Carol Mills will retire as Schlanker funeral director

By Theo Tate
Posted 2/2/23

For 23 years as director of Schlanker Funeral Home, Carol Mills has comforted many families in the Montgomery County area in times of grief.

Now, that long run is about to come to an end.

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Carol Mills will retire as Schlanker funeral director

Posted

For 23 years as director of Schlanker Funeral Home, Carol Mills has comforted many families in the Montgomery County area in times of grief.

Now, that long run is about to come to an end.

Mills plans to retire as director of Schlanker Funeral Home. Her final work day is scheduled for Feb. 4, which will be the same day a reception will be held for her at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Montgomery City. The reception is scheduled for 3 p.m.

“I’m going to miss it,” Mills said. “It’s just time.”

Irelynn Kobusch, a 2016 Montgomery County High School graduate and Mills’ assistant, will take over director duties. She broke down in tears when asked about how valuable Mills was to the Montgomery County area.

“She’s become a part of our family personally outside of work,” said Kobusch, who is a licensed director and a student embalmer. “I’m sad to see her go. We spent a lot of time chit-chatting in these offices. She’s an amazing woman. The things that she has done to the families in our community are outstanding. It’s unmatchable. I have some big shoes to fill, that’s for sure.”

Mills worked at a bank before she decided to help out at the funeral home, which has been in business since 1946. She never worked in a funeral home.

“Bob Schlanker would come in and renew CDs because people pre-plan,” Mills said. “So he would come to the bank quite often. The other gentleman who worked here had either quit or retired. So I told Bob that if he needed anybody for visitation, I could open and close the door and I could talk. Then, my son passed away. So this was the start of something I wanted to do.”

Mills worked part-time in 1999 before being promoted to full-time the following year.

“It was something I talked to my family about because I knew it would make a difference as far as the hours and stuff,” Mills said. “They were OK with it. So I started here. It was quite different because Bob and Boone Schlanker were both here when I started. Of course, they’ve been in the funeral business forever. This was something new to me.”

Mills, who was raised in Montgomery County, said before she became Schlanker’s funeral director, she worked under a funeral director for a year, then she had to pass a test.

“I studied for the test, but Bob and Boone were the ones who basically taught me what I needed to do,” Mills said.

Mills said the best part of being a funeral director is supporting families during the funeral planning process.

“It takes a lot of hours,” Mills said. “But when you help families, it’s a very rewarding business. It’s been an honor and a privilege to help them. It’s a 24-7 job because you can get called at night, weekends and holidays. It doesn’t matter when. People die all of the time.”

Mills has high hopes for Kobusch as the new director.

“She’s been a big help,” Mills said. “She does good. She’ll be great at taking over.”

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here


X