100 years in care of

"I don't like the word festivities," Terry Hoening said. His company, Hoening Family Funeral Homes, is celebrating a century in business this year. Any "celebration" in the funeral industry is already sitting on thin ice, but in the age of COVID-19, Hoening is treading especially lightly. "Because of COVID, we felt … not proper to do much celebrating, if you know what I mean," Hoening said. "COVID put a hindrance on a lot of social activities." Despite the pandemic, Hoening has some plans for a "gathering of remembrance" for the anniversary, which will likely take place this fall. He wants to remember all the employees that have helped, all the families served and everything he's done with the business. Besides it being 100 years since the business was founded, 2021 is also the 30-year anniversary of Hoening owning the business. He purchased it in January 1991 from his father, who had become paralyzed by a stroke the previous year. Except for his sister, every member of Hoening's immediate family is a licensed funeral director — his wife, his mother, his son and daughter-in-law. There are ten businesses in the Hoening umbrella — seven funeral homes and three crematoriums, one of which is specifically for pets. Three of the funeral homes are in Fostoria, with the rest spread between Toledo, Napoleon and Holgate. The original business was called Sullivan Funeral Home, and began in 1921 on the corner of Wood and Tiffin streets in Fostoria. It later moved to West Tiffin Street, and was sold to Terry's father in 1963. The West Tiffin Street address now houses Hoening Funeral Home, the original in the family started by the senior Hoening. Another acquisition — Mann-Hare-Hoening funeral home — came in 2005 when Terry bought a colleague's business on Countyline Street. The original lot on Wood and Tiffin now houses another of the three local funeral homes — Hoening and Son, started in 2017. Though the Hoening name didn't enter the business until more than four decades after its foundation, the Hoenings are still celebrating a full century since the business' founding fathers started it all. In total, the Hoening locations serve about 350 families per year. Hoening said that the family-owned aspect of the business draws people in. "When a family owns and operates a funeral business, there's a direct level of accountability," he said. "We are responsible for everything that happens, and we make sure people are served well. "The family's best interest is always in mind." Though the true anniversary of the founding is in July, there's a reason the Hoenings are holding off on any large plans — Terry's son, Terrence, and his wife Kelly are expecting their first child next month. Terrence is a funeral director, but also Vice President of his father Terry's corporation. When the family business is death, a birth is something to really celebrate.