HISTORIC REFLECTION … One of Williams County’s oldest businesses is Krill Funeral Service, which traces its history to 1875. The firm’s founder, Henry Krill, was born in Germany in 1859 and immigrated with his family to the United States when he was 10 years old. In 1875, Henry began working for J.H. Miller’s Edgerton furniture and undertaking firm. Miller made coffins “to measure” from walnut lumber, and Krill trimmed them, lining the inside and installing handles; it took about half a day to manufacture each coffin. Around 1885, Henry became a partner in the firm, and he assumed full ownership a few years later when health issues forced Miller to retire. The great Edgerton fire of July 1893 destroyed Krill’s wooden frame building on the east side of North Michigan Avenue; he constructed the brick structure shown in this photograph on the site. Krill claimed to have arranged the funeral services of more than 2,000 people—more than twice Edgerton’s population at the time of his death in 1938. Henry Krill is the mustached man standing at the building entrance in this undated photo. The bearded man on the right is identified only as “Uncle John;” the rest are unidentified. From 1980 to 2021, fourth generation owners J. Michael and Rebecca Krill managed Krill Funeral Service facilities in Edgerton, Edon and Bryan. In 2021, the business was sold to Gary and Amie Burr. This vintage image is from the Kevin Maynard collection.
