Our History
Our History
Our family has been in funeral service for six generations! Gerrit Jonkhoff (1st generation funeral director) was born in 1840 in the Netherlands. He came to America in 1872 at the age of 32. Gerrit settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as he was a furniture craftsman and Grand Rapids was known for fine furniture. He worked for the Barcklay & Gray Furniture Company for approximately 30 years as a cabinet maker.
He also perfected his skills at “coffin” making and started the first Jonkhoff Funeral Home in Grand Rapids in 1884, along with his son Ralph (2nd generation funeral director).
In the early ’30s, Ralph’s son Harold (3rd generation funeral director) entered the funeral service profession as well. Eventually, Harold took over the family business and remodeled their facilities in 1941. He and his wife, Margaret, had two sons, Jack and Bob. Jack became a licensed funeral director in 1950, and Bob in 1955. For ten years, the funeral home provided the local ambulance service too. Jack and Bob eventually acquired the Jonkhoff Lake Drive Chapel and Jonkhoff Caledonia Funeral Home after their father died in 1966. Over the years, Jack became responsible exclusively for the Caledonia Funeral Home and Bob merged with the Metcalf family to form Metcalf-Jonkhoff Funeral Home in 1976. Jack and Maxine decided to sell their Caledonia Funeral Home that same year and leave their hometown for northern Michigan.
Jack (4th generation funeral director) and Maxine made the bold move from Grand Rapids to Traverse City in December of 1976 and purchased the Reynolds-Hanson Funeral Home from Fred and Bert Hansen, effective January 1, 1977. Dan (5th generation funeral director) came to work with his parents that same year after having just completed his degree in Mortuary Science at Wayne State University. In 1983, the family changed the name to the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home. In 1992, Dan and Peg Jonkhoff acquired the funeral home from Dan’s parents when Dan’s father retired after 40 years in funeral service.
In terms of the future, Chris Jonkhoff graduated from Michigan State and Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Chicago, Illinois. The latter college was the same college her grandfather Jack graduated from in 1950. Lindsey graduated from Bowling Green University in Ohio with a Psychology degree. In 2009, she graduated from Wayne State University, just like her father, Dan. Both of Dan and Peg’s daughters are proud to carry on the Jonkhoff family tradition of excellence in funeral service.
The Jonkhoff family has been fortunate to be able to surround themselves with a gifted, dedicated staff. In 1977, it was just Jack, Maxine and Dan. Today, 28 full and part-time staff members work at the funeral home. We are able to help so many families each year thanks to our highly trained, compassionate “work family”.
