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PREVIOUSLY: Three Humboldt County Funeral Homes Abruptly Close, Just Months After Employees Unionize

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After abruptly closing last year due to financial turmoil, Sanders Funeral Home and Humboldt Cremation & Burial Services in Eureka have reopened under new ownership. Both businesses are now being operated by Bryan Carnahan, the ten-year owner of Goble’s Fortuna Mortuary, and Joel Casillas, owner of Casillas Funeral Homes in the Coachella Valley.

Carnahan — a 45-year veteran of the death care industry and current owner of several mortuaries throughout Northern California and Oregon — told the Outpost that he and Casillas finalized the purchase of Sanders in September, though he chose not to disclose the sale price. Humboldt Cremation is being leased due to its location within Ocean View Cemetery. The pair chose not to buy Paul’s Chapel in Arcata, deciding instead to consolidate operations with Sanders. 

After several months of renovations, both businesses are now accepting new clients.

“The building Sanders is in was in such disrepair, I was scared to buy it,” Carnhan said, noting that the Victorian-era building was built sometime in the late 1800s. “I talked to my best friend [Joel Casillas] … because he’s really good with repairing buildings, and that’s not my forte. I said, ‘I don’t want to buy it without you supervising the repairs,’ and he agreed.”

Reached by phone this morning, Casillas, who was en route to Arizona to return a decedent to their family, said most of the work has already wrapped up and the exterior painting should be done in the next couple of weeks, depending on the weather. “The interior [of the building] still needs a little work,” he said. “We painted the interior chapel, and everything is looking good.”

When the previous owner, Pennsylvania-based businessman Guy Saxton, suddenly shuttered the three mortuaries last April — months after some of his employees formed an independent union — Humboldt County was left with just two options for local funerary and cremation services, impacting operations at Goble’s Fortuna Mortuary and Ayres Family Cremation in Eureka. 

“When he closed, it was like: Boom, closed. We had about a week’s warning,” Carnahan said. “It got so busy at Goble’s that we almost couldn’t handle things. … We were just running wild [and] putting in too many hours. Now that Sanders is open, everything has settled down. We’ve hired more staff, including Joel’s sister and brother-in-law.”

Carnahan noted that prearrangements made through Paul’s Chapel will be accepted at Sanders. 

In an interview with the Outpost last year, the previous owner said he chose to close the mortuaries because they “were just hemorrhaging money with no reasonable prospect of ever becoming profitable.” 

At the time of our interview, Saxton said the three businesses were losing between $20,000 and $40,000 per month. He attributed the dramatic loss in revenue to the nationwide shift from “traditional” burials (the body is embalmed and buried in a casket, often with an accompanying ceremony) to more cost-effective options like cremation, which is often thousands — or even tens of thousands — of dollars cheaper than full-service ceremonies.

Asked if he was concerned about operating a funeral home that was allegedly “hemorrhaging money” last year, Casillas remained optimistic. “We’re just grateful that we’ve been given the opportunity to take over.”

“We deal with cremation and, worldwide, that’s what’s happening, but I think we’ll be OK,” he continued. “I think it’s gonna be a good opportunity for us, and I think the people in Eureka and the Humboldt area deserve good service, so that’s what we’re there to do.”