Feb 18, 2023 4 min read

A local funeral home is bringing the industry full-circle, now offering on-site cremation services near where the method was first introduced to the United States in 1876.

Though much has changed and crematories have come and gone since Dr. Francis Julius LeMoyne opened the nation’s first in North Franklin Township, the integrity and peace of mind that comes from knowing your loved one is cared for from death to burial is something Phillip Louis Sollon feels called to offer the community.

“We have always been a progressive firm, I would like to think,” said Sollon, third-generation owner and supervisor of Sollon Funeral and Cremation Services in Canonsburg. “This is a family-owned business. We’ve never had any partners; we’ve always been independent. My grandfather founded the funeral home in 1946. He got into the air ambulance business. He was the only funeral home to do that. He always had a progressive ideology. My uncle J. David Sollon ran the business after my grandfather – he worked so hard at this business – and I’d like to think by opening the crematory we’re continuing this same progressive ideology.”

Sollon Funeral Home has offered cremation for years, through a good working relationship with an area crematory. But recently, demand for cremation services has increased substantially.

Between 2016 and 2021, cremation services in the United States increased by 7.4%, according to the Cremation Association of North America’s 2022 annual statistics report.

In Washington County, the number of cremations rose from 721 in 2011 to 1,466 in 2021, according to the coroner’s office.

“The rate of cremation has just continued to go up. I see a demand,” said Sollon, noting larger crematories cremate thousands of people annually through partnerships with area funeral homes. “These facilities, I’m not saying anything bad about it, but they do thousands in one year. You lose that sensitive care that is so important. This is someone’s loved one, not a number.”

Sollon said he is proud to offer the service, which marries his commitment to intimate celebrations of life and the growing trend. It’s a service that also sets Sollon Funeral and Cremation Services apart from other area funeral homes: Sollon is the only funeral home in Washington County with an on-site crematory.

“Almost every funeral home in this region would struggle financially with the costs associated with constructing an on-site crematory, but the expenditure did not outweigh the benefit to my community,” Sollon said.

Indeed, outfitting an existing funeral home for cremation is a lofty undertaking, and many are simply unable to fit the equipment into their space.

“Any funeral home can offer cremation if you’re using another crematory. Generally speaking, I would say less than half of funeral homes have their own,” said Jon O’Data, supervisor at the Cremation Society of Pennsylvania Inc. at Pittsburgh. “Western Pennsylvania, it’s an older area. The vast majority of funeral homes, they’re not purpose-built funeral homes. They’re former mansions that were converted into funeral homes. There aren’t a lot of purpose-built funeral homes here. Some, but not a lot. (It’s) a space consideration.”

Sollon was blessed with the space, but it took him about five years of planning before taking a leap of faith and beginning renovations. It took about one year from start to finish to install the state-of-the-art crematory on the funeral home’s lower level.

Sollon said the crematory area is kept impeccably clean, and all Sollon funeral home employees are certified crematory operators.

“I want to be able to serve everybody’s family the same way I’d want my family to be served,” said Sollon. “It’s a privilege to be entrusted with that responsibility. Any loved one that is trusted into our care never leaves our building. I’m really proud of this project. I’m proud that I can offer this to our community.”

For more information on Sollon Funeral and Cremation Services, visit https://www.sollon.com/.