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Cole Funeral Chapel
Cole Funeral Chapel is a family-owned funeral home committed to caring for your family. An independent funeral home in Chelsea, Michigan, our mission is to meet your needs whatever they may be. We provide a wide range of services, from sitting down with you to discuss future needs to grief counseling after the death of a loved one.Our funeral home was founded in 1898, and was purchased by Donald Cole in 1977. His son, Allen, bought the funeral home from his father in 1999, continuing the tradition of service to the Chelsea area.
We know that making funeral arrangements can be difficult, so let us help you every step of the way. We have a professional staff equipped with many resources that can provide assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please feel free to call anytime, or e-mail us at staff @ ColeFuneralChapel.com
Cremation Services
We offer choices in cremation service, including:
- direct cremation with no services
- cremation followed by a memorial service or visitation time
- a complete viewing and funeral followed by cremation
We want to help your family choose services that fit your needs. We will walk you through your options without pressuring you, and we will help you to compare the costs of different options. Regardless of your choice, we will treat your loved one with respect, we will help you write and place obituaries, we will obtain death certificates promptly, and help you chose the final resting place for your loved one's ashes. We will not try to sell you services or merchandise you do not need.
Cremation with Public Viewing & Funeral
Cremation Packages - Price list
Read more: Cremation Services
Steps for Planning Ahead
We understand how difficult it is to plan funeral services, so our staff is available to help you in any way that we can. Please call us and we will walk you through every step of planning, and we will offer choices to make the services just right for your family. To help you understand the process, here are some of the steps you can choose to do ahead of time:
Funeral Planning
☐ Fill out basic pre-arrangement information sheet. 15-20 minutes, no charge. This provides the basic information we need to write obituaries and fill out the death certificates. It gives us some information about the type of services you want. Click here to download the Pre-Arrangement form
☐ Fill out funeral service information sheet. 10-15 minutes, no charge. This provides information about the funeral / memorial service you would like: who should lead it, type of music, readings, etc. Click here to download the Funeral Service Information Sheet
☐ Itemize funeral goods and services. 30-60 minutes with funeral home staff, usually at the funeral home, no charge. You choose the goods and services you want, and we will create an itemized funeral bill so you can know the anticipated costs. This is an estimate only, but lets you make many of the decisions in advance, and guides us and your family as to your wishes.
☐ Pre-pay your funeral invoice. 15-30 minutes with funeral home staff. After itemizing the services you want (see previous choice), you may pay for the funeral in one lump sum, or in payments, and lock in the prices for your funeral bill. This saves your family from worrying about paying for your funeral.
Memorial Planning
☐ Choose your cemetery marker. 30-60 minutes, cost vary greatly. You may choose the type of stone or gravemarker you want, and lay out the exact design for your stone. You may wish to save the information until after the death, or have the stone cut and delivered.
☐ Plan a memory slideshow. 30-60 minutes, $95. Choose 30-70 photos to be put into a slideshow that can be played at the visitation and/or funeral. You may put sticky notes on back to indicate an order to the photos if you wish, or to label slides. You may choose to narrate the photos in your voice.
☐ Write a letter to your loved ones. No cost, time will vary greatly. You may write a letter to your spouse or children to be read and re-read after your death. It could be read publicly, or just given to those you choose after your death. We will be happy to file it with your pre-arrangement. Please put in sealed envelope with the name of the recipient on the outside.
Recent Obituaries
Martha "Marti" Vis
Age 101, died Saturday, September 17, 2022, at Silver Maples of Chelsea. She was born July 26, 1921, in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of Alonzo and Bertha (Sawyer) Donnelly.
Marti taught at Bach Elementary and Carpenter Elementary. She was a member of the Ann Arbor City Women's Club. Marti enjoyed golfing and playing bridge. She won many bridge club tournaments. There are many fond memories of the family with Robert and Martha Torbet at the cottage in Canada. Marti was a beautiful watercolor painter.
Read more ...Gerald "Jerry" Smith
Gerald R. Smith, 87, died peacefully at home on Sandhill Farm, Chelsea, September 20, 2022, under the loving attendance of his wife, Catherine Badgley, his son, Keith Smith, and his sister-in-law Barbara Badgley. Jerry was born March 20, 1935 in Los Angeles and was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah where he earned a B.S. (1957) and M.S. (1959) at the University of Utah. In 1965, he completed his Ph.D. in Zoology at the University of Michigan, and in 1969, after three years on the faculty at the University of Kansas, he returned to Michigan as Curator of Fishes for the Museum of Zoology and Curator of Lower Vertebrates for the Museum of Paleontology, affiliated with what is now the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Judith H. Wellman
Judith Lucile Hobson Wellman died peacefully in the early hours of September 15, 2022 in Chelsea, MI. She was born on December 1, 1931 in Milwaukee, WI to Dr. Aubrey E. Hobson and Lucile Elizabeth (Gross) Hobson. Lucile died four days later. In 1936 Dr. Hobson married Marie Voss, who became a loving mother to his two little girls and the only mother Judy ever knew.
Judy studied nursing at St. Olaf (MN) and finished her clinicals in Milwaukee. Through her brother-in-law, Tom Heermans, she met her future husband, Maynard C. Wellman. They married on October 15, 1955 and had five children and resided in Ann Arbor, MI.
Judy was a loving creative and passionate woman with a heart for caregiving and filled with music. She had a beautiful singing voice and was active in high school musicals, church and community choirs and never forgot that magical moment when she was spontaneously invited to sing “Summertime” with Chuck Mangione at her sister- and brother-in-law’s wedding!
Read more ...Jerry Lee Waldyke, M.D.
of Chelsea, Michigan, age 84, unexpectedly went to be with the Lord on Thursday, September 15, 2022, at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor. He was born August 14, 1938, in Zeeland, Michigan, the son of Joseph Henry & Diletta (Buter) Waldyke. Dr. Waldyke was a family physician in the Chelsea area for many years and was one of the founders of Chelsea Hospital. He was a member of Ann Arbor Christian Reformed Church and worked with the Boy Scouts, Special Olympics, and the Chelsea Schools Sex Education Committee.
Gregory Thomas Quinn
of Jackson, Michigan, age 54, died Friday, September 9, 2022, at his home with his family by his side. He was born January 15, 1968, in Wayne, Michigan, the son of Gary Gregory and Karen Marie (Van Allen) Quinn.
Gregory graduated from Belleville High School in 1986. He became an electrician and was with Local 252 for over 25 years, where he spent quite a bit of time working at the University of Michigan campus and hospital. Gregory enjoyed watching golf, was an avid golfer himself, and loved boating on Wolf Lake. He was always able to offer his family great advice.
Read more ...