Retired educator set to help at family funeral home

For Cheryl Meger, retirement will give her an opportunity to reconnect with the community she has lived in for more than two decades but often was away from.
After 32 years in education, Meger is ready for a new challenge with some people she knows well. She is joining her family’s businesses, Brick-Meger Funeral Home in Owatonna and the Medford Funeral Home. Her husband, Glen, and two of her sons, Michael and Brett, are the funeral directors.
But, depending on whom you talk to, there may not be any room for Meger.
“My husband has told me, ‘We don’t have any openings here,’” she said with a chuckle.
All kidding aside, Meger’s husband and sons are welcoming her in hopes of easing the burden of dealing with a business that continues to grow. When the Megers purchased the Owatonna funeral home in 2000, they averaged 60 funerals. Last year, they performed 125 funerals.
Meger said she plans to help wherever she can, whether it’s clerical work, running errands or helping with services. She likes to organize things and put systems into place. The retired educator hopes to put years of organizational skills with students to use at the funeral home.
She’s also quite content just helping in the background, pouring coffee and serving food so families can stay focused on the grief of losing a loved one. “I feel I am being really helpful when I help with a meal,” she said. “It’s a lot easier than AP testing.”
“My focus is to give the three funeral directors more time with families and more work in the community,” Meger said. “We are getting busier and busier. I like to help out here.”
Meger wanted to clarify one thing that she believes sets them apart from others. “We own a funeral service, not a business,” she said. “We are here to do a service to the community, which is impacted by the kindness you show them.”
Years of working with students and families in a school setting, Meger said, will be most beneficial in her new role at the funeral home. “It prepares you to have a heart to help people,” she said.
“We have a nice opportunity for our family to help families at the most difficult time of their lives,” said Meger, who grew up in Winsted.
Since January 1989, Meger has been devoted to her career in education. She graduated from Minnesota State University Mankato with a degree in education. She later added a master’s degree in school counseling.
For 15 years, she taught math and health at Southwest Middle School in Albert Lea. In 2004, she became dean of students at Lakeville North High School, retiring this spring.
During most of her career, the Megers lived in Owatonna. She either drove a half-hour south to Albert Lea or 40 minutes north to Lakeville.
Meger said it may not have always been the easiest situation for her to work outside of the community where she lives, but she made the best of it.
“It has been difficult for me to be in two communities,” she said, adding working out of town has been detrimental in some ways.
As assistant principal at Lakeville, she often was required to work 50-60 hours per week. The position was also year around. It meant a lot of time away from her family, business and the community.
Because she was busy with her job, Meger wasn’t able to serve on boards or advisory committees even at their church, Sacred Heart Catholic. “I would support my husband, but I couldn’t involve myself,” she said.
“I’m ready to re-engage in Owatonna,” Meger said. She added she hopes retirement will allow her the opportunity to become involved in civic organizations.
Even though she may not have been around much over the past 22 years of the family owning the funeral home, she is thrilled about what her family has been able to accomplish. She says what they’ve done has been “very grassroots.”
“Typically, funeral homes are passed down through families, but we’ve done it on our own,” Meger said. “Lots of sweat equity. It has been very gratifying to build up over the past 15 to 20 years and have something to pass on to our kids.”
Retirement won’t mean all work and no play for Meger. She hopes to devote more time to flower gardening and music. She plays the trumpet and has frequently played Taps at different services.
Part of what drove Meger to retirement from education is that “life is very busy.” She enjoys helping out taking care of two young grandchildren.
Meger also takes comfort in knowing people can expect one thing from their family at a time of loss.
“It’ll be one of us answering the door,” she said.