Our History

Our History

Dutcher Funeral Home was est. in 1972 when Steve & Marina Dutcher purchased the former Baggerly Funeral Home, and relocated to it's current location. Mr. Dutcher was dedicated to serving the Coldwater community for many years, until his retirement in 2005.

 
Mark & Kathy (Dutcher) Barone purchased the funeral home to continue the family tradition of serving local families in their time of need. In July of 2009, Leonard and Betty Kolcz of the Kolcz Funeral Home in Bronson also retired after many years of service to the Bronson community. Kathy and Mark acquired the Kolcz Funeral Home as an expansion of their dedication to funeral service . Both are lifelong residents of the Branch Co area and are eager to continue serving the needs of both communities in the way Mr. Dutcher and Mr. Kolcz have.

 
"We provide a valuable service to our friends and family within our community. We are very dedicated to our profession and believe in what we do." When we are called on to serve a family in need, it is reassuring to know the money that is spent at our funeral homes for services that we provide, stays here in Branch County.
 
Our smoke free funeral homes are comfortable and pleasant with a home like atmospheres. They are entirely handicapped accessible with ample amount of parking. We can seat approximately 250 people at our Coldwater location and 200 at our Bronson location.

 
Our firms are members of the Michigan Funeral Directors Assoc. and the National Funeral Directors Assoc., dedicated to the advancement of the funeral profession and to the best possible service for the public.

 
We offer lounges in both facilities and areas to occupy young children.

 
We invite you to use our refrigerators, microwaves and coffee bar, and encourage families to bring food and drinks for breaks during long visitations. We feel it is important to make children a part of the services, but realize their ability to tolerate the long hours is limited. Our children's area gives them a place of their own to play or just get away from the sometimes tense environment of a funeral or visitation.

 
Sometimes flowers just don't say enough. We offer a large selection of keepsake items available for sale. From Inspirational Angels and Throws to Thumbie necklaces and cremation jewelry. We provide each family with an online guestbook where friends and families may share memories or express condolences with those who have lost a loved one.

 
For those desiring a traditional full service we make memorial tribute videos consisting of approximately 30 photos, set to music and custom video footage. We provide one copy for the family, additional copies may be purchased. We provide each family with a memorial candle keepsake and color obituary bookmarks.
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