Sanford, Daring announce ownership shift, beginning June 30
A shift in ownership will take shape at the end of this month for Eichholtz Daring & Sanford Funeral Homes & Cremation Center, which has built a long legacy of providing personalized assistance for families in Logan County and the surrounding area as they navigate the loss of a loved one.
The funeral home’s managing partners Trey Daring and Dennis Sanford will continue to provide the caring and professional services they are known for, but just in slightly different capacities beginning Monday, June 30.
Sanford is separating from the business to take ownership of the Daring & Sanford Funeral Home’s DeGraff location, 210 W. Hayes St., which will be renamed Sanford Funeral Home.
“I love working in DeGraff, in my hometown,” the 1992 Riverside High School graduate said, also noting his family is currently making the move from West Liberty to a new residence in DeGraff. “I’m excited to begin this new chapter.”
Daring, who graduated from Bellefontaine High School in 1997, will purchase the rest of the business from Sanford, and will manage the newly-named Eichholtz & Daring Funeral Home, continuing with its four locations in Bellefontaine, Belle Center, Jackson Center and West Liberty, along with the human crematory and pet crematory as well.
“We serve in the communities that we were raised in. It’s much more than just a job for either of us,” Daring said of he and Sanford. “We’re continuing to do things the way we always have, but with a little shift in our focus.
“We’re still a locally-owned family business and all of our staff have committed to staying on with us.”
During 2012, Sanford and Daring both became managing partners with Eichholtz Funeral Home, but their involvement in the funeral business began at an early age, they both noted.
At the age of 15, Daring began working at Eichholtz Funeral Home as a car washer and lawn mower. He eventually became more involved in the business and built relationships with the employees there, even before heading off to college at the University of Cincinnati.
“I love science and math and also being able to help people, so it’s been a really good fit for me to be able to serve my community as a funeral director,” he said.
Following his graduation from UC in 2001, Daring graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 2002 and became an Ohio licensed funeral director and embalmer in 2003. He joined the Eichholtz Funeral Home Family in 2006, after working in Loudonville for Walt Lindsey for four years
Daring and his wife Kyle, who is the principal at Bellefontaine Middle School, live in Bellefontaine and have two sons, Sutton and Rowen, and a daughter, Bexley.
Sanford said in his younger years, he gained first-hand exposure to the profession by assisting Mike Madden at Rexer-Riggin-Madden Funeral Home in DeGraff. Eichholtz Daring & Sanford Funeral Home later purchased this funeral home from Madden in 2014, which became the company’s DeGraff location, and now is soon to be Sanford Funeral Home.
In 1992, Sanford was the valedictorian of his Riverside High School graduating class. Prior to attending mortuary school, he obtained a registered nurse degree, alongside his wife, Tara, who has worked at the Mary Rutan Hospital Family Birth Center for the past 25 years.
Sanford earned his Associates of Applied Science Degree in Registered Nursing from Edison State Community College in Piqua in 1998.
Then in 2000, Sanford graduated summa cum laude from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science, receiving both the Dr. A.J. Nunnamaker Memorial Award for graduating valedictorian as well as the Charles O. Dhonau Memorial Embalming Award for demonstrating excellence in embalming.
Dennis and Tara have two children, Madelyn, 21, and Hayden, 17. The funeral director said his wife and children will also be regular faces at the Sanford Funeral Home in DeGraff.
“They’ll be helping me out and we’ll continue as a family-based business. I’m so appreciative of all their support as we make this big change,” Sanford said.
The Eichholtz Funeral Home Family, along with the Rexer-Riggin-Madden Funeral Home, each have more than a century of service in Logan County, Daring and Sanford noted.
The Rexer-Riggin-Madden Funeral Home began serving the DeGraff and Quincy communities in 1868, previously located at the current Buckeye Pizza location, Sanford noted.
Eichholtz Funeral Home’s history dates back to 1896, when the Eichholtz-Smucker Funeral Home and Furniture Store originated in West Liberty. William Eichholtz became the first member of the Eichholtz family to serve Logan County in their time of grief.
Then in 1903, Eichholtz Funeral Home and Furniture Store moved to Bellefontaine, locating its first facility on west Columbus Avenue, presently the location of Tanger’s Furniture Store.
It was in 1942 that Eichholtz Funeral Home moved to its current location at 321 N. Main St., Bellefontaine. The facility was built in 1850 and most of the original structure remains visible today.
During 2015, Eichholtz Daring & Sanford Funeral Home marked another major milestone by opening Bellefontaine’s first crematory and cremation center. The state-of-the-art cremator is also Logan County’s first and only crematory owned and operated by Logan County families.
In 2020, Eichholtz Daring & Sanford Pets cremation service was officially opened to provide quality professional service for pets.
While also striving to provide continuity of services during the upcoming transition, Nathan Knight will continue to work as an advance funeral planner for both Sanford Funeral Home and Eichholtz & Daring Funeral Home.
A native of Bellefontaine, Knight moved to Quincy during high school and graduated from Riverside High School in 1992. He graduated from DeVry University with an Associates of Applied Science in Electronics.
Knight, who holds his Ohio insurance license, has been associated with Eichholtz Funeral Homes since 2020.
Continuing with this new chapter beginning June 30, Eichholtz & Daring Funeral Home can still be reached at (937) 592-6781 and the new website will be www.eichholtzdaring.com.
Sanford Funeral Home can be reached at (937) 585-5723 and the new website is sanfordfuneralhome.com.
