Parson Mortuary

What Parson Mortuary does

Parson Mortuary and Cremation Center (legal entity: Parson Mortuary Inc.) is a privately held, family-owned funeral home and cremation provider headquartered at 801 W Adams St, Muncie, Indiana. Founded in 1934, the company has operated continuously for nearly 90 years serving families in Muncie and the surrounding East Central Indiana region. Following founder Ken Parson's passing in 2024, ownership and operations transferred to co-owners Jerry Shaner and Ashley Ferdin, who were personally selected to continue the business.

The company's core offering consists of traditional funeral services and cremation services, supported by an on-site crematory installed in 2019 that distinguishes it from discount cremation-only competitors by keeping decedents in the company's care throughout. Cremations are priced starting at $1,900. Surrounding the core disposition services is a portfolio of add-on products and programs: obituary listings with tribute walls, sympathy flowers and floral arrangements hand-delivered by local florists, memorial trees planted through reforestation partners (single trees and groves up to 50), woven tribute blankets, pre-arrangement planning, veterans services (headstones and burial flags), grief support resources including a 'Stepping Stones' program, and a 'Heroes and Helpers' discount program for veterans, first responders, educators, and other community professionals.

The business operates on a direct-to-consumer go-to-market with no enterprise or institutional customer anchors. Revenue is generated through one-time service fees (funerals, cremations) and ancillary product sales, with a subscription/recurring component from pre-funded pre-planning arrangements. Marketing is conducted primarily through the company website (powered by Consolidated Funeral Services/CFS), organic local SEO, and an obituary notification email list. The company employs 9 people and has no disclosed institutional investment, parent company, or subsidiaries.

Name

Parson Mortuary

Legal name

Parson Mortuary Inc.

Website

https://parsonmortuary.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1934

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Parson Mortuary and Cremation Center is a privately held, family-owned funeral home and cremation provider in Muncie, Indiana, serving families in East Central Indiana since 1934 with on-site cremation, traditional funeral services, pre-planning, and sympathy products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Muncie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Funeral and Cremation Services: Traditional funeral home services including funeral ceremonies, cremation services, and related memorial services. Cremations are offered starting at $1,900. The company maintains full service capabilities from initial arrangements through final disposition.
2. Sympathy Products: Sale of sympathy products including flowers, memorial trees, tribute blankets, plants, and other memorial items through an integrated online store.
3. Pre-planning Services: Advance funeral planning services allowing families to pre-arrange and pre-fund funeral services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Parson Mortuary and Cremation Center is a traditional funeral home serving the Muncie, Indiana area since 1934. It provides full-service funeral ceremonies, cremation services performed in its own on-site crematory (added in 2019), and a range of memorial add-on products including sympathy flowers, memorial trees, tribute blankets, obituary listings, and pre-planning services.

Product overview

Parson Mortuary and Cremation Center is a funeral home and cremation service provider serving Muncie, Indiana since 1934. The company offers a comprehensive suite of death care services organized around two core offerings: traditional funeral services and cremation services. The cremation services are provided through the company's own on-site crematory (added in 2019) and include a viewing window feature for families. Supporting the core services, the company provides memorial add-on products including sympathy flowers and floral arrangements (fulfilled through local florists), memorial trees (planted through a reforestation partner), tribute blankets, obituary services with tribute walls, pre-planning arrangements, veterans' services, and grief support resources. The company also offers a Heroes and Helpers discount program for community service professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Funeral Services Traditional funeral service packages that are flexible and customizable to meet family needs and wishes, with additional items available upon request; conducted at the Muncie, IN location.
• Cremation Services Full-service cremation with on-site crematory, featuring a viewing window for families to observe the beginning of the cremation process in comfort. Cremations start at $1,900.
• Pre-Planning Services Pre-arrangement planning services allowing individuals to plan and pre-fund their funeral in advance, including The Talk of a Lifetime program for families.
• Veterans Services Specialized funeral and burial services for veterans, including assistance with headstones and burial flags.
• Grief Support Support resources including the Stepping Stones grief support program, daily grief email messages, and guidance on talking to children about death.
• Sympathy Flowers and Floral Arrangements Wide range of sympathy floral products including casket sprays, wreaths, standing sprays, vase arrangements, flower baskets, fruit baskets, urn wreaths, and tribute blankets; hand-delivered by local florists.
• Memorial Trees Memorial tree planting service allowing loved ones to honor the deceased by planting trees in forests in need of reforestation; single trees and grove options available (3, 5, 10, 25, 50 trees) with digital certificate.
• Tribute Blankets Woven tribute blankets (53 inches wide by 70 inches tall) made from 100% cotton with jacquard weave, featuring various memorial themes; manufactured in the USA.
• Obituary Services Obituary publication with tribute wall features allowing visitors to share memories, post condolences, view and sign the condolences book, and order flowers directly.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Consolidated Funeral Services (CFS)coreTechnology or IntegrationWebsite hosting and technology services provider. CFS provides the funeral home's website platform, payment processing, and ecommerce services. The website and online store functionality is powered by CFS technology.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Better Place Forests: Memorial-forrest / scattering alternative disposition provider. Competes for the same end-of-life customer dollars Parson targets, particularly families seeking non-traditional memorialization.
• Solace Cremation: Online-direct cremation provider focused on simple, affordable arrangements. Competes with traditional funeral homes like Parson for price-sensitive families choosing cremation without a full-service funeral package.
• Tulip Cremation: Direct-cremation brand offering affordable, streamlined cremation services online and now part of Foundation Partners. Represents the modern, price-disruptive cremation model that Parson explicitly positions itself against in its own marketing.
• Recompose: First licensed human-composting (natural organic reduction) provider in the U.S. Represents a longer-horizon alternative to both burial and cremation that could pressure traditional funeral home economics over time.
• Parting Stone (formerly Cake): End-of-life planning platform and provider of solidified remains ('cremation stones') as an alternative disposition product. Adjacent to Parson's cremation line and competes for the modern family's planning and disposition dollars.

Direct peers

• Meeks Mortuary & Crematory: Muncie-area funeral home and cremation provider. Direct local competitor serving the same East Central Indiana market with overlapping traditional funeral and cremation offerings.
• Shirley Brothers Mortuaries: Indiana-based family funeral home group offering traditional funeral, cremation, and pre-planning services. Comparable in business model and customer type to Parson, but operating multiple locations across central Indiana.

Broad incumbents

• Foundation Partners Group: PE-backed consolidator of funeral homes and cremation providers, including direct-cremation brands such as Tulip. Operates in the same vertical as Parson with a multi-site roll-up strategy and competing offerings across traditional and modern cremation.
• StoneMor Partners: Publicly traded operator of cemeteries and funeral homes across the U.S. Comparable to Parson as a death-care services provider, but at much larger scale with a portfolio model rather than a single community-rooted site.
• Service Corporation International (SCI): Largest North American funeral, cremation, and cemetery operator (Dignity Memorial brand). Operates as a broad incumbent in the same death-care space Parson serves, but at national scale and with a multi-brand portfolio that competes for the same at-need and pre-need customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/parson-mortuary

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Parson Mortuary