The Indiana Funeral Education Foundation 

Death is a universal human experience and yet it remains the ultimate mystery. From the beginning of time, people have received comfort and support from those who have made it their life’s work to care for the dead and comfort the living. 

The mission and purpose of the Indiana Funeral Education Foundation is first to preserve and document that history. Second, to support the funeral service practitioners of today-- helping them to better serve their communities. And finally, to ensure the secure future of the profession by helping recruit and train those wanting a career in funeral service.


Click here for the Indianan Funeral Education Foundation Scholarship Application.
Click here for the student membership application

CLICK HERE to make a donation

 What is an Isaac Ball Fellow ? 

An Isaac Ball Fellow is one who has contributed at least $1,000 to the Indiana Educational Foundation. These contributors are the cornerstones of the Foundation. This level of commitment is named after Isaac Ball, the first president of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association who served from 1881-1882. The donation can be made either as a lump sum or in installments. The funds are placed in a separate and permanent endowment fund. Only the interest earned from the fund is used. The earnings fund a funeral service scholarship or other work of the Foundation as authorized by the Foundation board. Additional donations are denoted by color.

Distinguished $2500 | Diamond $5,000 | Emeritus $10,000

Fellow List 
**deceased 

1 Jerrit Clayton (1999)(2006)(2011)(2021)** 85 Marcus Youngblood (2012)**
2 J. Michael Blackwell (1999) 86  M. Lon Youngblood (2012)
3 Ron Deremiah (1999) 87  John A. Brazzell (2012)
4 Millard Rullman (1999)** 88  Carl W. Morgan (2012)
5 Robert Hagemier (1999)** 89  Randall L. Danielson (2012)
6 Mike Owens (1999) 90  Timothy R. Taylor (2012)
7 George Todd(1999)** 91 Chuck Agugliaro (2013)
8 William Inman (2000) 92  Rex Cowart (2013)**
9 Gary Eastlund (2000) 93  Dale Knouse (2013)
10 John Stretch, Jr. (2000) 94  Elden V. LaHayne (2013)**
11 Mark Shoemaker (2001) 95  David Lydick (2013)
12 Brian Vaughan (2001) 96  Justin Parker (2013)
13 Darrell Holtzclaw (2001) 97  Tom Parker (2013)**
14 Andy Clayton (2001) 98 Renee Parker (2013)**
15 David Cook (2002) 99 Keith Webster (2013)
16 Levinson Restaurant Corp. (2002)*** 100 Oscar Grundy (2013)
17 Jim Boultinghouse (2002) 101 Arnold Kluesner (2013)
18 John D. Yoder (2003) 102 Mary Anne LaHayne (2013)(2016)(2020)
19 Elden B. LaHayne (2003) 103 William Meredith (2013)
20 Charles French (2003) 104 Matthew Coon (2013)
21 Tim Yoder (2003) 105 Debbie Porter (2014)
22 Larry Miller (2003)** 106 Evan Osborne (2014)
23 Richard Hickrod (2004) 107 Paul Filter (2015)
24 Jeff Gooch (2004) 108 Butler Coach (2015)(2018)(2020)
25 Jerry Ziemer (2004) 109 Chandler Funeral Home (2015)
26 Ernie Mills (2004) 110 Ronald King (2016)
27 Lynn Haverstock (2004) 111 Swarens Funeral Home (2016)
28 Harvey McAdams (2004) 112 C. Gregory Childs (2016)
29 Marion County Funeral Directors Assn. (2004) 113 Lowell May (2016)
30 Rodney Nay (2004) 114 Dr. Andrew Boersma (2016)
31 Robin Yoder (2005) 115 Jon Maxwell Frain (2016)
32 Curtis Rostad (2006)(2007)(2008)(2010) 116 Richard Owen (2017)
33 William Welsheimer Sr (2006) 117 Colin Yoder (2017)
34 Nicholas T. French (2006) 118  Mary Margaret Todd (2017)
35 Susan L. French (2006) 119  Dannon Todd (2017)
36 Rodney Qualkinbush (2006) 120  Smith Bizzell & Warner Funeral Home (2017)
37 Robert Richman (2006) 121  Becher & Kluesner Funeral Home (2017)
38 Jim Todd (2006) 122 Gehlbach & Royse Funeral Home (2017) 
39 Roger Nay (2007) 123 Roosevelt Allen & Pasty L. Allen (2017)
40 David Hall (2007) 124 Shoemaker Funeral Home (2017)
