Say goodbye to the entryway with angels etched in glass. After 85 years on the corner of 2nd Street and 13th Ave., Kapala-Glodek Funeral Home has moved to Sunset Cemetery. A neighborhood fixture, the building closed Oct. 31 and the business was transferred to 2250 St. Anthony Blvd. NE on Nov. 1.
The building will soon be listed for sale, news of which has neighbors bracing for the next development proposal.
Ryan Scharfencamp, manager and director of Kapala-Glodek, said the move was “kind of emotional, but exciting.” He also said the move made good business sense. “Many families hold the reviewal and the service at the mortuary,” he said at the Sunset location. “This makes it more convenient for them.” Kapala-Glodek had been conducting funerals and burials at Sunset Cemetery for years. In 2006, the two entities became part of Dignity Memorial, a national network of more than 2,000 licensed funeral providers.
Stanley Kapala started the funeral home on 13th Avenue as a one-room chapel in 1932. He had worked as a funeral director with R.F. Bertch & Company before launching his own business. The family lived upstairs, a common practice back then. He died in a car accident in 1947, and his son Joseph carried on the family business.
From the beginning, the Kapalas offered traditional funerals to the largely Polish Catholic neighborhood, a service it offers yet today. As the years progressed and the business grew, more rooms were added to the chapel, creating the rambling structure that now occupies the corner.
Milk used to be delivered in cans, and the Kapalas had a milk machine installed in the funeral home. Denise Glodek, one of the office managers, recalls getting milk from the machine with her friends after school. As a young girl, she also twirled under the “princess” chandelier in the chapel.
As times changed, the funeral business did, too. Hearses evolved from boxy ambulances to the sleek, elongated sedans of today. After the Kapala family moved out, mortuary science students lived upstairs from the funeral chapel. The purpose: 24/7 phone coverage. Long before the advent of beepers or cell phones, funeral directors were “on call,” Scharfencamp explained. “If they went out for dinner, they would transfer their phone to the neighbors, who knew which restaurant they were visiting. If the funeral director was needed, the neighbor would call the restaurant.” Nowadays, calls are transferred to a cell phone.
Thomas Glodek joined the company after receiving his degree in mortuary science from the University of Minnesota. The company name was changed to Kapala-Glodek in 1964. Glodek is still involved in the day-to-day operations of the company. He estimated Kapala-Glodek had served more than 13,000 families in its 85-year history. Many priests had funerals there. Last year, Kapala-Glodek conducted the funeral service of former Minneapolis mayor Al Hofstede.
Joe Kapala died in 1982. Glodek funds an annual scholarship for mortuary science students at the U of M in honor of his mentor.
Funerals have changed dramatically in recent years. A traditional funeral was a somber affair. “It would take place in a big, open room,” Scharfencamp said. “The open casket would be placed in the front of the room and the family would fill the seats on both sides of the room. Everyone wore black and they didn’t talk to one another.”
Funerals today are more apt to be “celebrations of life” with themes, almost like a party. A recent funeral at Sunset honored a man who loved spending time at his family cabin. Kapala-Glodek built a bonfire and the family toasted s’mores on the Sunset grounds. “The focus is on the life lived rather than death,” said Sherri Hoitomt, general manager and grounds superintendent.
To that end, Kapala-Glodek has been asked to provide on- and off-site catering, monogrammed golf balls and CDs of the deceased’s favorite songs, complete with a jewel case and a printed liner.
Cremations would have been scandalous in Stanley Kapala’s time. They’re becoming more popular, and families sometimes delay a funeral or celebration for months while they find a time when family members can gather. “Everyone is so scattered,” Hoitomt said. “Getting everyone ‘home’ for the funeral can take time.”
Despite the changes, Scharfencamp and Hoitomt say it all boils down to helping families in a time of need. “We’re still a licensed funeral home,” said Scharfencamp. “We’re just in a different location.”
Below: The old location at 2nd Street and 13th Ave.