Imagine being a few days into a European cruise with your significant other. You’ve been enjoying your time at sea, exploring the sites and excursions, and reveling in some tasty food.  Even though you’re thousands of miles away from your Utah-based company, clients, and community, your significant other teases you about not being recognized yet. Within 24-hours, you’re both in slight disbelief as you hear from over your shoulder “Hey, aren’t you…?”

This is a common occurrence for the Larkin family. 

George William Larkin planted roots in 1863 in Ogden, where he began arranging funerals. In 1912, his son Alma J. Larkin opened Larkin Mortuary in Salt Lake City with the help of 25 employees. 

Today, Larkin Mortuary is a seven-generation family company with over five locations (including The Rose Shop and Rocky Mountain Monument and Vault). Their primary locations being in Sandy on 1950 E. Dimple Dell Road, Riverton at 3688 W. 12600 South, and Downtown Salt Lake at 260 E. South Temple. 

Larkin now employs over 200 individuals who will be helping them celebrate their 140th Anniversary this month. 

Larkin is managed by President Lance C. Larkin, Jr. Executive Vice President Robert “Rob” A Larkin, Vice President Nicolhas N Larkin, Vice President Melissa Larkin Anderson, Secretary Lisa Larkin West, and Treasurer Heather Larkin Minson. 

“When I was 22 and with my uncle, I was in awe of how many people were coming into the door. Now I see myself in those footsteps. My nephews ask me how I know so many people,” Lance said, smiling. 

Lance began working 52 years ago (when he was 16 years old in 1973) washing cars, driving the florist vans, and mowing cemetery lawns. Serving as president for 25 years, he recalls the family and company history. 

“When you start working, you start realizing how much help you can be to people who have lost a loved one,” Lance said.

He stated how working in this industry you see it all–from family members ecstatic that grandma isn’t in pain anymore, to the tragedy of a kid in a car crash.  

“When I was younger, it really wore on me. It was emotionally challenging,” Lance said. Now, he takes nothing for granted. 

“All of us have to get out of here one way or another,”  Lance said. “It’s the circle of life and death, as much as it’s a part of it. It’s the end goal of all of us.” 

Throughout the years, Lance has focused on vertical integration for the company. Part of that work has been bringing in more subsidiaries, contracts and services for Larkin to be a one-stop shop for end-of-life care. 

Beginning with pre-planning services where advanced funeral planners ensure all details of preferred arrangements are taken care of in order to provide peace of mind for the family and ensure there’s no overspending. 

“You can dictate what the service is going to be like,” Lance said. 

Pre-planning services with Larkin ensure prices are frozen. Lance shared a story of a family member who pre-planned their services in 1989. Since the prices were frozen during pre-planning, that family was able to benefit from some pre-2000s economy pricing.. This was only one of more than 10,000 people who have pre-planned with Larkin over the decades. 

“There is a sense of accomplishment in being successful helping people,”  Lance said. “I see people at the grocery store and theatre all the time.” 

Over the years, Lance has noted two substantial changes in industry trends. 

“Women are taking over this business,”  Lance said. 

When he first started, there were only three women working in the entire company (in beautification and admin assisting). He remembers hiring Larkin’s first female licensed embalmer, who relocated from Canada. Now, all but two members of their embalming team are female. 

In addition, Lance has noticed a general change in attitude when it comes to end-of-life arrangement preferences. 

“Creamation has grown,”  Larkin said. “When I first started, everyone was in the cemetery.”

Like any sustainable business, Larkin adapted to their clients needs.  Now, even those cremated can be preserved in the cemetery. 

Larkin provides options for remembering events for cremation with an urn, scatting gardens, resurrection gardens, epitaphs, auscenaries (communal scattering) and rock niches (where slots within boulders in the gardens are left open for ashes and can be accompanied with a name/date plate). 

“Everyone wants to be a rock,” Larkin laughed.

Of course, Larkin still offers all of the more traditional end-of-life services like headstones, vaults and caskets. Companion crypts within the mausoleums are in current high demand. 

Along with cremation services, the popularity of celebration-of-life events has risen. Larkin has worked to make these celebrations more of a “party” with options to schedule their greenhouse/event center, coordinate with their floral shops, and benefit from exclusive contracts with food caterers. 

Larkin is dedicated to work with their clients and community members to fulfill any end-of-life request that may arise. They’ve previously worked with police motorcades and balloon releases. Even though Lance noted how he wouldn’t necessarily recommend balloon releases because of their effect on local wildlife. 

“Things are outside. We have deer on site who will eat flowers. There are foxes and hawks that roam about,”  Lance said. 

Larkin, like many businesses, continue to offer services that became necessary during the pandemic. 

“We zoom everything now and people appreciate it like crazy,” Larkin said, noting the frequent attendance of missionaries and out-of-state family members. 

Lance recalled taking his grandkids to Disneyland and being recognized because of one of these services. 

Even between all of the different offered services, Lance mentioned how important it is for people to recognize a final disposition. 

“You still need to mourn and have closure," Lance said, mentioning that community members will also feel grief and want to share in recognition. 

Some of the final services Larkin offers are after-care oriented to help people walk through the process of filing for social security, distributing estates, making insurance claims and canceling licenses. 

“It’s tough to close out a life,”  he said. 

Lance recalled a story of being able to take care of a granddaughter because she had found an itemized receipt from Larkin from the 1900s. His ancestors had taken care of her great grandfather - whose whopping total came to around $576. 

Larkin also provides education and services for grief counseling, death education, funeral as ritual, writing a eulogy, helping children understand funerals and cultural differences in death, mourning and remembrance. 

To celebrate their 140 year Anniversary, Larkin will be holding a series of open houses throughout the month. In addition, the Larkin elders will be continuing the tradition of riding in the Days of 47 Parade (and other local parades) in  horse-drawn carriage with the Larkin youngers. 

“We want to keep the legacy going,”  Lance said. “We want our biggest accomplishment to be that we survived.” 

“Even on a cruise ship over in Europe – they know Larkin.” λ