Our blog editor visited Italy recently and shared these photos with us. The hearse is a Mercedes Benz and, while we admire its style, we’re going to stick with our American-made Cadillacs! She also visited an Etruscan museum with extensive funerary artifacts, like this crematory urn. These were elaborately decorated, with an often-lifelike portrait of […]

Every year we collect Toys for Tots in our two lobbies. Often donations come from people who attended our services of remembrance. “People attending the service are surprised to see the collection boxes,” says Co-owner Mike Lope. “But every year our boxes fill up two or three days after the service. People come back and […]

Meet Jim Sullivan, a fourth-generation member of the family who recently returned to the business. His involvement, along with that of his cousin Mike, helps ensure that the funeral homes in Royal Oak and Utica will take care of another generation of families. Jim graduated from Shrine High School in Royal Oak and then the […]

Sullivan Co-owner Michael Lope has been elected to a one-year position as president of the Michigan Funeral Directors Association Sixth District, representing metro Detroit. He is the fourth family member to hold the office, preceded by his grandfather, Jim Sullivan; father, Ray Lope, and uncle, Bill Sullivan. Fellow funeral director Sherry Marshall also has held […]

Our funeral homes in Utica and Royal Oak accept in-kind donations for several charitable organizations. Both buildings’ lobbies have boxes where people can drop off used eyeglasses for the Lions Club and gently-worn shoes for Kiwanis. We also accept worn U.S. flags for ceremonial disposal. They are burned with military veterans who are cremated. Since […]