Linds have added third funeral home, second generation
Lind Family Funeral and Cremation Services, with locations in Alexandria, Parkers Prairie and Miltona, are run by (left to right) Curt and Barb Lind and Sari and Peter Lind. Contributed photo
From the moment you walk into the new Lind Family Funeral & Cremation Services home in Alexandria, you will notice a difference from other funeral homes you may have visited.
“One thing people often tell us is how warm and comfortable it feels here and they can feel the love when they walk in. That it doesn’t look or feel like a funeral home, and that was our intention when we designed and built it,” said Curt Lind.
Curt, who owns Lind Family Funeral and & Cremation Services with his wife, Barb, have been licensed funeral directors for over 33 years each. Together, they and their son and daughter-in-law, Peter and Sari Lind work together.
“Our mission is to serve families with love and respect and to care for their loved ones with dignity,” said Curt. “And we really live that mission statement every day.”
As you may have guessed, Lind Family Funeral & Cremation Services provides funerals, cremations and celebrations at their three locations and to surrounding communities.
All four are licensed funeral directors and graduates of the University of Minnesota. Together, the two-generation team run the funeral homes in Alexandria, Parkers Prairie and Miltona. Curt and Barb live at their funeral home in Alexandria, and Peter and Sari at their Parkers Prairie funeral home.
Curt and Barb are active in their church and in the Alexandria, Parkers Prairie and Miltona communities. Curt is often found at area parades under the persona of “Cubby the Clown” (he has been clowning since he was 13). Barb has a gift of hospitality and planning events and she often hosts social gatherings for family and friends.
Sari played basketball with the University of Minnesota Gophers for four seasons and now volunteers as an assistant coach (helping her dad) for the Parkers Prairie girls’ basketball team. Peter likes computers and technology, and most recently has taken up the hobby of restoring classic arcade games and pinball machines.
The Linds got their start as owners in 2004, when they purchased the Markham-LaMere Funeral Home in Parkers Prairie and Miltona. They had been working as funeral directors in various parts of the state for the previous 20 years and decided to venture out on their own.
Curt and Barb Lind. Contributed photo
“I called the owner on a Thursday, looked at it on Friday,” said Curt. There was some work to do, but we could see the vision. We bought the place over the phone on Monday and we took over on Jan. 1, 2004.”
It was a major life event that provided enormous joy to their lives and this move eventually resulted in a second generation and a third funeral home.
The funeral home in Alexandria, built in 2015, is located just off McKay Avenue, by Woodland Elementary on 10th Avenue East, on a well-traveled road, on a corner lot with woods on the property.
Curt and Barb designed every corner of the funeral home themselves and are pleased as can be with the outcome. According to the Linds, the new funeral home has received tremendous positive feedback from the community and continues to grow in servicing more families each year.
“Our goal of expansion was not only to include our growing family of funeral directors, but to provide our small-town personal service to a bigger community,” said Curt.
Helping families through some of the toughest days of their lives is something the Linds take very seriously, and they pride themselves on making their clients feel just like family through the entire process.
Peter and Sari Lind. Contributed photo
“We have a passion for helping people in need and funeral service just happens to be a perfect line of work for that,” said Peter.
Because Lind Family Funeral & Cremation Services is family-owned and family-operated, when you call Lind Family you will be working with one or all of the Linds. One of the first things you might notice when you walk in the door is your welcoming committee… which includes three playful and friendly Yorkie dogs named Charlee, Piper and Ruby. And the welcoming continues when you meet the Linds, who all feel the call to be in funeral service. As a family, they know how to work together to best serve their clients. They are also happy to let their personalities shine through both in and out of the funeral home.
One example of the Linds fun personality can be viewed on a billboard on State Highway 29 near the Alexandria Clinic.
“We never liked the idea of a funeral home billboard,” said Peter, having seen plenty of funeral home billboards that come off morbid. “But we thought, hey, let’s have fun with it!” On the billboard, the Linds are wearing different hats and the hats are swapped out regularly. The Linds have some new hats that will be making their debut this spring.
Funerals today often look very different than they did 20 years ago. There might be a casket, an urn or possibly nothing at all for the service.
“Society’s attitude toward funerals has changed vastly from previous generations,” said Curt. “Funerals were almost the same for every person; you could almost replace the name and the person and have the exact same service.”
Personalization has grown in almost every industry and funerals have followed suite, he said.
“We’ve had funerals with motorcycle processions, finger painting and even an open bar. It makes it more meaningful for a family and speaks volume to a life well lived.”
One of the billboards featured the Linds in blaze orange hats. They will debut new hats on the billboard this spring. The billboard is located next to the Alexandria Clinic in Alexandria. Contributed photo
A funeral is different for each individual person and whether that is a private family gathering or a unique final send off, the Linds have got you covered.
An important service that Lind Family Funeral & Cremation Services provides is preplanning.
“We meet with people daily to talk about preplanning their final wishes,” said Curt. “There are many options and decisions that need to be decided for your family especially, final disposition. Do you want to be cremated, buried or both? Death is hard for many people to talk about, and our goal is to make it as easy as possible to have that conversation.”
One way the Linds make it easy to preplan is through their website or their regular “pizza and preneed” gatherings.
“We love every opportunity to share knowledge and educate the public on what we do,” said Curt. “We understand that each family is unique and has different needs. We stay flexible, accommodating and work hard to make sure that every details is covered and the need is met.”
To learn more about Lind Family Funeral & Cremation Services, visit www.lindfamilyfh.com, or contact them directly by phone or in person.
Alexandria 1623 10th Ave E, Alexandria, MN 56308 1-320-335-2000
Parkers Prairie 122 South McCornell Avenue, Parkers Prairie, MN 56361 1-218-338-2911
Miltona 206 Oak Street North, Miltona, MN 56354 1-218-943-2011
This is a paid business profile. If you would like to learn more about promoting your business in the Sr. Perspective with a business profile, call Jim at 320-334-3344.