had operated the facility since purchasing it in 1984. Robert was extremely passionate about his community and wanted to ensure that Dundee would always have a funeral home. Bob and Cheryl Cover chose Brian and Tammy Merkle of Monroe, to continue their legacy of dedication and service to the Dundee Community!
The facility was originally constructed by Carl Kyper in the 1930's, as a separate funeral home building using an empty lot on Tecumseh Street. The stand alone funeral home was becoming common in large cities, although Carl wasn't sure if the idea would catch on in small town America. He would later sell the funeral home to another local man, Royal Fisher. During World War II, Royal would add the casket room to the building. In 1961, O. Keith Buhl and his wife Ann came from Lansing, Michigan, where they had been raised and purchased the funeral home and ambulance business. They would add a 2000 square foot addition in 1970, doubling the size of the facility.
With the addition of the Dundee location, Merkle Funeral Service can conveniently serve all of Monroe County. We are excited about upcoming renovations to modernize and update the building.
