Our funeral home is a family owned and operated business. We are large enough to give our families the same service as the largest funeral homes around, yet we are small enough that each family gets the level of attention and care they deserve.

O.P. Gedstad founded the Gedstad Funeral Home in the Queen Anne style Silverson Mansion located at 224 South Broadway in New Ulm, Minnesota in 1927. Over the years, there were several owner and name changes to the funeral home. In 1989, the main New Ulm location moved to a new building located at 600 South Broadway, the site of the former Union Hospital. Our spacious main chapel, with natural light and a large waterfall, is often described as not only comfortable but also serene. Many families comment on the homelike feel of the entire building with spacious parking on site. The firm also has a branch visitation chapel in the community of Hanska. The business was sold to Prime Successions, Inc., a national funeral chain based in Erlanger, Kentucky in 1996. Jeff and Sue Schmucker purchased the funeral business in August of 2002, bringing local private family ownership back to the communities they serve.

Jeff, a licensed funeral director since 1978, is a New Ulm native. After graduating from New Ulm High School and Mankato State University, he completed his mortuary science studies at the San Francisco College of Mortuary Science in 1976. Jeff and Sue were married in 1978, and blest with a daughter Jill, and son AJ. Sue was raised on a dairy farm near Jordan, Minnesota. It remains in her family today. She also graduated from Mankato State University, with a degree in accounting, and soon after received her CPA certification. The Schmuckers made their home in Fairmont, Minnesota for many years where Jeff worked for the former Olson Funeral Home. They seized the opportunity for their family to return to New Ulm, and eventually purchase the business. Sue assists Jeff with the family business when available. She is employed by the Minnesota Department of Revenue as a Senior Sales Tax Specialist.

As Jeff is the only licensed director, the firm relies heavily on qualified and honorable support staff. Linda Leger serves as the Office Manager, handling most of the daily operations of the business and the funeral service paperwork. Richard Wilbrecht, a former longtime 3M employee has been assisting the firm for nearly ten years. Other part-time employees include Charles Kiecker, a retired banker having worked many years for Alliance Bank; Donald Olson, retired New Ulm school teacher and coach; and Suzanne Stoesz of Hanska who along with her husband owns Stoesz Trucking. Suzanne also is a hairdresser and co-owner of a hair salon in Hanska with her daughter; Marion Scharf who has been handling the firms housekeeping duties for many years; and Ron Pizel who takes care of much of the maintenance of the properties. The diverse backgrounds and local attachments of all the employees have helped make Schmucker Funeral Service a well respected part of the community.