History
Tennant Funeral Home & Crematory has been serving Sterling area families for years. We are honored to be a part of the rich history of this community and plan to be a part of it for many years to come.
Tennant Funeral Home dates back to 1918 when the Stone Family opened the mortuary on the corner of N. 3rd St. and Poplar St. (Where the Post Office is located). The name of the funeral home at the time was Stone Mortuary.
Carl I. Whyman then purchased the mortuary in 1929 and changed the name to Whyman Mortuary and moved it to Beech St.. The Whyman family owned the funeral home for 15 years before selling the business to Frank P. Radford in 1946. Frank changed the name to Radford Funeral Home. In 1951 the Radfords built a new funeral home at 330 S. 2nd St. and it continues at the same location today. Frank ran the funeral home in Sterling along with his son Tom. Frank sold the business in 1974 to Jerome and Doris Jones. They sold it in 1975 to David Hettinger and then named the business Jones - Hettinger until 1978 when the name was changed again to Hettinger Funeral Home.
In 1978 David completely remodeled the funeral home. The first phase was on the north side, which was the old residence apartment. That section is now the main entrance foyer, business offices, file rooms, flower delivery room, service alcove and chapel. The second phase of the project was the completion of the new foyer, relocation of the arrangement office and remodeling the family lounge. The major construction of the funeral home was in the main chapel. The main chapel will seat 150 people and the family room will seat 65 people. The funeral home can also have 3 viewing/visitations at the same time.
In 1985 David Hettinger sold the funeral home to David Tennant. David Tennant has operated the funeral home since then. In 1987 David added the first crematory in Northeast Colorado. Tennant Funeral Home is a proud sponsor of local teen events. David Tennant is also a member of Rotary Club, and a former soccer coach. He enjoys making stain glass, painting, and drawing and also carved his parents head stone. Tennant Funeral Home is also a member of the Colorado Funeral Directors Association, National Funeral Directors Association and Cremation Association of North America.