A FAMILY TRADITION OF SERVICE.
In 1829, Philip Schoedinger emigrated to the U.S. from Dorrenbach, Germany. Philip was a craftsman by trade and in 1855 he opened a casket-making department. In 1865, Philip established the Schoedinger & Brown on West State Street in Columbus.
Philip’s sons, George J. and J. Albert soon joined the family business. Shortly thereafter, the funeral home began to see such innovations as the addition of the first automobile hearse and a new chapel at 229 East State Street, which was the first chapel built expressly for the purpose of funeral service and one of the earliest in America of such magnitude. Today the belltower at this location stands as a city landmark. Other firsts, such as becoming one of the first companies to offer an air-conditioned building and the first to offer guaranteed advance funeral arrangements, soon followed.
In time, George J.’s sons, Ferd and George R., also chose to join the family funeral home, known at that time as Schoedinger & Co. In 1933, George R.’s three sons, George Jr., Robert and John, all entered the family business.
As the funeral home grew, so did the Schoedinger family’s desire to offer more services and greater convenience to the families of Central Ohio. In 1950, the Schoedingers opened their Hilltop Chapel on West Broad Street and 1961 saw the addition of the Northwest Chapel in Upper Arlington. Linden, Grove City and Reynoldsburg all followed.
Even over the last 20 years, the Schoedinger family funeral homes have continued to evolve. Additional facilities have been added and today fourth, fifth and sixth generation family members remain active in the funeral home.
In 1986 Schoedinger Funeral and Cremation Service assumed management of Kingwood Memorial Park which had been established in 1970. Since then numerous improvements have been made to the grounds, the most recent being the Whispering Waters Cremation Garden and the new upright monument section.
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