Tri-City funeral home buys competitor, keeping burial & cremation business local
Einan’s has acquired Hillcrest Funerals and Cremation to form the largest group of funeral homes in Tri-Cities.
The deal adds funeral homes in Kennewick and Pasco, as well as its online cremation company, EZ Cremate, into the Einan’s organization.
Einan’s parent company, Richland Cemetery Association, also bought Columbia River Cemetery, now named Columbia River Gardens Cemetery.
The merged businesses employ 66 and now serve up to 1,000 families each year, said Holley Sowards, Einan’s director of funeral operations and a licensed funeral director. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Corporation records show the Einan’s at Hillcrest name became official in September.
Adrianna and John “Blaze” Titus established Hillcrest in 2005 and built the business into three funeral homes as a cemetery.
Adrianna Titus said the couple considered it an honor to serve and support families dealing with loss. It was a bittersweet decision to leave a profession that demanded their attention at all hours. The couple is retiring to travel, visit family and participate in church missions, she said.
They’re happy to see Einan’s and the Richland Cemetery Association take over.
“We’re glad to have the local funeral home take on the Hillcrest legacy,” she told the Tri-City Herald.
Einan’s at Hillcrest
The Kennewick and Pasco funeral homes added “Einan’s” to their names and are now Einan’s at Hillcrest-Kennewick and Einan’s at Hillcrest-Pasco.
Einan’s is a for-profit, community-owned business governed by a board of directors and has been in business for more than 60 years, Sowards said.
Before the Hillcrest acquisition, it operated a single, full-service funeral home in Richland, as well as Compassionate Cremation Society and Coda Alternative Cremation and Funeral, an alternative funeral home in Kennewick.
Richland Cemetery Association oversees the nonprofit Sunset Gardens cemetery off the Highway 240 bypass highway and the historic Resthaven Cemetery in central Richland and now Columbia River Gardens Cemetery in Pasco.
Sowards said the team learned Hillcrest was to be sold in May and decided to pursue the opportunity to not only grow, but to extend Einan’s ability to meet families wherever they are in the Tri-Cities.
It prevailed in a bidding war and closed the deal after completing due diligence.
Growing population
Sowards said Einan’s is confident it can accommodate the growing Tri-Cities population through funeral homes in all three cities along with its cemeteries and crematories.
The Sunset Gardens cemetery has 30 developed acres and 40 in reserve. The Pasco cemetery gained two undeveloped acres.
Hillcrest’s EZ Cremate merged into Einan’s Compassionate Care business. The former Bruce Lee Memorial Chapel building is closed but its operations were assumed at the Einan’s at Hillcrest-Pasco location.
Sowards said Einan’s purchase of Hillcrest and the cemetery association’s purchase of Pasco cemetery keeps the businesses local to the Tri-Cities.
Sowards said it looks forward to serving the community in a larger capacity and to continuing the Hillcrest legacy.
This story was originally published October 15, 2024 at 12:54 PM.