History
The History of Mundwiler Funeral Service
 The history of the funeral home in Grant County dates back to 1928.
Headlines in the Grant County Review on July 19, 1928, read "New Undertaker Here", as Orrie C. Mundwiler and wife Ruby (Wilkinson) moved to Milbank to succeed Fred Gorde as embalmer and funeral director for the Schoen Furniture and Undertaking Company. Orrie also purchased an interest in the business as a partner with Schoen and Arthur H. Sorenson. The business later was the sole ownership of Orrie and operated as Mundwiler Furniture and Funeral Service.
Orrie's son, Jim, graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Mortuary Science. Purchasing the business in 1952, Jim and wife Dottie (Green) sold the furniture store and devoted all efforts to the funeral  home and provided ambulance service. Dottie was among the first women in South Dakota to become a licensed funeral director. In 1953, they moved the funeral home from its main street location to the former Ben Bohn/Saunders residence on South 4th Street. In 1958, they bought Cummins Funeral Service in Wilmot, and were affiliated with Dybevik Funeral Service in Revillo. Extending their services, Mundwiler Faith Chapel in Wilmot was built in 1980.
In 1984, Jim and Dottie's son, Tim and wife Tana (Jaeger) graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. They returned to the family business in Milbank right away and represent the third generation of funeral directors in the Mundwiler family. Tim and Tana purchased the business in 1989, and today offer a beautiful horse drawn hearse and team of black horses for funeral services.
 In July of 2005, the family funeral business moved into their new and modern facility located on East Highway 12 in Milbank. They continue their fine tradition of funeral service and live by their same tradition of "Our Family Serving Your Family."
The History of Emanuel-Patterson Funeral Service
 The history of the Emanuel family providing dignified funeral service to Milbank and the surrounding area dates back to 1879.
The Emanuel story begins with founder Edward (E.J.) Emanuel, a cabinet-maker who came to Milbank over 130 years ago. In May 1881 Mr. Emanuel opened a funeral home and a furniture store. Edward appears to have been preoccupied with the number seven, viewing it as a symbol of "good luck" and even went so far as to put a large number seven above the door of his business. As a result, he was affectionately nicknamed "Lucky Seven".
In 1910 William F. "Will" Emanuel purchased the funeral business from his brother, E.J. "Lucky Seven" Emanuel. William owned and operated the business until 1917.
In 1904 E.E. Emanuel came to work for his second cousin, Lucky Seven Emanuel. E.E. was licensed as an embalmer in 1906 and went to work for a funeral home in Madison, SD. He was united in marriage to Elsie LaBay in March 1916. Following their marriage, the couple came to work for Will Emanuel in 1916, and they purchased the business in 1917.
Elsie, also a licensed embalmer, was born north of Madison, SD, on December 18, 1894, to Charles and Alida (Clough) LaBay. She graduated from Washington High School in Sioux Falls, SD, in 1913 and completed her nurse's training at the Madison Hospital, graduating as a Registered Nurse. She received her embalmer's license in 1918 and she and her husband owned and operated Emanuel Funeral Home and Furniture Store. Her husband Ed died on July 1, 1958, the year that the Chapel was added onto the residence at 312 S. Fourth Street in Milbank. She remained active in the business until 1982. Elsie, affectionately known as "Grandma", died on June 28, 1984, after celebrating sixty-seven years of business in Milbank.
 James E. "Duke" Emanuel, was born on September 2, 1919, in Milbank. He graduated from Milbank High School in 1937 and from South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD, in 1941 with a degree in agricultural economics. As a Veteran of WWII, Duke served his country as a Captain in the US Army from June 25, 1941, until he was honorably discharged on May 25th, 1946. He served in New Guinea and Luzon in the Philippines.
Jim was united in marriage to Marion Dempster on January 12, 1946, in Sioux Falls, SD. He attended mortuary school at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, from 1946-47. He then joined the family business as a partner with his parents.
He was called back into the US Army during the Korean War as an instructor to commissioned officers. Jim was honorably discharged on Dec. 29th, 1952. After his father's death, Jim owned and operated Emanuel Funeral Home, Emanuel Furniture Store, and Emanuel Ambulance, until retiring in 1997. He then sold the furniture and carpet store and ambulance service to his son and daughter-in-law, John and Heidi Emanuel, and the funeral home to his daughter Nancy (Emanuel) Patterson and her husband Norm Patterson.
Nancy (Emanuel) and Norm Patterson returned to Milbank in August 1980 following Norm's graduation from the University of Minnesota Department of Mortuary Science. He apprenticed with his father-in-law, Jim Emanuel, for one year, took his South Dakota licensing test, and was licensed in 1981. Nancy was Norm's right-hand person. The couple worked together with families in need for nearly thirty years.
A New Partnership
For those of us who have grown up in the Midwest, we realize that its supportive, friendly, hometown atmosphere is a wonderfully stable environment to live, work, and raise a family.
Yet, even hometown living faces change in a modern world…change which affects our families, our businesses, and our social customs. In just one generation, we've seen farms combined, schools consolidated, a significant reduction in the number of viable small businesses, medical providers merged, banks combined, and even religious institution sharing staff and facilities.
Funeral service has not been immune to the same forces of change. Yet funeral homes still offer their services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, as the families we serve both deserve and expect our full attention regardless of the time of day or night. Therefore, in order to meet the needs of those we serve, innovative solutions must be sought to allow licensed staff to provide meaningful funeral services in a professional, yet economical manner.
To respond to the growing challenge, Norm and Nancy (Emanuel) Patterson have sold their funeral home. This sale will allow Emanuel-Patterson Funeral Home to continue to operate with the same commitment to quality that has been the trademark of the firm for four generations.
The staff and owners of the funeral homes are as committed as ever to continue to provide the families of Milbank and the surrounding communities with compassionate and respectful service at their greatest time of need.
We have established a friendly, working relationship with each other in order to best share staff, facilities, vehicles and equipment when necessary. We are committed to the families we serve, and we believe that families are best served through cooperation.
|
