The Draeger-Lengendorf Funeral Home of Mt. Pleasant, Wisconson, was founded in 1928 and has served the families of southern Wisconsin for the past 98 years.

 

This press release from Pinnacle Funeral Service announces that the company has recently acquired the Draeger-Langendorf Funeral Home & Crematory.  According to the press release, the firm is one of the largest and most respected funeral providers in the state.  The company serves more than 500 families annually from their southern Wisconsin base.

 

Mark Langendorf made this comment about the sale and affiliation with Pinnacle Funeral Service, “We spoke with a number of potential partners, but Pinnacle stood apart because of its respect for local leadership, its commitment to maintaining our identity in the community, and the quality of the people we met throughout the process. After getting to know the Pinnacle team, we became confident they would take great care of our business, our staff, and the families we serve.”

 

Tony Kumming, President of Pinnacle Funeral Service, made these prepared remarks in the press release, “Draeger-Langendorf has built an exceptional reputation through generations of dedicated service to families,” said Kumming. “We are honored to continue that legacy while providing additional resources and support to the team. Great funeral homes succeed because of their people, their reputation, and their community relationships, and we work hard to preserve those strengths while helping owners and staff focus on serving families.”

 

The Draeger-Langendorf Funeral Home & Crematory will join 14 other Wisconsin funeral homes that partnered with Pinnacle in the past several years.

 

Here is a map of Pinnacle Funeral Service locations according to the company website.

Here is the “About Us” page from the Pinnacle Funeral Service website.

 

Funeral Director Daily take:  This is the 2nd time in the past three days that Funeral Director Daily has written about an acquisition.  There is no doubt that there are some national companies and many regional companies, like Pinnacle Funeral Service, hoping to expand and build their scale numbers in the near future.

 

Today is June 10.  That means that we are only 3 weeks away from the end of the 2nd Quarter of 2026.  I’m guessing that the 2nd-half of 2026 shows an increase in acquisition activity by those wanting to buy. . . . and those wanting to sell.

 

Here’s part of my reasoning.  President Trump had been waiting patiently, or perhaps impatiently to see Jay Powell leave as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.  Part of the reasoning why is that Trump believed that Powell was a hinderance to dropping interest rates.

 

President Trump recently installed Kevin Warsh in that position and the assumption has been that Warsh will be more in tune with President Trump on the thought of lowering interest rates — which, in theory, would make payments lower for those buying funeral businesses on debt.

 

Circumstances have changed, however, with rising prices, volatile energy prices, and continued inflation since that time.  Because of that, many experts believe that Fed interest rates will not be lowered, but may actually be increased.  If that happens, then payments for buyers will increase and the price paid for funeral homes may actually be decreased because companies have to be able to make the payments from a cash-flow that now includes higher debt payments.

 

If that turns out to look like it will happen you may find buyers and sellers wanting to get out in front of any Fed rate increase that may be on the way.  That leads me to believe that the 2nd-half of 2026 could be filled with transactions.  Here’s a recent article that warns against a Fed tax-rate hike.

 

The next Federal Reserve Board Meeting, and Warsh’s first as Chairman, is scheduled for June 16 and 17.  That meeting may give an indication of what direction the Fed will be taking and that might give those funeral home companies who are looking to grow a roadmap for how to move forward in the 2nd-half of 2026.

 

More news from the world of Death Care:

• Connecticut man creates free ap to preserve loved ones’ funeral prayer cards.  Yahoo Life
• Study finds green burials could be implemented ‘with relative ease’ at Salmon Arm Cemetery.  Eagle Valley News (British Columbia, Canada)
• “A nightmare”:  Families seek answers after Zion Memorial Gardens suddenly closes.  MSN from WBRD-Birmingham (AL)
• Octopus boss:  Why the business of death can be as big as energy.  The Sunday Times – London (Great Britain)

 

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