Foundation Partners Group has acquired Riverside Funeral Home (Albuquerque, Los Lunas and Santa Fe), marking the company’s entry into the New Mexico market.
In 2004, Charlie Finegan, Riverside founder, saw an opportunity to expand his mortuary trade business and began offering cremation services directly to the public. Focused on providing dignified and affordable service to every family, Riverside experienced rapid growth in Albuquerque, and Finegan expanded to serve Los Lunas in 2012 and Santa Fe in 2017.
When asked why he selected Foundation Partners Group, Finegan said, “…because they understood the value of what my employees and I have built and are committed to growing the business.”
Foundation Partners Group also acquired Cascade Funeral Directors an Oregon-based deathcare business with eight locations throughout the Portland and Salem metropolitan areas. The acquisition includes all six Crown Memorial Centers, Canby & Molalla Funeral Chapels, Autumn Funerals Cremation & Burial, Dignified Pet Services and other related businesses. Foundation Partners now owns 25 locations in the state.
Cascade former owner Randy Tjaden bought his first funeral home in 1985 and over the next 35 years grew the business to become the largest provider of deathcare services in the state. Noticing that consumer needs weren’t being met by the traditional funeral home model, Tjaden opened Crown Memorial Centers in 2003 to offer affordable burial and direct cremation services. “Trends were changing, and the industry hadn’t changed to keep up,” he said. “We designed Crown Memorial Centers to be fully independent, with all infrastructure built and controlled in-house.”
In 2000, Cascade expanded its business by opening Dignified Pet Services. “We have businesses that meet every other need for pet owners, but at the time, we didn’t know of any pet funeral homes,” Tjaden said. His husband, Michael Remsing, led and grew the business to become the largest provider of pet cremations in Oregon. Dignified Pet Services now operates three pet crematories.
The Tjaden family will remain active in the business, with son Nic and daughter Tara continuing in their roles. “We will now have stronger support and more resources for our business and our employees with Foundation Partners,” commented Tjaden. “Given the size of our company, it’s too large of an operation for us to manage alone, and Foundation Partners is the only company I would trust with our legacy.” foundationpartners.com