Clinton C. Baker founded what was to become the Olson Funeral Home in Truman, Minnesota in 1911. Service to the people of Southern Minnesota became a family tradition when Mr. Baker's son-in-law, Edward E. Olson joined the firm in 1919. Mr. Olson, a pharmacist at Foster Drug, received a degree in Mortuary Science from the University of Minnesota. Ed and his wife, Bernice Baker Olson settled in Truman and dedicated their lives to helping people cope with the loss of a loved one through death.
To serve families better, they expanded the firm to include a location in Fairmont when they purchased the Homer Jones Funeral Home in 1936. In 1940, they built the funeral home at 5 Downtown Plaza. Since then, several additions have been made to that location.
George C. Hultgren joined the firm in 1946 and served as a funeral director until his retirement in 1981. Laurence Olson also served the firm as a funeral director for over thirty years. Continuing the legacy of daughters and sons-in-law committed to funeral service, Neal and Jane (Olson) Huemoeller assumed responsibility of both funeral homes in 1965. In 1972, a fourth generation daughter and son-in-law, Greg and Helen (Huemoeller) Hilgendorf joined the firm.
In 1979, the firm expanded again, purchasing the Goodell Funeral Homes of Fairmont and Ceylon. Greg and Helen became part owners in 1981 and sole owners in 1986.
John E. Zaharia was hired in October of 2000 to manage and operate all three Olson locations. In 2001, John and his wife Teresa, purchased the Olson Funeral Homes and took on a new name, Zaharia Family Funeral Homes. In 2014, John and Teresa partnered with the Vertin Family, a cooperative venture aimed at continuing the Zaharia tradition of personalized, professional service that you and your family have come to expect. Zaharia Family Funeral Homes looks forward to the future with this promise to the families we serve: Compassionate Service…from Our Family to Yours.
