Solemn Oaks
Since 1926

Still the
Hartwells.

Ellis Hartwell opened Hartwell Furniture & Undertaking on the square in 1926 — a cabinetmaker who built caskets first and learned, the way small towns ask, to carry everything that came with them. In 1968 the family moved the work to the white house under the oaks on Court Street and took the name the town already used for it. Four generations later it is still the Hartwells, still the oaks, still one family at a time.

What we hold to

01
Honesty

Plain language and published prices. No pressure, no upsell, no fine print.

02
Presence

We answer our own phone, at any hour. You will always reach a person who cares.

03
Craft

The details matter — the printed program, the timing, the flowers, the light.

04
Community

We live here too. These are our neighbors, and we serve them like family.

The people you’ll meet

Real faces, real names
Margaret HartwellOwner & funeral directorFourth generation. If you call at 3 a.m., it is usually Margaret who answers.
Paul HartwellDirector emeritusThird generation. Fifty-one years of services, and he still irons the flags himself.
Danielle OkaforFuneral director & celebrantWrites and leads services for families with no church of their own. Keeps the livestream honest.
Evan YoderApprentice directorGrew up four miles out on the river road. Learning the work the way it has always been taught: by care.
Our spaces

A place that feels like refuge.

Solemn Oaks Funeral Home — On the square at Court & Main, Maple BendSolemn Oaks — Fremont Chapel — West Main Street, two blocks from the light, Fremont
chapelgathering roomgardenfamily loungereception