Funeral business sprang out of owner’s family struggle to provide elegant services for grandparents

The funeral business is personal with Gerald T. Johnson, President and co-founder of Serenity Memorial Funeral and Cremation Service.

Following the death of Johnson’s grandfather, Alvin Hall Sr. on April 1, 1995, his family lacked the financial resources to bury him the way Johnson thought was appropriate and honorable.

“Our family didn’t have a lot at the time and it showed,” he recalled.

The following year, his family faced the situation again when his grandmother, Era Hall, died on January 18, 1996. Although “we were in a little better financial shape,” burying his grandmother was still a struggle for the family.

It was in those times of personal grief and mourning, and a desire to respectfully honor his grandparents that Johnson’s “ministry of service” for those who don’t have a lot of money was birthed.

“I became more driven to be an owner when my grandparents died,” he said.

After 11 years working in the funeral business and learning the trade, in 2004, Johnson opened the doors to Serenity Memorial Chapel at 3416 West Main Street in Belleville, IL. On May 1st of this year, he stepped out on faith to expand the business by opening the doors of a second location, this time in Missouri at 3620 Chippewa Street. Johnson and co-founder, Walter L. Taylor Jr. then decided to name the new location Serenity Memorial Funeral and Cremation Service.

Why St. Louis? Serenity was already doing consistent funeral business in Missouri. And plus, Johnson was born, raised, and currently resides in St. Louis as do a number of his family members, including his partner, Walter L. Taylor, and his father, Rev. Jerry T. Johnson, who serves as a manager at Serenity.

“The timing was right to make the move and add a new location in Missouri,” Taylor said.

Serenity offers a wide array of services and pricing levels to meet every need: traditional funeral services, cremation services, graveside and memorial services, DVD tributes, web casting and more. “Personalization and flexibility is vital when caring for people experiencing grief,” Johnson explains.

As a funeral director, Johnson and a 16-member professionally trained staff fully understand the value of a quality funeral at an affordable price. That is way he has adapted “Elegance Made Affordable” as not just a marketing slogan, but a mission statement in recognition that financially strapped families, in their time of need, shouldn’t have to pay huge sums of money for quality and professional funeral services.

Initally, Johnson said Serenity was known as “the cheap guys.” “However, slowly people began to realize that we weren’t just affordable, but we were really good at what we did”, he said.

Enter “Elegance Made Affordable.” Johnson knows that no matter what a family’s ability to pay, they still want a dignified and graceful funeral for their loved one.

The first questions usually asked by a family planning a funeral is how much will it cost. Serenity offers complete funeral service packages starting at $2,195 and a direct cremation package for $795, which Johnson believes “provides great value and a distinction families will appreciate.”

“Ninety percent of the time the $2,195 is a wonderful package that will meet your needs,” he said. “Most families, if they can do better price wise, will do better. There is absolutely no pressure to do so. We will not take advantage of their vulnerability. However, if a family wants to add this or that to the level of service, they’ll see exactly what they’ll be getting.”

For funeral arrangements or for more information, in Missouri, call 314.772.1000. In Illinois, call 618.233.6000. The website is http://www.serenitymemorialchapel.com/.

Find Serenity on Facebook @Facebook under Serenity Memorial Funeral and Cremation Service.