Our History

In 1947, Louis Dengel, the founder of Dengel and Son Mortuary, purchased the McVey Mortuary at 235 South Hickory in Ottawa. The building was built in 1930 to accommodate the needs of a funeral home, unlike most funeral homes of the day, which were converted large family homes. Today, we are still in the same building, although it has undergone several major expansions since then. 

Louis, his wife Vada, and their two young children lived in an apartment on the second story of the funeral home. He operated the funeral home under the name of McVey-Dengel. He had the occasion to rename the funeral home again in 1961 to Dengel and Son Mortuary, when his son, Walter, graduated from college and joined him in the business. The name remains appropriate today since Walter's son, Craig, joined his father in business after graduating from college in 1983. 

The funeral home Louis purchased in 1947 has a long history and can be traced back to 1868. A man named Rudolf Volroth, Ottawa's first funeral director, operated the first funeral home out of his home, which was located on the east side of Hickory between Second and Third street. Curiously, that could describe the location of our present-day funeral home. Although that is an interesting bit of history, what is more relevant to the families we serve today, is the fact that for three generations, the same family has served Ottawa and Franklin County. 

Today, Dengel and Son Mortuary is operated by the third generation, Craig Dengel. Craig took over the reins when his father, Walter, stepped down in 1998 to enjoy semi-retirement.