Dear guest,
After starting in the funeral business in 1955, working with two of Anderson's well respected funeral establishments, and with many prayers and sleepless nights, my family and I decided to put out our own little shingle, take what we had learned and put it to good use.
It seems like yesterday when we first opened our doors, way out on 53rd Street. We suppose it was a little daring because at that time, all the funeral establishments were centrally located in the downtown area. We felt and hoped the south side of town would soon be growing and if we were going to do things right, we would need a little room to accomplish our goals.
We wanted to offer a funeral home that was conducive to the whole community. A funeral home all on one level with no steps, with spaciousness and a homey-like atmosphere. A place where one could just let us tend to their needs so they could visit with their consoling family and friends.
It wasn't long before we needed to expand. At this time, not only did we add on to our existing building, but we also decided that we would give the families a place to make their arrangements away from the hustle and bustle of the main funeral home. We utilized the old buffalo barn on the northeast corner of the property and converted it into what we now refer to as , "The Carriage House".
The Carriage House was well received. It incorporated our arrangement room, the casket and vault selection room and much needed storage. We designed it to look like one's family room or den at their home, with a fireplace and a game table for us to sit around while making arrangements rather than a desk in an office setting. At this point, we were also able to add some needed personnel, additional funeral directors and secretarial assistance. Prearranging funerals was becoming more and more accepted so we needed to have the staff to not only tend to the current funeral business but also to the future business.
In 1986, we expanded both the main building and the Carriage House and we also implemented a chaplaincy or aftercare program to help the families with their grief process and adapting to their losses. This program was the first of its kind in the area and has strived to help not only each family we serve but also several school classrooms, church groups, senior citizen groups, other grief support groups through seminars, tours, and a very extensive grief support library.
In 1991, we built the first and what remains the only crematory in the area. We wanted to be able to handle all aspects of the cremation process "in house" so we would not have to rely on an outside source and also to alleviate any additional transportation costs to the families desiring that type of service. Each year, the cremation rate increases throughout the United States. We offer a variety of cremation services, caskets specifically made for the cremation process, urns, cremation vaults, keepsakes and even cremation jewelry.
We also implemented another program which means a lot to me and my family. Since there are so many women and men who put their lives on the line for my family and this community each and every day, we wanted to give back. In 1996, we offered to each Fire Department, Police Department, Emergency Management Team, and State Police Department, paid or voluntary, which serve Madison County, that if any of those would die in the line of duty, we would provide a service with full honors including a Stainless Steel or Cherry Hardwood casket, and a 12 gauge Galvanized Steel Vault at no charge to the family. This would allow any benefits or pensions to be used for the surviving family rather than the funeral services of those who devoted themselves to the community's well being.
In November of 1998, we began to utilize the beautiful Paramount Theatre in downtown Anderson as the backdrop of our first annual Remembrance Service. Our goal for this service is to bring family and friends together to remember their loved ones and to celebrate a life through special music and encouraging words. We know that grief has its own set of seasons and its own timing. For many people, memories comfort, empower, enrich, and honor those we love so dearly. Our hope was that the service was a source of strength and comfort throughout holidays.
It was 2001 when we had a fire that completely destroyed our Carriage House. After two years of building, in 2003 we completed our current Carriage House. The new Carriage House includes the Arrangement Offices, a selection area for all types of funeral and cremation merchandise, our Community Room where events can be held by the families we serve and also rented by general public for any type of event, and our Cremation Center with public viewing room.
Our pet cremation division began in 2007 and has evolved into Loyal and True Pet Cremation Services which is also housed in the Carriage House. We have a large selection of pet related items in our pet arrangement office which is dedicated to the pet families of our community and we also serve veterinary clinics and hospitals in 10 additional counties in central Indiana.
In June 2010, the Robert Loose Family donated our North Chapel facility to the growing Ivy Tech Community College. The former North Chapel became much needed classrooms, an educational laboratory, a conference center and offices for the growing community college.
