Location manager Erika Baker said that in spite of social media posts and other reports, rumors about what was happening swirled through the community, including that a fire damaged the facility beyond repair.
The reality, Baker said, is that it was simply time to modernize.
“We did it because the old building was built in the ‘60s,” Baker said. “It had an old boiler, old systems.”
Service Corporation International, which owns the funeral home, wanted to expand its Far Hills Ave. site to include an indoor-outdoor venue and more amenities.
In the end, it was less expensive to knock down the old building and start from scratch.
The new facility features a modern design with large, open gathering spaces created specifically to support meaningful celebrations of life.
Two different chapels can be personalized for funeral celebrations. The large-capacity chapel can hold up to 250 people.
The chapels are designed to accommodate any religious or nonreligious service.
The center also offers an on-site piano and organ, a coffee lounge, a carefully decorated main lobby space that provides plenty of seating for intimate talks or quiet reflection, and expanded parking.
In addition to the Far Hills Chapel, Tobias has locations in Belmont, Beavercreek, Englewood and Fairborn.
Tobias Funeral Home was founded in 1941 by LaMar and Norma Tobias. They sold it to Keystone America, which was acquired by Service Corporation International, or SCI, in 2010.
SCI owns and operates more than 1,900 funeral homes and cemeteries in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Canada.
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