Local mortician maps out history of funeral service
T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ - Marty Mitchell, center, tells attendees about the Fisk coffin. It was created by the Fisk company in 1847 and only 14 were made. He explained it is so small and narrow because in that era the average man weighed only 110 pounds and stood 5’6.
T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ - Attendees survey the collection of the Iowa Funeral Museum and Education Center during the Historical Society of Marshall County’s History on Third Thursday presentation.
T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ - Marty Mitchell, center, tells attendees about the Fisk coffin. It was created by the Fisk company in 1847 and only 14 were made. He explained it is so small and narrow because in that era the average man weighed only 110 pounds and stood 5’6.
T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ - Attendees survey the collection of the Iowa Funeral Museum and Education Center during the Historical Society of Marshall County’s History on Third Thursday presentation.
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Marty Mitchell, owner of Mitchell Family Funeral Home, founded the Iowa Funeral Museum and Education Center in July 2017. It is the only facility of its kind in Iowa -- and only one of three in the United States. He outlined the history of the funeral home business in Iowa and abroad Thursday evening as part of the Historical Society of Marshall County's History on Third Thursday presentation.
Calling mortuary work the "world's oldest profession" Mitchell noted 93 percent of the people who have ever walked the earth are deceased.
He said every culture since the beginning of time has had its own customs and beliefs about the dead and an afterlife.
"There have been 400 million mummified remains found in Egypt throughout time," he said. "In their beliefs, they felt that the body would have to be recognized by the spirit in order to reunite, and if the body wasn't in good shape, they couldn't be rejoined. Today, it is illegal to cremate a body in Egypt."
He said when Iowa became a state in the 1840s, settlers would bury their dead wherever they happened to be on their journey, which resulted in the formation of many small cemeteries throughout the state.
"In Marshall County, there are 58 legally established cemeteries," he said. "Hardin County has 95, Tama County has 99, so Marshall County has one of the smaller numbers. In my 32 years in this business, there are still some cemeteries here I haven't been to for a burial."
When a cemetery goes 50 years without a burial, it becomes a pioneer cemetery.
"If a cemetery is not affiliated with a church, group or family, after 366 days passes, if no one steps up to take care of it, it reverts to the township," Mitchell said. "The last time that happened in this area was the Rock Valley Cemetery on Highway 30. The Johnson family took care of it for many years and now Le Grand Township has it."
Mitchell said people who live in rural parts of Iowa are sometimes charged a special tax for the upkeep of a nearby cemetery.
"Most people don't know about it, but it is usually between $6 to $10," he said.
He said the first cemetery used by the City of Marshalltown was on the grounds of the Iowa Veterans Home, and the bodies were later relocated to Riverside Cemetery, which was founded in 1863.
Mitchell said that while Riverside Cemetery has had around 23,000 burials in its history, cemeteries only grow so much year-to-year.
"Fifty percent of families we serve go with cremation, and 60 to 70 percent of those people do not go with permanent placement," he said. "A total of 80,000 urns are found every year at police departments, auctions, etc. that are unclaimed. The people that find them the most are realtors."
Mitchell began his full-time career as a mortician back in 1987, when he was employed at the former Estel-Perrin Funeral Home.
In December 2016, he purchased a Casey's General Store (which had closed down when a new one opened nearby) on property adjoining his funeral home and turned it into his Iowa Funeral Museum and Education Center. It contains items ranging from antique caskets and coffins, hearses, embalming equipment, mourning wreaths made from human hair, wrappings from mummies, old photographs, product samples and more.
The museum, 1209 Iowa Ave. West, is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and by appointment. Admission is free of charge. It may be reached at 641-844-1234.