This donation allowed Ivy Tech the ability to transfer approximately eight acres of ground which is attached to our South Chapel property on 53rd Street. The additional acreage will allowed us to opportunity to add many services and to create The Gardens at Willowcrest Park which opened in 2013. The Gardens at Willowcrest Park is a park-like setting with many choices of memorialization for the placement of cremated remains. The Gardens have a drive that separates the Human Cremation Gardens from the Pet Cremation Gardens and within the Pet area we were able to include a section for Humans and Pets to be memorialized together, which is the only cemetery in Indiana which allows that option.
We are continually striving to expand and improve upon the services we offer to this community. We hope that you would let us know if there is anything that we could implement to better serve you and your needs.
The Robert D. Loose Family
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Robert D. (Bob) Loose, In Loving Memory
Bob was the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Loose Funeral Homes and Crematory and Vice President of The Gardens at Willowcrest Park.Bob was born in Anderson and was a 1955 graduate of Anderson High School where he served as the president of his graduating class; he attended Purdue University and graduated from the Indiana College of Mortuary Science, where he served as vice president of his graduating class. He served over two years in the U. S. Army. He passed at his home on November 10, 2022.Bob was a member of the Central Christian Church, where he served as adeacon,an elder and president of the church board; a member of the Mt. Moriah Masonic Lodge #77, F. & A. M.; the Scottish Rite, Valley of Indianapolis; the Murat Temple Shrine; the Madison County Scottish Rite Club; the Madison County Shrine Club; a member of the Madison County Funeral Directors Association; the Indiana Funeral Directors Association, where he served the first two terms as chairman of the board of trustees for their new headquarters in Indianapolis; the National Funeral Directors Association; Past President of the Preferred Funeral Directors International; he served on the Board of Directors of the Anderson Banking Company/Merchants National Bank and the Advisory Board of Directors of the National City Bank; a 40+ year member of the Anderson Noon Kiwanis Club.He married Linda Ambrose Loose in 1959. They had two children, Laura L. Gilliam and Robert E. Loose; three grandchildren, Kirby Gilliam, Brady Gilliam and Mark Loose; and five great-grandchildren, Josephine, Gabriel, Eliza, Dominic. and Henry.
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Robert E. (Rob) Loose, President
Rob is the President of Loose Funeral Homes and Crematory, Loyal and True Pet Cremation Services by Loose Funeral Homes and also The Gardens at Willowcrest Park.He was born in Anderson, was a 1981 graduate of Madison Heights High School, attended Indiana University, DePauw University and a 1985 graduate of Mid America College of Mortuary Science.He grew up attending Central Christian Church and also attended the First Presbyterian Church; he is a member of the Mt. Moriah Masonic Lodge #77, F. & A. M.; the Scottish Rite, Valley of Indianapolis; the Murat Temple Shrine; the Madison County Scottish Rite Club; the Madison County Shrine Club; the Madison County Funeral Directors Association; the Indiana Funeral Directors Association; the National Funeral Directors Association; Cremation Association of North America; the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association, the Pet Loss Professional Alliance, the International Association of Pet Cemeteries and Crematories, the Indiana Cemetery Association, the Anderson Noon Rotary International Club; the Madison County Community Foundation's Board of Directors, serving as Treasurer. He served as member and Past President of the Hopewell Center Board of Directors; member and past Board Chairman of the St. Vincent’s Anderson Regional Foundation Board of Director’s; served on the Anderson Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors; the Anderson Area Children's Choir and Youth Chorale Board of Directors; the Ivy Tech Executive Committee and is a 2009 Graduate of the Madison County Leadership Academy.Rob has been married to Jane Moneyhun Loose since 1987. Jane retired from Moneyhun's Fine Gifts and Furnishings which she owned with her mother and sister from 1982 - 2013. Jane is now the Event Coordinator at The Community Room of Loose Funeral Homes and Crematory and is the Manager of Loyal and True Pet Cremation Services. They have a son, Mark A. Loose, creating the third generation in the family business and serving as our General Manager. Mark and his wife, Abby, are the proud parents of Rob and Jane's favorite grandchildren: Josephine, Gabriel, and Dominic. Rob has always had pets and his beloved Tucker is his by his side everyday.
