The Butler family has recently acquired Staab Polk Memorial Home and Sangamon Prairie Reception Center in Chatham. The organizations under the umbrella of the Butler family now include Kirlin-Egan & Butler Funeral Home; Butler Cremation Tribute Center; Butler Pet Cremation Services; Boardman-Smith Funeral Home; and Roselawn Memorial Park and Roselawn Pet Cemetery (Springfield); McCullough-Delaney & Butler Funeral Home (New Berlin); and Staab Polk Memorial Home and Sangamon Prairie Reception Center (Chatham).
Chris Butler, president of the Butler Family of Organizations, said, “We are pleased to ensure a dignified continuation of service and care for this important funeral home and for the many families served here. We look forward to building on the previous service provided by Paula Staab Polk and her associates. This addition is a wonderful way for us to celebrate the continued growth of our business and to honor the 125th anniversary of Butler Funeral Homes and the 170th Anniversary of Boardman-Smith Funeral Home—all occurring during Illinois’ Bicentennial year, which is extra special, too.”
Paula Staab Polk founded Staab Polk Memorial Home in 1999, Cremation Services of Central Illinois in 2001 and Sangamon Prairie Reception Center in 2003, after two decades of working in the funeral industry. Kirlin-Egan & Butler Funeral Home has been in existence since 1893 and located at 900 S. Sixth St. in Springfield since 1927, although the Butler name wasn’t added until the 1970s. Chris Butler, the current president and CEO, is the third generation of the Butler family to be involved in the business.
Butler said, “We’re pleased with the addition of the funeral home in Chatham; it’s an important community funeral home for Chatham and the surrounding area.” He also noted that having a reception center will create more options for families.
“As a funeral home, adding the reception center enables us to offer our funeral home clients an additional option in terms of a setting for their ceremony. A reception center has a different feel and may have an appeal to families who want a different type of setting.”
However, the reception center will continue to be available for a wide variety of events, not just life celebrations. “It’s used for everything from weddings, to showers, to charitable events,” said Butler. “We will continue that, and plan to do what we can to enhance the facility. It’s an important community facility.”
