Longmont's Howe Mortuary changes hands again - Longmont Times-Call
Mar 6, 2019
Matthew Jonas / Staff Photographer) Longmont's Howe Mortuary, in business since 1942, has been sold for the second time in 13 months. Parent company Allnutt Funeral Service, which bought Howe last July, has sold to Houston-based Service Corporation International (SCI), the industry's largest corporation.Financial terms of the deal, which closed earlier this month, were not disclosed.Allnutt, with roots in Greeley stretching back to 1886, claims to be one of the longest-running, family-owned businesses in the state. The company, with 13 locations across Colorado and Nebraska, is now part of SCI's Dignity Memorial network.President Rick Allnutt did not respond to a request for comment, but told the Loveland Reporter-Herald that the family will hold the same positions under new ownership and "keep doing things the way we've always done them."Geoff Howe, the third-generation owner of the family business bearing his name, stayed on as funeral director after Allnutt's more than $1 million purchase. He will continue to do so, a spokesperson for Howe said, before declining further comment.SCI owns 1,502 funeral homes and 475 cemeteries across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, according to its most recent quarterly report. In 2016, it brought in more than $3 billion in revenue.AdvertisementLocally, it owns Boulder's Mountain View Memorial Park and Crist Mortuary. In Longmont, Ahlberg Funeral Chapel and Carroll-Lewellen Funeral and Cremation Services are both privately owned.According to the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), 86 percent of funeral homes in America are privately held, with publicly traded companies holding the rest. SCI takes by far the largest share, at about 12 percent of the market, according to NFDA, while two other companies — Carriage Services Inc. and StoneMor Partners — have about 1 percent each.SCI has faced criticism for pushing pricey funeral packages onto grieving family members, which include extra costs. An SC...
Fire destroys Longmont's Howe Mortuary - Longmont Daily Times-Call
Mar 6, 2019
Police and fire crews were dispatched at about 1:22 a.m., and flames were showing when firefighters arrived at the mortuary and crematorium building at 439 Coffman St. "We haven't seen the interior, but the attic was fully engulfed," acting assistant fire chief Kevin Blumenshine said early Tuesday morning. "The building's roof collapsed." The fire's cause is under investigation, but Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said it appeared that the fire started inside or outside the northwest corner of the building before spreading to the roof and attic. A firefighter battles a blaze at Howe Mortuary about 2 a.m. Tuesday, May 24, 2013. (Nate Kenworthy, courtesy photo) "The building appears to be a complete loss," Satur said, adding later that "there's a lot of debris they've got to clear out" as part of the investigation as well as clean up the surrounding area. No one is believed to have been inside at the time of the fire, and no injuries have been reported. However, there reportedly were as many as seven bodies inside the mortuary at the time of the fire, Satur said. Firefighters were able to remove one, which was in a casket, Satur said, but the others remained inside while firefighters continued to douse the interior and watch for flareups from hot spots before attempting to get farther inside. "They did what they could do" about getting to those bodies as soon as possible, Satur said. He said all the remaining bodies had been removed from the building by mid-morning. Satur said five Longmont firetrucks, along with a truck from the Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District, responded to the blaze. The Bank of the West branch at 700 Fifth Avenue -- immediately across Fifth from the mortuar...
Longmont's iconic Howe Mortuary sold - Boulder Daily Camera
Mar 6, 2019
The business, owned and operated by the Howe family since the 1940s, has been sold to Fort Collins-based Allnutt Funeral Service, another family owned operation. (Matthew Jonas / Staff Photographer) Longtime Longmont family business Howe Mortuary has been sold for an undisclosed amount to another family-run operation, the 130-year-old Fort Collins-based Allnutt Funeral Service."The decision to sell a multi-generation family business is significant," said Geoff Howe, who will stay on as funeral director at the 439 Coffman St. business, in a statement. "(Allnutt co-owner) Rick Allnutt and I have known each other for more than 30 years. Our great grandfathers and fathers knew and respected each other."Choosing Allnutt was the best option to protect our family name and reputation in the Longmont area, which was paramount in our decision."Geoff Howe joined his father, George Howe Jr., in managing the business in 1977, finally buying it in 1986. But the Howe family has owned the funeral service firm for more than a century.Albert Edward Howe first came to Boulder County in 1889, setting up a homestead ranch near Lyons. He later assisted Boulder undertaker F.J. Bucheit, and the two opened Holly and Howe Mortuary on the main floor of the Odd Fellows Lodge Building at 16th and Pearl, circa 1909.A.E. Howe also served as Boulder County Coroner from 1914 to 1934, and the family would continuously hold the office for 74 years: A.E.'s son George from 1934 to 1954; George's brother Norman from 1954 to 1970; and Norman's nephew William "Bill" Hoew from 1970 through 1986.AdvertisementGeorge W. Howe moved to Longmont in 1942 and purchased Shaw Mortuary, renaming it to bear his family's moniker. It passed to his son, George Jr., in 1958, who then passed it to his own son, Geoff."(The Howe family's) approach to serving families matches ours," said Allnutt in a statement. "We are growing as a company and are seeking quality funeral, cremation and cemetery opportunities that all...