Ryan Mishler has recently sold his funeral homes in Bremen, Milford, Warsaw and Ligonier to Family Transitions Partners LLC and Michael Wilson.
Mishler stated his schedule as a state senator is not allowing him to come in to the business on a regular basis. Photo by Deb Patterson.
By Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews
WARSAW — Mishler Funeral Home, Bremen; Mishler Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Milford; Heritage Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Warsaw; Legacy Cremation and Remembrance Center, Ligonier; Yeager Funeral Home, Ligonier; and McHatton Sadler Funeral Chapels, Warsaw and Pierceton, all have one thing in common. They are all owned by Family Transitions Partners LLC and Michael Wilson.
The traditions customers have experienced at all locations will continue with potentially a new look.
Ryan Mishler; his mother, Brenda Mishler; and Daniel Blevins, owners of Mishler Funeral Homes, Heritage, Legacy and Yeager, sold it to Wilson on Dec. 19, 2024. Heritage Monument was also sold to Wilson.
“I’m stepping aside,” said Mishler stating it was time for the next person to take over. “Bigger companies wanted to take it over, but they are concerned with the bottom line.” He wanted to find someone he felt confident in taking on the third and fourth generation family businesses. “I hooked up with Mike,” he said.
Mishler, who serves as Indiana Senator for District 2, stated his schedule in the Senate is not allowing him to come into the business on a regular basis.
“I didn’t like doing that. My Senate schedule is taking up more and more time, 12-14 hours a day. I’m 56 now,” he stated, the same age his father, Greg, was when he died.
Mishler commented that he still will stop in at the funeral homes and for services when his schedule allows, and he and Blevins plan to keep their funeral director’s licenses active. The transition of ownership was smooth. There’s will be no name changes, the same faces at each location will remain, said Wilson.
“We’re not changing anything,” he said. “We want to be a part of the community more,” he added. “Family is part of the whole operation, bring (all operations) together and work as a family.”
Directors will be readily available and eventually a new director will be located in Milford.
Heritage Monument services will also be available at all locations, which is operated by Tony Ciriello, a very familiar face to many. Ciriello will assist families at all the locations in designing that perfect monument to honor your loved one.
“We will be taking care of families, provide more personal services, be more localized,” Wilson said. They are also honoring all funded, pre-need policies from any of the facilities.
Mishler and Blevins will continue operating their monument businesses: Carl K. King Memorials, South Bend; St. Joe Monument Works, Benton Harbor, Mich.; Monuments by Design, Cassopolis, Mich; and Mishler Monuments, Bremen. Mishler noted he can better coordinate his schedule to operate the monument businesses, where he couldn’t do so with the funeral homes.
Three Generations of Mishlers
The Mishler family legacy began in 1946 when Wade Mishler, Ryan’s grandfather, returned from World War II and purchased the former Brittsan Funeral Home on Main Street in Milford. That tradition continued for close to 78 years.
Greg Mishler, Ryan’s father, joined the business in 1969. The funeral home, which also served as the Mishler home, was too small for two directors. The business was expanded with the purchase of Huff Funeral Home in Bremen. Greg Mishler operated this location.
Wade Mishler retired in 1988, selling the business to Gary Eastlund. In 1997, Eastlund built a new facility in Milford. The Mishler name remained constant in business as Eastlund-Mishler Funeral Home. Greg Mishler continued to operate the Bremen facility until his own retirement in 1999, when Ryan Mishler purchased the funeral home.
When Eastlund retired in 2001, Ryan regained ownership of the Milford location and purchased the Syracuse location.
“It was important for me to return to Milford where it all began for the Mishler family,” said Ryan Mishler. The merger of the Bremen, Milford and Syracuse locations benefited all three communities. Mishler sold the Syracuse location to Dave and Sheryl Eastlund Colquitt Dec. 11, 2009.
Helping Fulfill A Dream
Gordy Yeager had a dream to own a funeral home. Mishler backed Yeager and began building Yeager Funeral Home on Nov. 7, 2007; however, Yeager passed away Dec. 18, 2007, before the facility was completed. But Mishler kept Yeager’s dream alive and opened Yeager Funeral Home in April 2008.
In 2011, Ligonier Monument was acquired and Legacy Cremation and Remembrance Center was opened. Mishler and Blevins also acquired Heritage Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Warsaw, and this facility will remain in operation.
Long History In Community
Gerald McHatton established the original McHatton Funeral Home in 1955, with McHatton-Sadler Funeral Home acquiring its name when Wendell Sadler bought the establishment in 1971. His son, John, joined the business and the two worked side-by-side for many years. The facility was located on the corner of Center and Scott streets. It served the community until 1988 when the Sadlers built a new funeral chapel on Provident court near U.S. 30. John Sadler sold the business to Wilson in 2021.
The history of the original McHatton Sadler Funeral Chapels has significant connections to the original funeral home in Pierceton, where the Ashley family started providing funeral services within their home. This family-owned connection through time was extended to the point of Bud Ashley, a grandson as he was a funeral director at locations, to include his career with the Sadler family at McHatton Sadler Funeral Chapels.
This legacy of Sadler’s and Mishler’s will continue as a family owned and operated funeral service provider, now with its own cremation center, with all the current staff at each locations, familiar faces of staff and funeral directors, who have worked there for many years, such as David Baker who has been with Sadler’s for over 20 years, Caryn Durski in Warsaw, Jeff Hazen in Bremen and Jon Waterman in Ligonier.
Wilson commented that having dedicated funeral home family members, provides the family dedication, professionalism, care and compassion that the community wants and needs.
“Simply put, it’s our families taking care of your families. A funeral service of over 130 years of family-style dedication,” he said.