When the Griffin family took over the former Allen Funeral Home on Flint Street in 1973, there was a barn behind the house, no parking lot and the casket selection room was located down the street in the Allen Furniture Store.
Tom Griffin of Sparks-Griffin said that set-up was not unusual for the times, when many funeral homes were operated by furniture store owners. The funeral home at 111 E. Flint Street today, however, has changed greatly.
This year is Sparks-Griffin Funeral Home’s 30th anniversary at the Lake Orion location. The Griffin family also operates a funeral home in Pontiac.
“There were two houses where the parking lot (today) is,” Tom said. “We added a whole new chapel and room on the back, a two-car garage…all four sides of the building have been expanded.”
Tom currently operates both funeral homes with his son, Greg, who graduated from Wayne State University in 2001 and has been licensed since May of 2002. Tom’s father Glenn, one of the Sparks-Griffin founders, is not as active in the business anymore at age 89, but still does what he can to help.
“He still participates as much as he’s able to,” Tom said. “Dad was born in Orion Township…When I got out of college, we were looking to expand.”
“The Allens, who formerly owned (the funeral home) made it known to my dad that they were looking to sell,” he said.
The Griffin family’s roots go back to the 1900s in Lake Orion, when Tom’s grandfather owned a business here.
“He started Pontiac Laundry,” he said. “The roots of our family go back a long way in Lake Orion.”
Greg has been working with his father full-time for over a year and currently lives in Pontiac above the family’s other funeral home. Tom, who earned his BS degree from the University of Minnesota and was licensed in mortuary science in 1972, lives in Oakland Township.
“When you’re younger you always have different endeavors you want to do,” Greg said. “But all through high school and college I knew this was what I wanted to do.”
Greg said working with his father has been “fantastic.”
“I don’t think I could have asked for a better person to work with,” he said. “It’s been a real pleasure working with my father.”
Tom said he encouraged Greg to also earn a business degree from Western Michigan University in case he found the funeral home business was not for him.
“We’re fortunate to have a wonderful staff to help us,” he said. “You care about the families you serve, you can’t paint that on and off.
“We don’t have the biggest building in the world, but it’s the staff and the way we run our business that brings families back to us.”
Tom has been actively involved in the Lake Orion community in the past, from the now defunct Rotary Club to the village council and planning commission. He also served as a volunteer fireman.
“Right now I’m sad to say I’m not involved in anything,” he said. “I find my relaxation on the back of a Harley Davidson. But I used to go on runs on the fire truck, and I was always kidded about driving in a blue suit and tie.”
Tom said the house that is the Sparks-Griffin Funeral Home has been around for nearly 175 years.
“It’s been a funeral home since 1914,” he said. “We bought it from Ronald Allen (Fred’s son)…We’ve served a lot of families here, and we’ve gained their trust and confidence. It makes you feel good, when families do come back.”
Greg said the relationships they have built with families in the community are important to him and his father.
“I have a different take (on the business) because I’m younger…I’m changing with the way people want to do funeral services,” he said.
“You have to have a degree of empathy to understand what people are feeling,” Tom said. “If you don’t, you can’t be in this business. You try to be as honest and fair with people as you can.
“I was 26 when I came out here…I learned a lot,” he said. “We just appreciate the community support of us. We’ll continue to be a family-owned funeral home for many years…we’re not going to sell out to a big conglomerate.”
The Sparks-Griffin Funeral Home is located at 111 E. Flint Street in Lake Orion. The phone number is 693-8336.