When he bought the funeral home in Rossville 12 years ago, Mark Genda made a promise to the community.
“When I first came up here in 2006, the first question out of everyone’s mouth who would come in for whatever reason would be, ‘When are you getting rid of the orange carpet’? I promised them when I do, you’ll know it. I’ll put a sign in the front yard. So, for those who’ve driven by going what is that pointy arrow sign in the front yard saying ‘the orange carpet is gone’, I’m sticking to my promise.”
Genda unveiled his newly remodeled structure Thursday at Genda Funeral Home in Rossville. His reason for doing this project was simple.
“They need to get back from us what they have given to us,” said Genda. “They have given us trust and they’ve given us the families that we served up here in the past 12 years. This is our way of saying thank you for the doing that and thank you for putting your faith in us. I want to give this back to you.”
The facility was built in early 1960s by Leo Brown and his wife. Brown then sold it to Dave and Linda Bodine, which is who Genda bought it from in 2006.
Genda said the remodel was to make it even easier for individuals to get around as well as basically eliminate going up and down the stairs. Another change is the upstairs is now painted a light beige with decor pieces of art work and recessed lighting. A sample of the available caskets is in the basement.
“What we have done in this remodel is we’ve done some things to make it even better,” said Genda. “Now, both of the men’s and women’s bathrooms are both fully handicap accessible for power chairs and wheelchairs. Also, we have what use to be the lounge in the basement has now been brought up on the main floor. That’s a big thing.”