On June 30, Derek and Domonique Krentz, owners of Gardner Funeral Home in White Salmon and Columbia Hills Memorial Chapel in Goldendale, retired from the funeral industry after 26 years.
While it wasn’t an easy decision to step away, selling the businesses to Anderson’s Tribute Center — owned by Jack and Debbi Trumbull, with locations in Hood River and The Dalles — was.
“Serious discussions about selling Gardner Funeral Home didn’t come up until about a year ago,” Domonique said. “Ideally, we would have liked to sell to someone within our family; however, our children were not interested in pursuing careers in the funeral industry. We knew we were absolutely not going to sell to one of the large funeral conglomerates and we did not want to split up our two funeral homes. There were other interested parties, but it was important to us that we turn our business over to someone who would be invested in the community. Anderson’s just made sense.”
Employees Victoria Lara, licensed funeral director and embalmer at Gardner’s, and Jon Bilderback, assistant at Columbia Hills, will be staying on at their respective locations.
“I can’t say enough about Victoria and Jon,” said Derek. “They were invaluable to us, and they will be to Anderson’s as well.”
“I will miss daily interactions with Victoria and Jon,” Domonique said. “Not only are they wonderful coworkers, but they are also great friends and awesome people. Every time I feel a little nervous about leaving the business, I am reassured knowing they will still be taking care of people.”
Anderson’s took over daily operations on July 1, although the Krentzs will be around to help facilitate the transition, Domonique said.
“Derek and Dominique have served their communities through Gardner Funeral Home and Columbia Hills Memorial Chapel with the upmost care for years,” said Jack Trumbull. “We, with the help of their existing team, Victoria and Jon, plan to continue this high level of care. We understand the significance and importance of each funeral home being specific to its community and our plan is to continue this tradition.”
Trumbull said Derek will continue to help as coroner, and both he and Domonique will be available as consultants during this time of transition.
Domonique was born in Hood River and comes from a long line of funeral directors — her great-grandparents, grandparents and parents all retired from the business. Her grandparents and great aunt and uncle were partners in Anderson’s Funeral Home; her grandparents later sold their half to the aunt and uncle when they teamed up with her parents to purchase Gardner Funeral Home from Kenny and Juanita Gardner in 1976.
“Prior to becoming a funeral director, my dad was a superintendent at Diamond Fruit,” she said. “So, Derek and my dad both got pulled into their wives’ family business.”
Derek’s family moved to Hood River from Nebraska when he was a teenager, “because in Hood River you are literally three hours from anything you could possibly want to do. They saw better opportunities for their kids in Hood River.”
The two met at a high school basketball game in Washougal, and Domonique said she knew she was going to marry Derek the minute she saw him.
“We met on Feb. 10, our first date was Feb. 11 and we got married Feb. 12 — it’s a fun story, but there was a year between the meeting and the marriage,” she said.
Derek worked in construction before entering Mt. Hood Community College’s mortuary science program, graduating in 1998. He started working at Gardner’s in 1996; in 2007, the Krentz’s purchased Erdman Funeral Home in Goldendale, renaming it Columbia Hills Memorial Chapel, and in 2010, they purchased Gardner’s.
There have been many changes in the funeral industry since they started, primarily increasing cremation rates and fewer formal services.
“To better utilize our property, we added an outdoor venue, Laurelbrook,” Derek said. “It was nice to host weddings, proms, reunions, and private parties — and the occasional outdoor memorial service/reception — which we found very enjoyable.”
The two are retiring because, as Derek said, “It was just time.” He added that, if there was a way to take a couple of years off to recharge and then come back to the business, that would be his preference.
“But that is not practical,” he said. “Because of the 24/7/365 nature of the business and the constant interruption to my daily life, I am just mentally and physically worn out. All of this was easier when I was younger, but now that I am older, the irregular schedules are harder on me.”
“This is a tough, demanding business,” Domonique agreed. “The stress and constant grief are beginning to take a toll on me. Plus, I don’t think people realize what a strain this business can be. Derek has rarely spent a full holiday with his family without being called out. Last year, we took our first vacation together in 15 years. Your work does not stop. There is no nine-to-five and get your weekends to rejuvenate. You are literally available 24/7.”
She is looking forward to many aspects of retirement: Playing with their grandchildren, writing, and “making plans we can actually stick to,” she said. “I am looking forward to not having to be available 24/7. Mostly, I am looking forward to watching Derek relax.
“I will miss the rewards of the job, like knowing you helped someone get through a rough time and getting to know people you might not meet in your everyday life,” she said.
Derek echoed that sentiment, saying, “I am looking forward to having free time to pursue interests that I have put on the back burner, but I will miss meeting with people and the development of relationships that only come through this type of business. I will miss interactions with other people, such as vendors and state and county agencies. And I will miss serving the families with whom I have built relationships over the years.
“I look forward to spending holidays and weekends with my family and not worry about being called away and getting up in the morning knowing I can start a project and stay on it as long as I want,” he said. “I just want to finish some projects, go fishing, spend time with my grandchildren. And maybe pursue some other entrepreneurial ideas. We have a house we need to build, so that is going to take a lot of time.”
Stepping away from Gardner’s and Columbia Hills — even with all they are looking forward to — is bittersweet, Domonique said.
“These communities have rewarded us with amazing relationships …. We are excited, but it’s hard to get over the sense of obligation,” she said. “It kind of feels like we’re bailing out on our community, but our emotional well has run dry and it’s time for a little self-care.”
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