Coming to the Village of Ubly in 1981 was a lot like returning to their cherished childhood in Detroit's Poletown. It also marked an 18 year dream of owning their own funeral home for John and Arlene who grew up together in the same neighborhood populated by many family owned businesses.
While growing up, both John and Arlene learned the importance of individual personalized service, which has become a family tradition. John's grandfather started Anthony Chrzanowski Funeral Home in Detroit in 1911 and his mother Irene became a licensed funeral director and opened the Herman Smigielski Funeral Home in 1945. John followed in his parent’s footsteps and obtained his mortuary science license in 1962 and was then employed by his mother along with William Sullivan and Son Funeral Home of Royal Oak & Utica.
John and Arlene purchased the Ubly location in 1981 from Ernie Zinger and renamed it Zinger-Smigielski Funeral Home. In 1985 they acquired the Minden City location from Frank and Eleene Bowen which is known today as Smigielski Funeral Home.
The Smigielski’s didn’t get an easy start either. In their first month they didn't have any business, but Ernie Zinger assured them things would be fine and people just needed to get to know them. John & Arlene quickly became involved in local organizations such as the Ubly Lion's Club & Community Club. They were also involved in many parish functions across the area and it didn’t take long to build trust with members of the community.
Over three decades later, dedication to the families we serve and attention to detail have enabled us to get to where we are today. With care and compassion we take the time needed with each family to help ease their pain and plan every detail of the funeral ceremony.
