McLaughlin Funeral Chapel, Family owned and operated funeral chapel located in Sedalia, Missouri, vaults, caskets, cremation, cemeteries, funerals, urns

Hello and welcome to the McLaughlin Funeral Chapel, our family business since 1880.

As many of you know, it was common in small towns in the Midwest to have a furniture store and funeral chapel combination. What is unique about our business is that we are still McLaughlin Brothers Furniture Company and McLaughlin Funeral Chapel and we are still owned by the original family.

I'm Mary McLaughlin, the 4th generation President of our firm. We are guided by the same principles which guided my great-grandfather and his brother. We are here to carry out the wishes and plans of the families we serve. We work for you, and it is our privilege to "be here" 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as we are needed. Each and every detail that is important to you becomes important to us.

This strong family tradition of service has carried our firm with dignity and respect from the 19th century to the 21st century.

Please know that you are always welcome here.

Why Is The Funeral Ritual Important?

by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D

Rituals are symbolic activities that help us, together with our families and friends, express our deepest thoughts and feelings about life's most important events. Baptism celebrates the birth of a child and that child's acceptance into the church family. Birthday parties honor the passing of another year in the life of someone we love. Weddings affirm the private love shared by two people.

The funeral ritual, too, is a public, traditional and symbolic means of expressing our beliefs, thoughts and feelings about the death of someone loved. Rich in history and rife with symbolism, the funeral ceremony helps us acknowledge the reality of death, gives testimony to the life of the deceased, encourages the expression of grief in a way consistent with the culture's values, provides support to mourners, allows for the embracing of faith and beliefs about life and death, and offers continuity and hope for the living.