Chris Hutton opened Lawrence Funeral Chapel with a business partner in January 2002. Now that he is the sole owner of the funeral home, Hutton has changed its name to Lawrence Chapel Oaks Cremation and Funeral Services to reflect the fact that it is part of his family of Chapel Oaks funeral homes located in Hiawatha, Highland , Holton, Horton, Hoyt, Onaga, Meriden , and Oskaloosa.
But the name isn't the only thing that has recently changed at the funeral home.
"It's a tough time economically," Hutton said. "The average funeral in Kansas costs around $6,000. The last thing you need when you're dealing with the stress of losing someone is expenses you can't afford. Therefore, we decided that we want to help in these difficult times by lowering our prices for cremation and funeral services. Our prices are now about a third to half of what our competitors in Lawrence charge. The prices are easy to verify. In the funeral business, the law requires you to post your prices. You can sell services and items for less than the posted prices, but you can't sell them for more."
The posted prices Hutton referred to make up the General Price List (GPL), which is the keystone of the Federal Trade Commission's Funeral Rule. The GPL must include identifying information, itemized prices for the various goods and services the funeral service provider sells, and other important disclosures.
"We've scaled back on our prices, but not on our service," Hutton said. "In fact, I think we have the nicest parking, the nicest building, and the nicest chapel in Lawrence . Our facilities are premium."
Lawrence Chapel Oaks Cremation and Funeral Services' facilities include a state-of-the-art, on-site crematory that became operational in early 2008.
"We believe it is important to evolve with the industry and make sure that cremations are dignified," Hutton said. "The cremation process is as important as any other service. If a family wants to witness the cremation process, they can do that. They can also have an open casket visitation and a funeral service in a church or other location."
The funeral home's facilities include another feature not found at most funeral homes. Hutton Monuments has been serving northeast Kansas since 1873, and Lawrence Hutton Monuments is conveniently located next to the funeral home's chapel.
"We have 30 to 40 monuments on display," Hutton said. "We specialize in custom-made monuments. One of my favorites is a Jayhawk monument made of red and blue granite. We used no artificial coloring at all. One of our ideas with the Jayhawk monument was that someone could use it initially as yard art. Then, after they die, we would pick it up, put their name on it, and take it to the cemetery."
The Jayhawk monument is on display at Lawrence Chapel Oaks Cremation and Funeral Services, as well as at Hutton Monument Company in Topeka .
Lawrence Chapel Oaks Cremation and Funeral Services also offers "green" funerals.
"We offer funerals where you will leave no carbon footprint," Hutton explained. "We have biodegradable caskets and biodegradable cremation products."
The City of Lawrence in 2008 made green funerals more practical for local residents when it approved setting aside about one-third of an acre in Oak Hill Cemetery to accommodate such funerals. The city sold the first plot in the municipally-owned natural burial site--the first in the country--during the spring of 2009. The burial site prohibits embalming, concrete grave liners, and permanent headstones.
Hutton stressed that his funeral homes services and products are also available to those who have a prearranged funeral contracts with other funeral homes.
"A lot of people don't realize that you can move a prearranged funeral to another funeral home," Hutton said. "Plans can be transferred either before or after death occurs. And if the prices are lower, you can even get some money back."
Hutton has been a business owner in Lawrence since 1979, when he purchased the Lawrence Monument Company and renamed it Lawrence Hutton Monuments. Hutton Monuments has been serving northeast Kansas since 1873. He also acquired the Lawrence Memorial Park Cemetery in 1981 and made many improvements, including paving the roads and building an office with his signature stained-glass windows and improved lighting, before selling it to a well-known holding company in Lincoln, Neb., in 1989.
