Rio Location

Grasse Funeral Service in Rio's inception goes back to 1903 when George Jackson was the founder of the first known funeral home in Rio. In 1928 George Thompson assumed ownership of the funeral business. A transition of ownership was not made until 1955 when D. Russell Kellogg (a stepson to George Thompson) took over the business. He ran the Kellogg Funeral Home and Furniture Store for 23 years until Alan Vangen purchased the business in 1979. The combined furniture store and funeral home operation was run in the downtown location until 1993 when the furniture end of the business was liquidated. The funeral home continued to run in its old location until the new start-of-the-art facility with an on-site crematory was built in 2000. The next change of ownership occurred in 2009 when Alan Vangen retired and Pardeeville native Gena Smith purchased the business. Elliott Grasse started working with Gena as a Funeral Director Apprentice in February 2013. Elliott and his wife Nina obtained ownership of the funeral business in December 2013.