41 Indiana Funeral Supply Club (2007) 125 Miles D. Wilson (2017)
42 Indiana Burial Vault Assn.(2007) 126 Lincoln Ridge Funeral Home (2017)
43 Charles Butler (2007)** 127 Moster Mortuary (2017)
44 John Braboy (2008) 128 Steven D. Hentgen (2017)
45 Steven "Pat" Myers (2008) 129 Charlie Harris (2017)**
46 Max Metzger (2008)** 130 Nichelle Neal Dalton (2018)(2019)
47 Jo Ann Metzger (2008)  131 Doan & Mills Funeral Home (2018)
48 Joel Reinoehl (2008) 132  Indiana Donor Network (2018)
49 Ed Porter (2008)** 133  Lester Jenkins & Sons Funeral Home (2018)
50 James J. Meredith (2008) 134  Kathleen Matuszak (2018)(2021)
51 Douglas Rostad (2008)** 135  State Auto Insurance (2018)(2019)
52 Jeff Stout (2008)** 136  Susan Jane Todd (2018)
53 Michael St. Pierre (2008)** 137  Kayla M. Nay  (2019)
54 Dan Hurt (2009) 138  Cincinnati Equitable Life Insurance (2019)
55 Brad Billings (2009) 139  John M. Storey (2019)
56 Richard Weaver (2009) 140  Raymond E. White, Jr. (2019)
57 Jim Krause (2009) 141  Brian C. Waters (2019)
58 Jim Meng (2009) 142  James Fletcher (2019)
59 Gerald Rees (2009)** 143  Josh Webb (2019)
60 Carl Yoder (2009)** 144  Lucinda J. Todd (2019)
61 Rick Ferguson (2010) 145  Mike Keller (2019)
62 Robert Miller (2010) 146  Robert Boetticher, Sr. (2019)
63 Paul St. Pierre (2010) 147  Jeffrey A. Stout (2019)
64 Angela Sallee (2010) 148  Werry Funeral Homes, Inc. (2019)
65 William E. Shirley (2010) 149  G.L. Chandler (2019)
66 Norm Knuth (2010)** 150  Jack E. Lechner, Jr. (2019)
67 P.L. Myers (2011)** 151  Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions (2019)
68 James R. Grayson (2011) 152  Maus Funeral Homes (2019)
69 Robert B. Shelby (2011) 153  Richard E. Gerts (2019)
70 Larry Servies (2011) 154  St. Joseph Funeral Home (2019)
71 Wally Hooker (2011) 155  Ted L. Waters (2019)
72 Eddie Beagles (2011) 156  Ronald W. Randolph (2019)
73 Alan Earl (2011) 157  Lori J. Sheeler (2019)
74 Scott Stodghill (2011) 158  Paulane Buter (2020)
75 Norman Juday (2011) 159   Costin Funeral Chapel (2020)
76 Ronald Reed (2011) 160  Malcolm King (2020)
77 Todd DeVerter (2011) 161   Sigmon Myers (2020)
78 Jack Spurgeon (2011) 162   George M. Ballard (2020)
79 William Bieker (2011) 163   Erlewein Mortuary (2021)
80 Brad L. Myers (2011) 164   Ronald Hooker (2021)(Distinguished 2021)**
81 Sean Wonder (in memory of Elbert Shaw) (2012) 165   Oleksa-Pastrick Funeral Home (2021)
82 Margaret L. Myers (2012)**    
83 Janice Hanselman (2012)    
84 Robert Porter (2012)    


HONORARY FELLOWS:

1. George Sansom (2000)**
2. Richard Nelson (2000)
3. Rosalie Lynch (2003)
4. John Alsobrooks (2007)**    

The purpose of the Foundation is:

  • To establish a library of books, videos, brochures and other funeral and grief related resources for use by the profession and the public. Our goal is to be the preeminent resource on death, dying, and bereavement in the State of Indiana.  
  • To become a repository of funeral service artifacts and memorabilia to document the history and practice of funeral service in Indiana.  
  • Support continuing education opportunities for members of the profession.  
  • To provide scholarships and other educational assistance to those entering the profession of funeral service. 
  • Educate the general public on the value of the funeral and the role of the funeral director in society.  
  • Make charitable contributions on behalf of funeral service.

Funding

Indiana Funeral Education Foundation, Inc. is funded by personal and corporate contributions. Larger donations to the endowment funds are also accepted. As a 501(c) 3 charitable foundation, all gifts are tax deductible.

Donor Levels

Emeritus Fellow over $10,000
Diamond Fellow $5000
Distinguished Fellow  $2500
Isaac Ball Fellow $1000
Principal Contributor $ 500
Patron Contributor $ 250
Foundation Contributor $ 100