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Mark A. Loose, General Manager
Mark is a 2009 graduate of Anderson High School. He then received both an Associate and Bachelor's Degree from Ball State University graduating in December 2012. Mark furthered his education by attending Mid America College of Funeral Service in Jeffersonville, IN, where he graduated salutatorian and received another Bachelor's Degree in March 2014. He is the third generation of his family to care and support the community he loves.Mark married his wife, Abigail (McLean) Loose, in December 2015, and they have been blessed with three beautiful children, Josephine Grace, Gabriel Ralph, and Dominic Andrew. They are parishioners of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Anderson. Mark is a member of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association, National Funeral Directors Association, Madison County Funeral Directors Association, and the Anderson Knights of Columbus #563. Mark also serves as the Sexton of St. Mary Cemetery in Anderson. In his spare time, he enjoys being outdoors playing with his dogs, Sunny and Tex, and spending time with family and friends.
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Lynn Young Fogle, Funeral Home Manager
Lynn Young Fogle is a graduate of Logansport High School. She has an Associates Degree in Sociology from Vincennes University, Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Ball State University and Associates Degree in Mortuary Science from Vincennes University. She was married in 1994 to Lamar Fogle. Their children, Lindsey and Lexi were born in 1998 and 2002 respectively. Lynn enjoys attending Anderson Preparatory Academy activities for her children as well as following their dancing schedules. Lynn is also a Creative Memories Consultant and spends much of her time scrap-booking for her children and family. Lynn has been an active member of East Lynn Christian Church since 1994, where she has served as deaconess, elder, vice president and president of the congregation and organizing Parents Night Out for the community. Lynn is a member of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association and Madison County Funeral Directors Association and the Isabel Harter House Association.
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Michael Neff, Funeral Director-Director of Operations
Mike is a resident of Pendleton, but is originally from Palestine, Illinois, where he started working at the local funeral home right after high school and continued throughout college. Mike is a graduate of Vincennes University, where he studied mortuary science, and was active in the Sigma Phi Sigma funeral service fraternity. He also graduated from Lincoln Trail College and graduated with his baccalaureate degree from Indiana University. Throughout his career, Mike has been involved in many aspects of the funeral and cemetery industry, including funeral directing, embalming, operations, sales, and cemetery management. He also served as an adjunct instructor in the mortuary science department at a local community college. Mike received his designation as a Certified Celebrant from Insight Institute. He is a licensed funeral director and embalmer in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. Mike has been married to his wife, Michelle Neff, for over 20 years, and they have a daughter in high school and a son in intermediate school. In his free time, Mike enjoys spending time with his family, spending time with friends, traveling to favorite places, which include Tennessee and Florida. He and his family are also active members of Fall Creek Christian Church, where he serves as an elder.
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Michael Moffitt, Funeral Director
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Preston E. McNeal, Funeral Director Intern and Lead Transport Specialist
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Elle Bagienski, Assistant and Lead Transport Specialist
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Jerome Bell, Prearrangement Specialist
Jerome Bell serves as our preneed specialist and aftercare program. He has over 25 years of ministry experience has served as pastor for congregations in Ohio, Anderson, and Pendleton Indiana. Jerome brings his love for people to Loose Funeral Home and enjoys the opportunity to get to know new people on a daily basis.
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Sonja Riddell, Administrative Assistant
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Stuart Winterheimer, Marker & Monument Specialist
Stuart is our Monument Specialist. He grew up in Evansville, IN, and moved to central Indiana in 1987 after receiving a business degree from Indiana University. He has been helping families with memorialization for almost 20 years and enjoys guiding them through the process to create something truly meaningful. In his spare time he enjoys going to his kid’s sports activities, working out in his yard, and bike riding. Stuart is married Karen and they have three children: Sarah, Susie and Tom.
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Andrea Duckworth, Grief Counselor
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Max Maupin, Greeter/Assistant
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Gary Ramey, Greeter/Assistant
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Joe Hanshew, Greeter/Assistant
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Jim Lindsey, Assistant
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Citlali (Rodriguez) Amalfitano, Spanish Interpreter
