Full History

Emblom Funeral Service traces its earliest beginning to Sebastien Simonet, a 20-year-old expert woodcarver who immigrated to the United States from Switzerland in 1853. He followed several of his countrymen to St. Paul, Minnesota, later moving to Stillwater. Sebastien started making fine handmade furniture using his own patterns and designs. He was also asked to make coffins to order—hence the very start of the Simonet Furniture Store & Funeral Home.

Sebastien’s eldest son, Ludwig Simonet, traveled to Little Falls, “a coming town,” and closed the deal on the H. B. Tuttle Furniture and Undertaking business in 1892. He opened the Simonet Furniture Store & Funeral Home, and his brother, Alois Simonet, operated the new family venture. The funeral home eventually separated from the furniture store and moved in 1937 to its East Broadway location, which was originally the Jetka residence prior to extensive remodeling.

Arthur “Art” Simonet and Arthur “Buck” Simonet became the next generations of esteemed funeral service professionals to serve the area. Over the years, the Simonet family also opened a funeral home in Randall, Minnesota, and owned and operated an ambulance service.



After 94 years of excellence in funeral service to the community, the Simonet Funeral Home was sold to the Brenny Funeral Home of Little Falls in November of 1986.

The Brenny Funeral Home saw its beginnings in the late 1930s, when Clem Brenny of Holdingford, Minnesota, came to Little Falls to build the business on the west side of town. In 1946, after serving in the Navy, Clem married Mary Lampert, and the two began the Brenny Funeral Home.

Clem and Mary’s oldest son, Richard, married Sally Hill in 1970, and the two moved to Pierz, Minnesota, to help establish the Brenny Funeral Home there. Clem’s other two sons, Joe and Chuck, then joined the family business and expanded it to Royalton and Upsala. In 1977, the business was purchased from Clem and Mary by the three brothers. Richard and Sally moved to Little Falls in 1987, after the purchase of the Simonet Funeral Home of Little Falls by the Brenny Funeral Home. In the 1990s, Richard and Sally bought out the other two brothers and became the sole owners of the two Little Falls locations—the Brenny Funeral Home, West Chapel, and the Brenny Simonet Funeral Home, East Chapel, along with the Pierz, Royalton, and Upsala locations.

The Brenny Funeral Homes continued to operate until August 1, 2006, when Richard and Sally sold the business to Emblom Funeral Service, owned by Stephen “Steve” and Lynette “Nettie” Emblom of Little Falls. Honoring those who have served the community before them, Steve and Nettie changed the name to Emblom Brenny Funeral Service. Steve and Nettie sold the east side Brenny Simonet location to Morrison County and built a new home for Emblom Brenny Funeral Service in 2008.

Steve Emblom died on December 1, 2012, after a battle with metastatic prostate cancer. Nettie sold the business to Cory and Angela Michaelson on November 1, 2016. The Michaelson family served the Morrison County area until June 30, 2021, when they transitioned ownership of the business to Vertin, who has been providing funeral service to families and supporting local communities for well over a hundred years.  In May of 2023, the Royalton building was sold to a neighboring business. The team at Emblom Brenny Funeral Service continues to serve the Royalton area through their Little Falls and Pierz locations. 



Known for their legacy of exceptional funeral service, Emblom Brenny is dedicated to providing personalized, compassionate care to all families.