Expanded Ogden office the latest – and largest – upgrade for Lindquist Mortuaries
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- This undated photo shows the new arrangement center inside the Lindquist Office Building in Ogden.
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- This undated photo shows the new community room inside the Lindquist Office Building in Ogden.
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- This undated photo shows the Lindquist Office Building in Ogden.
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- John E. Lindquist, president of Lindquist Mortuaries.
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- This undated photo shows the new arrangement center inside the Lindquist Office Building in Ogden.
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- This undated photo shows the new community room inside the Lindquist Office Building in Ogden.
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- This undated photo shows the new arrangement center inside the Lindquist Office Building in Ogden.
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- This undated photo shows the new community room inside the Lindquist Office Building in Ogden.
OGDEN — Lindquist Mortuaries and Cemeteries has completed its largest expansion since the business opened in the late 1800s.
Inside the Lindquist Office Building at 3434 Washington Blvd., a new 10,000-square-foot arrangement room has been remodeled and designed specifically for families to make funeral, cremation and/or memorial plans, according to President John E. Lindquist.
“We’ve simply outgrown the Ogden mortuary again,” Lindquist said, whose family owns and operates eight mortuaries, three cemeteries and two crematories. “We’ve been busting at the seams with the number of cases we’re handling. So when we continued outgrowing the place, I started sketching out some ideas for an expansion, and it worked.”
Preparation and dressing of bodies from all of the company’s eight mortuaries is handled in the Ogden facility, Lindquist said, so the entire upstairs of the building is now strictly set aside for that purpose.
“We also have a specialized cremation room,” Lindquist said. “Here in our area, more people choose to be buried, but that’s expected to switch one day. In fact, it’s estimated that in the future, 70% of people will choose cremation and 30% will choose burials.”
Although the funeral home will still be a familiar and comfortable place for funeral services, viewings, visitations, celebrations and memorial services, families can come to the arrangement center and discuss all different kinds of plans pertaining to end-of-life decisions such as graveside services or life appreciation services. Some people even wish to be buried with their pets or pets’ ashes, fishing rods, railroad lights and other mementos. Lindquist said the mortuary will continue to help make the process as comfortable and practical as possible.
In addition to the arrangement room, a community room has been added for families to host luncheons, gatherings, celebrations of life and other remembrances. But anyone in the public can use it for other reasons as well.
“We just had someone schedule a Christmas party and we made another appointment for a family reunion,” Lindquist said. “So anyone is welcome to come and use it for any occasion, even weddings.”
Early next spring, 300 parking spaces at the Ogden facility and at all eight funeral homes will be widened from 9 to 10 feet.
Many upgrades and remodels have occurred over the years, including the colonial chapel, an elevator, conversion of former apartments into office space, the creation of a separate building to house cremation retorts, casket storage space and garages for an ever-increasing automobile fleet. The on-site and large refrigeration units are twice the size of similar units at the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office in Salt Lake City, Lindquist said.
Lindquist’s is also one of the state’s oldest and largest funeral care providers.
Taking care of families, their deceased loved ones and supporting the community has always been a priority to the Lindquist family — from major contributions to Weber State University for buildings and scholarships to the Lindquist Family Symphony Pops and Fireworks concert and Lindquist Field for the Ogden Raptors.
And when it comes to dying? Well, Lindquist said it’s a tough topic for everyone, even those who deal with it for a living.
“When it comes to death, you’ll find most people in our business talk about it quite casually,” he said. “But we understand the hurt, the pain and the suffering, and we’re just like everyone else — maybe a little afraid and unsure. Will we be welcomed up there or down there? I’m not afraid to die right now, but I’m only 75 years old. Ask me that question again when I’m 85 with one foot in.”