ABOVE: Ean Sinn is the owner and funeral director of Sinn Family Celebration of Life Center, a new funeral home in Trimont.

TRIMONT– Sinn Family Celebration of Life Center recently opened in Trimont. Owner Ean Sinn purchased the building, United Methodist Church, and turned it into a funeral home, though the congregation will still hold Sunday church services in the space.

Sinn grew up in Trimont and is a 2016 graduate of Martin County West. By the time he was a junior, Sinn wanted to go into the medical field, but the amount of schooling required made him think twice. However he felt like becoming a funeral director would be a good fit for him.

“Doing something like this lets you still get the medical aspect and you can still work with people. It allows different ways to serve the community,” Sinn said.

He went to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis where he got his bachelor’s degree in mortuary science. Thanks to PSEO classes he took as a student at MCW, Sinn finished up a little early, in 2019.

He spent some time job shadowing at a local funeral home and also had a required internship at Hoff Celebration of Life Center in Winona, where he spent just under a year. Sinn became licensed in 2020.

“I was planning on being in Winona longer but that was right when Covid happened and that changed things a bit,” Sinn explained.

He relocated to Wisconsin where his now-wife, Crystal’s family was, and worked as a funeral director there. Because licensing is required across state lines, Sinn obtained another. He’s currently licensed in the states of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

While Covid threw a small wrench into his plans, there was one thing Sinn was always sure of: that he wanted to end up back in Trimont.

“We decided in December of 2022 that we were going to move back here. We moved back in early February (2023),” Sinn said.

Much has happened in the past year. Along with relocating back to his home town and finding a home of his own, Sinn started an LLC for his business and began looking at potential buildings.

When touring one, Sinn’s contractor mentioned the possibility of him renovating the United Methodist Church.

“I thought about it just two hours,” Sinn said with a laugh. “And then I called the church and asked if they’d be wiling to sell it and still hold services here.”

Soon after that an architect came through and drew up designs for the building. In July the purchase officially went through and renovations began in August. At the beginning of December an open house was held in the building and at that time community members could see all that has been done to the space over the past few months.

The flooring has been torn up and new carpet put in. New paint adorns the walls and the doors have been replaced and their frames widened to be 36 inches, making it handicap accessible. The pews have been removed and replaced with chairs, which lock together but can be easily moved.

What was once the fellowship hall is now being called the reception hall but Sinn said the use of the space is the same, though it’s received an upgraded look. Other updates have been made to the kitchen and bathrooms and a wall has been knocked down in the lobby.

On a personal note, Sinn shared that the arrangement room where he now meets with clients was once the room he took confirmation classes in.

“I spent two years every other Wednesday in this room,” Sinn said.

In addition to the updates that have already been done, there are plans to expand. The space will be nearly doubled– going from its current 4,700 sq. ft. to 9,000 sq. ft.

A new restroom for each gender will be added, as will a private family gathering room. Sinn said there will be a TV screen in there for viewing so if a breastfeeding woman has to step out she can still watch the service.

A preparation room will also be added, as required by state law. Finally a four stall garage will be added where the hearse and service vehicle will be stored.

Many local contractors are being used on the project. Kuehl’s Electric is doing most of the wiring work and Kahler Electric is doing the lighting. Carpet Plus Color Tile has put in the flooring.

“It’s nice to work with people you know,” Sinn said.

While the addition is expected to be done in April, Sinn Family Celebration of Life Center is currently fully operational. Along with Sinn working as funeral director, Greg Wohlhuter does preplanning and monument design. The services they offer includes funerals, preplanning, monuments, community events and family gatherings.

Sinn believes an additional gathering space is needed in the community and he’s more than willing to open up his business and let people use it for get togethers.

“Saturday night is not a big night for people to have funerals or visitations. As summer comes around, we can have graduation parties and bridal showers here,” Sinn said.

In December two pre-planning seminars were held there and about 60 people were in attendance. Sinn would like to hold other educational seminars in the space in the future.

A blood has also been held there with plans to hold them there moving forward.

“We’re having the Trimont Farmers Market here once a month in the winter, starting Jan. 12,” Sinn said.

With a goal of helping make things as easy for his clients as possible, Sinn is a big believer in pre-planning, which is a service the funeral home is focused on. Along with that comes price transparency, which is important to Sinn.

“We’re definitely one of the only funeral homes that has our prices online. We want people to know what we’re charging. We’re not hiding our costs,” Sinn said.

People can also do all of their arrangements online, though Sinn said they always prefer to meet in person but noted it’s nice to have options.

As the name suggests, Sinn would like his business to have a different focus than others in his line of work.

“When people think funeral, they think sad occasion. With us calling this a celebration of life center, people can start off by thinking of it differently. We’re there to think about and remember mom, not just walk through the steps,” Sinn said.

Sinn Family Celebration of Life Center will host visitations and funerals and people who don’t have a church home can still have a service there. Sinn said they can either find an officiant or he can be the celebrant for the service.

While a lot has happened in a short amount of time, Sinn wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Seeing the space that we have, this is what I want. I’m 26 years old and I’m looking forward to working the rest of my life in a building where I think people want to have a funeral. Everything can be in one space. We can have lunches, services, whatever music they want and other technology we can incorporate into services,” Sinn said.