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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

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

Standard Cremation Package

Cremation with Public Viewing & Funeral

Cremation Packages - Price list

 

Read more: Cremation Services

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.

A cemetery marker is not just a way to mark the grave, but it can tell the story of that person's life.  We enjoy helping you design a special cemetery marker to remember your loved ones.   We also recommend families place a stone on their graves before it is needed, so you can plan your design together.  We work hard to create quality monuments for the families we serve, and offer many choices, and easy ways to personalize the marker.  Let us make a design and give you an estimate with no obligation.

Patten Monument web site

Recent Obituaries

Joan Marie (Keys) Lawrence

of Tecumseh, MI passed away on Monday, April 12, 2021. Joan was born in Detroit, MI on February 17, 1930 to Erma (Allport) and Roy Keys. When she was five, the family moved to Belleville, MI where she attended Belleville Public Schools. Joan was an accomplished singer and enjoyed singing in school theatre productions and dances, at weddings, and at her father’s Masonic Lodge. After graduating from Belleville High School in 1947, she attended Eastern Michigan University and earned a BA degree in education. While there she met her future husband, Jack Lawrence. They were married February 2, 1952 and raised their five daughters in Ypsilanti.

Joan worked as a substitute teacher, paraprofessional, and volunteer in the Ypsilanti Public Schools. She loved to play the organ and complete crossword puzzles.  Joan was a great friend to many; both young and old. Joan and Jack enjoyed playing cards and traveling with their friends. After Jack’s retirement, the couple moved from Ypsilanti to Clinton and eventually to Tecumseh.

Read more ...

Christopher Lee Misner

Of Dexter, MI, formerly of Ann Arbor, age 54, went to be with the Lord after a brief illness on Thursday, April 15, 2021 at St. Joseph Mercy in Ann Arbor. He was born August 4, 1966 in Garden City, Michigan, the son of David Charles & Joyce Victoria (Tate) Misner.

Chris graduated from Ann Arbor Pioneer in 1984, and from Michigan State University (where he studied Political Science) in 1989. He worked for Hope Network in Jackson, Park Center in Ft. Wayne, IN, and then at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital - Chelsea, Behavioral Heath for the past year. Chris enjoyed baseball. He had a lively personality, and was loved by family and friends. Chris was very smart, and well educated about history and politics.

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Doris May (Lee) Sannes

of South Range, MI, formerly of Ann Arbor, Pinckney, and Chelsea, age 101, died Thursday, April 15, 2021 at Canal View - Houghton County. She was born August 12, 1919 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, the daughter of Herbert G. and Mabel (Fletcher) Lee. Doris moved to Ann Arbor in 1929 with her family. She graduated from Ann Arbor High in 1937. Her first job in those Depression years was at the Ann Arbor Public Library where she worked until 1941. She moved to a job at the U of M Main Campus where she worked as a Secretary and eventually as office supervisor in the Engineering Research Department Technical Reports office, where they prepared the Top Secret reports on the first research being conducted on atom smashing and nuclear fusion and the very first experimental bombs that were later developed into the atom bombs that were used to end World War II.

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Tiffany Joy Shurmur


of Chelsea, Michigan, age 34, died Tuesday, April 13, 2021, at her home. She was born July 28, 1986, in Commerce Township, the daughter of Donald Michael “Mike” & Heather Ann (Madion) Shurmur.

Tiffany graduated from Chelsea High School in 2004, and attended Washtenaw Community College. She worked as a waitress at Los Tres Amigos.

Tiffany is survived by her father, Mike of Chelsea; her son, Liam Tyler Guthrie also of Chelsea; and her brother, Jason (Liz) Shurmur of Oregon. She was preceded in death by her mother in April of 2017.

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Elizabeth Ann ”Beth” Cowen

of Ypsilanti, MI, Formerly of North Carolina & Clarkston, MI, age 67, died March 31, 2021 in Ypsilanti, MI. She was born April 28, 1953 in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of James H. and Barbara L. (Krem) Cowen.  Beth lived an adventurous life and had wide ranging interests and skills. In high school, she was a standout athlete and became the first woman at Clarkston to have her basketball jersey retired. She continued playing basketball and field hockey at Central Michigan University while earning a teaching degree. After graduation, Beth embarked upon a variety of careers in Michigan, California, Florida, and North Carolina, including teaching and coaching, residential construction, raising greyhounds, working in health care as a hemodialysis technician, and her favorite passion, as an artist and painter under the name Elisheva Channah. She enjoyed the outdoors and was an avid gardener, always providing amazing produce to friends and family. Beth had a strong faith in God.

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