Day & Deremiah-Frye Funeral Home

Hometown funeral care in Bloomington

With a long legacy of caring for Indiana families, Day & Deremiah-Frye Funeral Home is where hometown traditions and funeral expertise meet. We are proud to offer Batesville Caskets, which are manufactured in Indiana by fellow Hoosiers. Families may also use our chapels for visitations and funeral services, as well as for celebratory memorial gatherings. We can also arrange for custom catering through a 3rd-party caterer and host the event in our beautiful and spacious reception room.

Bloomington funeral home services

We have a single purpose: provide quality funeral services during your time of need. We understand the difficulties associated with losing a loved one and will help you create a funeral or cremation service that reflects their life and legacy.

All of our Bloomington funeral home services are designed to help families through this emotionally challenging experience. We are committed to helping you with compassionate and personal service while also providing you with options that respectfully honor your loved one.

As we continue to innovate, Day & Deremiah-Frye Funeral Home also caters to today's informed and cost-conscious residents. For those who want to plan ahead for funeral or cremation services, our counselors and funeral directors can educate you on the services available, so you can make the right decisions for you and your family.

Contact us anytime

We hope you'll allow our team the opportunity to serve you as we have so many Hoosier families. Please contact us if you need immediate assistance or to learn about our funeral service options in Bloomington and Monroe County. 

History

Day & Deremiah-Frye Funeral Home in Bloomington, Indiana, is the oldest funeral home in Monroe County. We have been serving the Bloomington area with their funeral and cremation needs since 1913.

From humble beginnings

In 1913, Arthur Day and his brother-in-law, J.R. McDaniel, along with Nat Hill, William Graham and Charles Small started Day Funeral Home and Furniture Store. In 1924, Arthur Day bought the funeral home portion of the business—located at the corner of 7th and Walnut streets.

A few years later, he had the opportunity to purchase the Wiley House at 403 North Walnut, providing everyone in Bloomington a funeral chapel and place they could call home. There was even a sleeping room for out-of-town guests at no additional charge. Day served area families well until his death in April 1947.

Early growth and development

After Day's death, his daughter and son-in-law, Gayle and Stephen Campbell, along with an Indiana University medical student, William H. Apple, became the owners of the funeral home, offering the same extraordinary care as Day had provided. In the early 50s, these partners knew about the tremendous growth about to occur in Bloomington and had the forethought to build a new funeral home in 1954. They built on a farm along Indiana Route 46. Many couldn't understand why they had expanded in the countryside, but shortly after the decision proved wise.

The Bloomington funeral home operated at the Indiana 46 bypass location for 47 years, watching the bypass grow to the west, College Mall and Eastland Plaza to the south, St. Mark's United Methodist Church and Bloomington's 1st White Castle restaurant to the north. That location is now known as 2701 East 3rd Street.

During this growth period, our funeral home added 2 new partners in 1966, Jerry and Sue Ellenwood. These successful and caring funeral providers operated Day Funeral Home until the late 70s, when the Campbells decided to enjoy their retirement years until they passed away.

Our funeral home legacy continues

William Apple along with his wife Elaine and the Ellenwoods continued with the business before becoming associated with the Loewen Group International in 1994. The Loewen Group—which later became known as the Alderwoods Group—opened another state-of-the-art Day Funeral Home at our current location, 4150 East 3rd Street in 2002. At this location, 4 licensed funeral directors along with a knowledgeable staff continue the legacy that Arthur Day began back in 1913.

In 2013, Day Funeral Home became Day & Deremiah-Frye Funeral Home. The name changed to bring continuity to both firms and give families a choice to which side of Bloomington they wanted to have their memorial services conducted.

Today, Scott J. Agnew along with other caring funeral directors, including Gary Arvin, Ann Kresler and Paul Clark, continue to serve the Bloomington, Monroe County and Indiana University communities with the extraordinary and compassionate level of service.