Mayer Funeral Home has been in Austin a long time — 100 years to be exact.

This year marks Mayer’s 100th anniversary, and the funeral home staff are impressed and excited to be at the longstanding Austin business.

“One hundred years is a long time,” Funeral Directer Eric Weerts said. “Not many businesses in town are over 100 years old.”

What has kept the business going strong for so long? According to Weerts, it’s a combination of good staff, many options for the customer and tradition.

“When you think of 100 years, you think of heritage and tradition, continuing to do what we do best, because we’re all licensed directors here and we strive to perfect our craft,” Weerts said.

The funeral home has many options for people to choose from, ranging from traditional services in a church or the chapel to no services at all. They offer cremation as well as burials and serve all beliefs and religions, as well as non-religious families.

But the business isn’t only about services; it also offers support through its staff.

“It’s also the people that make it run,” Weerts said. “The licensed staff to the part-time people who have been here their whole lives, we have an excellent crew of part-time people who have been here their whole lives.”

He and Dufault hoped families wouldn’t only remember the services offered, but also the staff they worked with.

“We hope that they remember that we helped them through that time — maybe made it a little easier for them — and that they know we’re there for them, even after the funeral is done,” Dufault said.

Some of the funeral staff are also licensed in insurance, making it easier to preplan a funeral and follow people’s wishes.

“I think it’s unique that a business like that can be in existence, established that long, and continue to provide meaningful service for people,” Weerts said.

“I’ve personally only been here a couple years, but it’s really neat to be a part of something like that,” he added.

The funeral home was founded in 1915 by Frank Mayer, who worked out of a space above the Austin Furniture Company — which is currently Brick Furniture. After moving several times, finding a permanent home, and changing owners over the years, Weerts said he is excited to see what the future holds.

“We’ve been here 100 years, and we’re planning on staying another 100 years,” he said. “And whatever kind of changes need to be required will be made.”

“We pretty much cater to everyones beliefs and opinions,” Weerts said. “We’re very versatile in what we do.”

“And no two funerals are alike,” Funeral Director Kathleen Dufault added.

Dufault agreed the services Mayer offers are one thing that draws people to their business.

“We like to believe that we give really good service,” she said.

Although Mayer has a lot of tradition behind it, the staff haven’t let the business get out of touch. The services have evolved with the times and have grown according to people’s wishes.

“We want to make sure families are satisfied by what we do,” Weerts said.

The funeral home offers families video tributes during or before the service. Weerts said it’s a small task that makes a big difference.

“Families really like them,” he said.

The staff take photos from the family and scan them into a program, put it with music, and then show it up on a big monitor screen.

“We’ve seen families laugh during seeing old pictures, reminiscing about when they were younger, when mom or dad were younger, goofy clothes, traveling,” Weerts said. “It’s a wonderful thing for families to watch as a family.”

Within the last few years, the business has started to offer more service options for cremations, such as the urn arch, which is a larger box an urn can be placed in and brought to the church. There are also poles to help carry the box, and families can appoint urn-barriers.

“We’ve had a lot of really good response,” Dufault said about the urn-arch.

The business also offers Thumbies, which is jewelry made from the thumb-print of the lost loved one. They can also place cremation remains inside jewelry.

Mayer Funeral Home has also teamed up with Children’s Grief Connection to help anyone dealing with a sudden loss of a younger person. Weerts said that is one way they would help guide a family who may benefit from it.

“Those are some of the things that we can offer that’s a little bit different than your traditional funeral,” Weerts said.

Upcoming events to celebrate 100 years:

—Preplanning Seminars

—Community wide open house at Mayer Funeral Home

—Ladies appreciation luncheon

—Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours at Mayer Funeral Home in September

—Veterans Appreciation Program

—Service of Remembrance

—Clergy Appreciation Luncheon

Mayer Funeral Home through the years

1898 — Frank H. Mayer, native of Austin, began funeral service in the community as an employee of G. Fred Baird.

1915 — Frank Mayer founded his own establishment.

1923 — Feb. 3, the home was destroyed by a fire, and Mayer Funeral Home leased the large home west of the Fox Hotel, at 106 W. Water St., presently occupied by the Goodyear Service Store. This was “Austin’s First Funeral Home.”

1933 — Frank Mayer purchased the former Bert Banfield residence at 604 Greenwich St., now 600 Second St. NW.

1931 — John. F. Mayer, son of Frank Mayer, graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Mortuary Science and joined his father in the firm.

1964 — John. F. Mayer Jr., grandson of Frank Mayer, graduated from the University of Minnesota Mortuary Science School. He joined his father in the firm and became the third generation of the Mayer family in funeral service.

1970 — September, Mayer Funeral Home moved into a new one story brick building, designed for modern funeral service needs, located alongside the old funeral home. Upon completion, the old funeral home was removed and a large parking area was installed in its place.

1978 — John “Jack” Koppa joined the Mayer Funeral Home.

1995 — After 17 years of working for the Mayer family, Jack purchased the funeral home from John Mayer Jr.

2012 — The funeral home merged with Mahn Family Funeral Home. Jack Koppa continues to help out at the funeral home.

2015 — Mayer Funeral Home celebrates its 100th anniversary.