Our History
Schroeder-Stark-Welin Funeral Home and Cremation Services… Within this name are over 130 years
of service to the Boone county area
In 1888, Henry M. Welin founded Welin Memorial Chapel. Mr. Welin was joined in this institution by his son-in-law, Paul R. Stark. In December of 1958, Mr. Welin’s grandson, Paul H. Stark, received his Mortuary Science Degree with Honors from the San Francisco School of Mortuary Science. He joined his father and grandfather in the operation and management of Welin Memorial Chapel, later to be known as Stark-Welin Funeral Directors. These men established a tradition of dedicated funeral service to the families of the Boone area.
In 1932, Harry W. Schroeder started Schroeder Funeral Home at a location between 6th and 7th Streets on the east side of Story Street in Boone. The funeral business relocated to 503 Story Street in 1939. Later, Randy Walter became the proprietor of this funeral home and the name became Walter-Schroeder Funeral Home. Mr. Walter served the Boone community with compassion and tradition for decades. In 2014, Aaron Schroeder became the owner of this funeral home and the funeral home name became, simply, Schroeder Funeral Home, operating in the stately house-type building on the corner of 5th and Story Streets in Boone.
On January 1, 2017, Aaron Schroeder combined the two funeral home businesses into one establishment, now called Schroeder-Stark-Welin Funeral Home and Cremation Services, operating at 609 Seventh Street, Boone, Iowa. Here, our staff is committed to providing support, compassion, information, and direction as needed to all member of our community.
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Aaron P. Schroeder, Owner/Funeral Director and Embalmer
I was born and raised in Jefferson, Iowa, graduated from Jefferson-Scranton High School in 1993, and entered the United States Army. In 1997, I was honorably discharge from the United States Army, at which time I was accepted into mortuary school in Birmingham, Alabama, and began working for a funeral home in Opelika, Alabama. I moved back to Iowa in 2000. When I became the owner of Schroeder Funeral Home on Story Street and Stark-Welin Funeral Home on Seventh Street, I combined the two funeral homes and now humbly serve the Boone county community from the 609 Seventh Street location. Besides this funeral home location, I also own and operate Schroeder Cremation Care, a state-of-the-art facility built new in 2019.In my free time, I value spending time with my family and friends, watching sporting events, and attending local community events. I am a member of Federated Funeral Directors of America, The Iowa Funeral Directors Association, The National Funeral Directors Association, Rotary International, American Legion, V.F.W., and Abundant Life Ministries.I am so thankful to be working in and serving the Boone area.– Aaron Schroeder
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Debra J Larson, Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer
My path into funeral service actually began when I was a junior in high school, with an English assignment to interview a local business owner and to write a paper about that business. I chose to interview my hometown funeral director. I completed the assignment, thinking of it at the time, as only an assignment.Throughout the ensuing college years, the courses of study that most piqued my interests included anatomy, physiology, psychology, and art. However, it wasn't until I was 27 years old that I felt compelled to enter the field of Mortuary Science, a career that encompassed my interests and knowledge in art and science.Who knew that a high school English report would open the door for my life's career? And the rest of the story...the funeral director I interviewed so many years ago was named Mrs. Steffy, one of the first women in Iowa to be licensed in the late 1930's as an embalmer and funeral director. - Debra Larson
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Randy Craven, Funeral Assistant
Randy was born and raised in Boone. He is a 30 year veteran of the Boone Fire Department, retiring in 2009 as the Assistant Chief. He began working as a Funeral Assistant in 1997. Randy and his wife Kathi have 5 children and 9 grandchildren, living between Des Moines and Denver, Colorado. In his free time, Randy is very committed to following his children’s careers and his grandchildren’s activities. Randy feels like it is a genuine privilege to assist the families in our area.
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Alexander M. Palmer, Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer
My path into funeral service started when I was a sophomore in High School and was tasked with creating a business plan for class. I was able to meet with Mr. Schroeder and talk about the funeral industry and it really interested me. My senior year there was a new class offered in which I spent the morning job shadowing at a business of my choice, I chose to job shadow Mr. Schroeder and Mrs. Larson at Slininger-Schroeder Funeral Home in Jefferson, Iowa. I realized from that point on that the industry was calling me. After graduating from Greene County High School in 2015 I attended Mortuary School at DMACC in Ankeny, Iowa, graduating in 2019. I started working at Schroeder-Stark-Welin Funeral Home in 2017. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, hiking, biking, skiing, golfing, and camping.I am a member of Boone Noon Kiwanis, Boone County Sportsmans Club, Iowa Funeral Directors Association, National Funeral Directors Association, and serve as the vice president for the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Birthplace Foundation.My wife Nicole and I reside in Boone with our dog Milo. Nicole is a 2nd-grade teacher at Franklin Elementary School. Nicole and I are happy to live in Boone and be members of the Boone community, and I am honored to be serving the families of Boone County. - Alex M. Palmer
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Doug Pederson, Funeral Assistant
Doug was born in Alta, Iowa and graduated from Iowa State University in 1975 with a science degree. He retired from the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa in 2015 after serving 37 years in Diagnostic Virology as a Microbiologist.Doug and his wife Jan live in rural Boone county and have two sons and 3 grandchildren. In his spare time Doug likes to spend time with family and enjoys hunting, fishing and working on their acreage.
