Introduction: Palmer Funeral Homes and Southlawn Cemetery would like the privilege to serve your family. Our family has been serving the Michiana area since 1962 and purchased the historic Southlawn Cemetery in 2002. With the distinct advantage of combining funeral and cemetery services…we can save families money without sacrificing quality.

History of Southlawn: The initial cemetery had its first burial in 1836. In 1909, the Palmer’s Prairie Cemetery was founded and more acreage was purchased. In 1924, additional land was needed and a group of area businessmen formed a corporation, issued shares of stock for capital, purchased 45 acres, and the cemetery was renamed Southlawn Cemetery. In 1999 the cemetery was sold to Keystone Group Holdings of Florida. Then, in 2002, K.R. and Kerry Palmer, owners of Palmer Funeral Homes, purchased the cemetery to regain local ownership. Southlawn presently has 35 acres of undeveloped ground for future growth. Southlawn hosts the In God’s Arms Program with St. Joseph Regional Medical Center for St. Joseph and Marshall Counties and is the future site for the Police Hero’s Section. In October of 2008, the development of 10 acres will be completed for expansion.

Comparison of Cemeteries: After Southlawn was purchased by the Palmer’s, the cost of graves and opening/ closing graves decreased allowing the total cost of funeral expenses to be more affordable. The results below give you an idea of how the cemeteries in our area charge for basic services.