Iowa funeral home marries and buries

Posted on Oct 06, 2009 by Admin.

The Brosh Chapel and Community Center has been in Solon for about six and a half years on South Cedar Street. In the upstairs portion of the building, people can hold wedding ceremonies and funerals. In the basement, there is space for parties, receptions and dinners. Taken on Monday, September 28, 2009. (Mark Geary/KCRG TV-9)

You can get married and buried at a funeral home in Solon.

The Brosh Chapel and Community Center offers the “till death do us to part” on its list of services.

“They said, ‘You’re going to marry them and bury them.’ You know, I guess we are doing some of that,” said Christine Brosh, co-owner and manager.

The funeral home is next to a cemetery. On the upper level is a chapel that seats 200 guests, an adjacent room with a patio overlooking a pond, a private kitchen and a children’s playroom

The lower level has a banquet room for 200 guests, plus a full-service kitchen.

The center, according to its Web site, has a liquor license and full service bar.

Brosh says hosting other events makes sense.

“Like any church you would go to … do they have funerals? Yes. Do they have weddings? Yes,” Brosh said.

It’s one of the most popular places to host an event in Solon, a town of about 1,200 between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids.

Residents say the separation between the two parts of the building has helped people warm up to the idea.

“I really don’t feel like I’m in a funeral home,” said John McFarland.

Construction on the new Brosh Chapel and AvaCentre will continue for several more months on Bowling Street SW in Cedar Rapids. Flood water destroyed Brosh Chapel’s original location in New Bohemia last year. This new facility will have separate wings: one for funerals, one for events. Taken on Monday, September 28, 2009. (Mark Geary/KCRG TV-9)

Funerals are the priority, Brosh said. Many events aren’t scheduled during the week, and they never scheduled a funeral and a wedding at the same time.

Plenty of business is already lined up for next year. Half of the wedding and event weekends are already booked.

Business has been so successful, the Brosh Chapel is building a similar center in Cedar Rapids.

“Once they see it and understand it, they more readily accept it,” owner Matt Linn said.

The Cedar Rapids location should open by early next year.

Mark Geary, KCRG-TV