Breaking News
Local News

Thomas Family Funeral Home: Supporting community for three generations

By JILL SCHRAMM 6 min read

In the 100 years since Ben Thomas acted on a tip about business opportunity in Minot, the Thomas Family Funeral Home has been both a trusted presence and a steadfast community supporter.

Third generation owners Brad and Bryan Thomas, along with partner Mark Roth, cite the relationships built with the community as the bedrock that has sustained the funeral home for a century.

"The ultimate compliment that somebody can give to you is to entrust their loved one," Brad Thomas said. "It's a very, very special ministry that we have."

Thomas Funeral Home started when Ben "B.J." Thomas purchased the Van Fleet Undertaking Co. at 121 S. Main St. in Minot. He had been a veterinarian before earning his embalming certificate from the University of Minnesota in 1925. While working in the Twin Cities, a tip from his brother Evan, one of Minot's first engineers, encouraged him to consider Minot, according to a history drafted by the family.

The history notes the Great Depression of the 1930s was difficult, with payment for services in garden and farm produce or a bartering plan. However, after World War II, Thomas saw the need to upgrade, which led to the purchase of the former Martin Jacobson residence at 304 S. Main St.

Ben Thomas operated the funeral home until 1964. His son, John, who joined him in 1952, became a partner after a brief stint in the Army in the mid-1950s. John Thomas, who died in 2001, had phased into retirement after handing the reins to his sons in 1995.

During the transition, Brad Thomas said, his father's reputation remained important in an industry built on trust.

"He provided us with instant credibility," he said. "Whenever John Thomas was at a funeral, everybody took notice of it."

Brad and Bryan Thomas said they grew up spending many hours helping with tasks at the funeral home, such as mowing the lawn, shoveling snow and cleaning carpets. Helping out was always a family affair. Younger siblings, David and Loreejane (Heetland), now both of Arizona, also helped when they were growing up.

Although he never pushed his two older sons toward a career in the business, their father fostered an interest, Brad and Bryan Thomas said.

Brad Thomas spent a year in dental school before switching to mortuary science. He worked for the family funeral home for about a year and half before obtaining his mortuary degree in 1984.

Bryan Thomas taught and coached three years at Bishop Ryan Catholic School in Minot. He helped out at the funeral home during the summers and eventually decided to attend mortuary school, finishing in 1989. Bryan Thomas retired in 2025, although he continues to assist as needed.

Roth joined the funeral home in 2001, became a licensed funeral professional in 2003 and was added as an equal partner in 2017.

Although Ben Thomas died when they were quite young, Brad and Bryan Thomas said stories about him indicate they would have had a lot in common with their grandfather, who loved sports, outdoors and socializing. He was a founding member of the YMCA, served on the Minot School Board and was active with the Boys Scouts, American Legion, Minot Curling Club and other local organizations.

"He built the business by being involved in the community," Bryan Thomas said.

"We've continued that tradition," Brad Thomas added.

The brothers have a long history of community engagement, particularly in areas related to sports. Bryan Thomas has been a team host for high school basketball and volleyball tournament teams in Minot for 31 years. They encourage their employees to be involved, and their funeral home has supported a number of local philanthropic causes.

John Thomas also kept up with many of the organizations in which his father had been involved, along with several more.

Although community involvement has remained a constant, times have changed since Ben and John Thomas operated the funeral home. With technology and changing public expectations, functions beyond arranging a visitation and funeral functions have become core to the operation, Roth said.

"Personalization has changed what we do," he said. "There's so many more options that people have now versus just following tradition."

Whether its customization in caskets or funeral brochures, nontraditional service styles or locations, butterfly or balloon releases, the funeral home does its best to accommodate, Roth said.

"We never say that we can't do something," he said, describing funeral directors as shepherds. "We're going to guide you - here's what we can do, here's what works, and sometimes we have to offer the advice of 'That doesn't work very well unless you do this ...'

"The more experience you have," he added, "the better and more comfortable you are at guiding and shepherding."

Although some funeral homes have gone to out-sourcing as technology demands increase, Thomas Family Funeral Home strives to keep functions in-house, including creating video tributes and managing livestreams.

Despite the challenges and changes, the basics have remained the same over the past 100 years.

"The principles of personal care and concern and just treating them like family - that doesn't change in the scope of our work," Roth said.

Those principles were tested during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which doubled the funeral home's calls while creating new responsibilities for keeping families and funeral-goers safe.

"It usually would be 12-hour days, and then the phone would ring nonstop with deaths," Bryan Thomas recalled. They felt badly for the families as funerals were downsized or funeral-goers forced to spread out to avoid close contact.

The third-generation funeral home owners credit teamwork for the ability to ensure all bases are covered when caring for families.

The funeral home maintains 20 to 30 support staff. There are five full-time, licensed funeral home directors, not including Bryan Thomas.

Jacqueline Thomas, married to Brad, has been a certified pre-planning consultant for the funeral home since 1999. Bryan's wife, Sue Thomas, has served as Aftercare staff since 2005.

The family takes pride in the number of individuals who worked for Thomas Family Funeral Home over the years and then went on to operate their own establishments.

"We've had a lot of funeral home owners that got their start or spent some of their early years here at Thomas Funeral Home," Brad Thomas said. "That's part of our legacy."

Roth, who came up through those ranks, said the responsibility and trust given to employees looking to get into the business has been noteworthy because it was the family's reputation on the line. For 100 years, the funeral home has been respected, and it is that respect and the emphasis on maintaining personal standards that drew him into the profession, he said.

"It's a very, very rewarding profession," Brad Thomas said. "I am so thankful and so blessed to have been a funeral director over the last 42 years."

Starting at /week.