Business: Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home Address: 44 S. Mill St., Naperville Phone/website: 630-355-0213; www.friedrichjones.com Co-owner and pre-planning consultant: Stephanie Jones-Kastelic, 55, of Naperville Years in business: 107 What does your business do? “We are a full-service funeral home . We can assist a family in any type of service from the very simplest to the most elaborate. We serve all faiths, all ethnic backgrounds. We can ship people across the world and bring people in from across the world. Anything that needs to be done,” Stephanie Jones-Kastelic said What’s the background? “My dad, Ray Jones, worked for Ben Friedrich, whose father, Charles Friedrich, started the business in 1918. … Our first home was where Floyd’s Barber Shop is (now located downtown on East Jefferson Avenue). In the early 1930s we moved here.” This is one of the chapels where visitations are held at Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home in Naperville. Stephanie Jones-Kastelic, a pre-planning consultant, helps people organize services. “What we do is for the living in honor of the deceased,” she says. (Steve Metsch/Naperville Sun) How long have you been with the company? “Since 1996. My dad worked for Ben about 10 years. Then Ben passed away suddenly. (My dad) was listed as first right of purchase on his will. So, he purchased the funeral home in 1976. … It’s always been tradition in the funeral service to maintain the names because they hold a history and tradition within the community. “When my dad reached out to me to join the family business, I was in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, with my husband. We both graduated from Marquette University. I was working for Deloitte Touche. … I have a degree in marketing, a minor in psychology and a master’s degree in accounting. When he first called, I thought, ‘What do you mean?’ … My dad wanted someone to handle advance planning, marketing and in-house accounting. I also do the HR components. I do best with multiple hats. It’s an extremely interesting and gratifying job because of the variety.” What is pre-planning? “I sit down with families prior to the time of death to go over all their wishes, what they’d like for the service. Some people aren’t sure so we start from scratch. Some families are steeped in tradition. … Today, families are very diverse. People are planning more and more because their kids may live all over the world. People who know what they want, it’s clear for them. ‘I don’t want my kids to worry about these things. I want this in order for them.’ “When I first started, I attended grief groups for folks who have had a loss. … What came out (of that) was for folks who didn’t know what their loved one wanted, there’s survivor’s guilt. … People love to know they did everything that mom wanted, what dad wanted.” What about sudden deaths? “The funeral directors meet with those families and take care of those arrangements.” Is cremation gaining in popularity? “When I started, the rate of cremation was between 26 and 28 percent. The rate now is between 38 and 42 percent. The biggest (misconception) about cremation is not understanding what they can do. … Folks can be embalmed, dressed and placed into a ceremonial, beautiful hardwood casket utilized for the public experience whether that’s a wake at the funeral home and then a funeral at a church or a wake and funeral service here. “After those public services, the loved one is cremated. The interior, a corrugated liner, comes out and that’s what the loved one is cremated in because everyone has to be cremated in something. … It’s what we call a memorial visitation or memorial service if they’ve already been cremated.” How many funeral directors work here? “Four. We (also) have two licensed interns. … A funeral director is a mortician.” Here two of the many urns available at Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home in Naperville. Cremations are rising in popularity at the funeral home, which started in 1918. (Steve Metsch/Naperville Sun) Is this your only site? “We have another location, Overman-Jones Funeral Home at 15219 S. Joliet Road in Plainfield. … We have 700 services each year between the two. … We have no intentions of expansion.” How do you deal with emotions? “I still tear up. Absolutely. To remain effective at what you do, you have to have empathy, to have sympathy. It’s just being human. It’s always sad to lose a loved one.” Is there anything you don’t like? “Probably the unknown.” Do you recall an especially memorable service? “We had a family at our Plainfield location whose loved one was into tractors. Had a huge real collection. There were tiny tractors (on display in the chapel). The casket was made to look like a red tractor with stickers on it like a real tractor. The casket was brought in on a flatbed. It was really neat.” When are you busiest? “The winter months.” What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “You’re going to need to devote yourself, your time, your energy, your leadership to it. … You have to be there.” Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. If you know of a business you’d like to see profiled in Down to Business, contact him at [email protected]. ...read more read less