About Us

Our History

Organization of the Freeborn County Funeral Association began in 1933 when a group of citizens in Freeborn County became concerned about the rising cost of funerals in their local funeral homes. These individuals felt that a Co-operative funeral home would be the answer to their concerns. Shares were sold to raise the necessary funds to begin the funeral home. On June 15, 1939, the lease for the first building for the Freeborn County Funeral Association was signed. Mr. Fred Koecher was employed as the manager and it was under his direction that the business grew and became a part of the Freeborn County Community.

In 1941, the business had outgrown its present location and plans were made to purchase the property at 217 N. Washington and convert it to a new funeral home. Mr. Koecher continued to manage and oversee the operation of the funeral home until his retirement in 1976. Durin Smith took over management of the funeral home and in 1978, plans were started for the purchase of land on Highway 13 to construct a new and modern facility. In 1986 Todd Domke became the third manager of the Bayview Freeborn Funeral Home. Under his leadership, many changes have been made to our facilities and the services we are able to provide families has grown tremendously.

With the many changes in funeral service over the years, Bayview has changed as well. The most recent change was the relocation of our business office in December of 2011. This has allowed families more privacy, increased our meeting space, and allows ease of access for individuals with mobility issues. The addition of our large banquet facility in 1998 gave families the opportunity to have refreshments and fellowship with their family and friends. This facility is also availible for use by community groups, open houses, etc. Our state-of-the-art selection room was designed to make the difficult decision of casket selections more consumer friendly.

Bayview Freeborn Funeral & Cremation Services is the only locally owned, operated, and managed funeral home in our entire service area. We are not part of the many multi-state corporately owned and operated funeral homes that are in our area.

Though the location and the name have changed over the years, the philosophy of the Bayview Freeborn Funeral & Cremation Services remains the same: to provide professional, dedicated service at the lowest possible cost to the families of Freeborn County and the surrounding area.