Norris Funeral Home changing hands, but will retain family touch

A century-old family business tradition is changing in St. Charles, as the Norris Funeral Home was sold Monday.

The buyer, Moss Family Funeral Home of Batavia, intends to keep the Norris name. And Lee and Jane Norris, who have run the business the last 40 years, are staying on as employees.

"I was raised here on this block," Lee said Wednesday. The funeral home is at 100 S. First St., in the heart of downtown St. Charles.

His grandfather, F.T. Norris, began the family business in 1903 in Elgin. In 1936 his son, Russel, bought the Fredericksen Funeral Home in St. Charles and renamed it.

When Russel died in 1968, Lee, then 27, and wife Jane took over. But his children are not in the business, Lee said.

Being a funeral director is a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week proposition, he said. You have to make sure a licensed person is available all the time, and that the phone is answered, even in the middle of the night.

The Norrises want somebody else to be responsible for that scheduling, and other aspects of running the business. "It is time for us to do a little stepping aside," he said.

Lee Norris said they turned down offers from large national corporations. Bryan Moss approached them about 18 months ago. The two had already shared equipment and personnel from time to time, Moss said.

"He emphasizes family all the time," Norris said of Moss.

"We are in the need of another location to grow our mission," Moss said. It will also be an efficient use of employees and equipment, he and Norris said. Costs such as $80,000 hearses are hard for independent funeral operators to handle.

"It's a great merger. There's a lot that I can learn yet from Lee and Jane Norris," Moss said.

Funeral customs have changed a bit since Norris got into the business.

In 1968, two-day visitations were common. "Now we're having a two-hour visitation before the service," he said. And the number of people attending visitations and funerals has decreased, he believes. "It used to be a community event," he said.

Getting the word out about a funeral is challenging, as fewer people subscribe to newspapers, where obituaries are published.

The home does lists obituaries on its Web site, and it offers custom video tributes and personal Web sites about the deceased. Norris notes that progress is sometimes frowned on - his grandfather was criticized for using the first motorized hearse in the area. People said "you're rushing us to the cemetery," he said.

"The attitude people have toward funerals" has changed, too. "It is still a major event, but there is no such thing as a cookie-cutter funeral," he said.

And while there have been a lot of sad moments, such as the funerals of children, Norris has found it a positive occupation.

"Most of the time it's been celebrating a life that has been fully lived," he said.