The families of the Buffalo Center area will soon see changes to a familiar funeral home. Oakcrest Funeral Services officially took ownership of Winter Funeral Home, and will now operate as Oakcrest Funeral Services ~ Winter Chapel.

Oakcrest Funeral Services has had a presence in Buffalo Center for the past three years, assisting Kirk Winter in the operation of his funeral home. Kirk ran the business his father George began in 1953 and took great pride in serving families in a community he grew up in. The funeral directors at Oakcrest enjoyed working with Kirk, appreciating his sense of humor and passion for his business. Kirk passed away suddenly in May 2016. Oakcrest Funeral Services continued to operate services for Winter Funeral Home and ultimately purchased the business in 2017, with a promise to continue quality funeral service for the families of the Buffalo Center area. Owner, Victor Garry states, “Kirk Winter was a fellow funeral director and friend to us at Oakcrest. We are committed to honoring the Winter legacy of compassion for decades to come.”

Oakcrest Funeral Services is truly a family run business with a rich history dating back to 1923. 2^nd generation funeral director, Brian Schaaf and 3^rd generation funeral director, Victor Garry now own the business and share a passion for funeral service that was passed down from their fathers. Brian adds, “We both grew up in this business and were taught at a very young age the importance of treating others with respect and compassion. We take great pride in serving all of our communities, and make sure to treat every family like we would treat our own. Outstanding service has always been, and always will be our number one priority.”

The staff at Oakcrest Funeral Services is ready to assist the families of the Buffalo Center area and help with all of the details. The professionals at Oakcrest include four funeral directors, a full time pre-arrangement consultant, a graphic designer, office manager and several support staff consisting of previous owners and funeral directors.

The Buffalo Center location is the 8^th location that Oakcrest Funeral Services operates. Owner, Brian Schaaf is looking forward to some changes. “We pride ourselves on the functionality and appearance of our facilities. It is our immediate intention to update and improve the current Buffalo Center location, making it a comfortable and warm space for visitations and services. We will be adding options to personalize services with new technology. All of our resources will be available at the Winter Chapel, so although our main location is in Algona, families will not need to leave the area for the funeral planning process.” Families will also see changes online. Graphic Designer, Mary Schaaf explains, “If someone goes to the former Winter Funeral Home website, they will be redirected to the Oakcrest Funeral Services site. Families can rest assured that all former Winter Funeral Home obituaries have been protected and transferred over to the Oakcrest Funeral Services website. All new obituary information will now appear on our website and facebook page. We invite people to browse our website because there are many resources available to them. We have a lot of information about services, history, staff, pre-arrangement and FAQs. People can sign up for email alerts with obituary information, inspirational grief messages and/or the Oakcrest newsletter. They can even fill out online pre-planning forms. We aim to give people as much information as possible so that they can make a good decision about what they need.”

Victor and Brian are passionate about what they do and feel strongly about the importance of honoring the Winter legacy. Victor adds, “Kirk’s passing was a difficult time for all of us, and we appreciate the support we received from the Buffalo Center community. We’d like to thank the people of Buffalo Center for placing your trust in us, and we look forward to being a part of your area for many years to come.”

For more information, visit oakcrestfh.wpengine.com or call 641-562-2858. Visit Oakcrest Funeral Services on facebook at facebook.com/oakcrestfuneralservices.