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Weekly UpdatesThink Donald Trump's tough? Timothy Wisniewski's grandfather fired him not once-but twice.
Call it philosophical differences.
"My business philosophy always differed greatly from that of my grandfather's. He was always about his next sale--money, money, money and paying his help as little as possible. I was fired twice. It probably was much of my own doing, but I didn't feel comfortable doing things that I didn't feel right about," said Wisniewski, a third-generation funeral director and owner of eight funeral homes in Alaska, operator of the largest number of Alaska-owned and -operated parlors in the state.
"I felt losing a loved one and grief shouldn't be measured by how much someone had in their checkbook. It seemed the more money people had the more they were entitled to grieve and a bigger service. I couldn't have disagreed more," said Wisniewski, who's been in the funeral home business for three decades.
FAMILY AFFAIR
So a "rebel" was born-in Toledo, Ohio. Wisniewski, 55, attended the University of Toledo before heading to the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science, where he graduated with a degree in mortuary science in 1972. He began working for his grandfather's funeral homes, joining his mother, brother, uncle and cousin. Working with family, Wisniewski said, can be challenging.
"Family businesses tend to be demanding and all too often you're asked to do things that wouldn't be asked of an outside employee. We used to joke that my grandfather would say, 'as far as your vacation plans this year ... just tell me what day you want off.'"
Instead, Wisniewski went off on his own, landing in Kenai in September 1976. Ironically, he chose that location because it's where a friend wanted to live. Wisniewski sent an application to a funeral home there and was hired.
"I slowly learned my new boss was everything I disliked about my grandfather." So, after about 18 months of "virtually being a one-man show by running his business," Wisniewski realized, "the only thing that I'm not doing working for this guy is paying the bills."
He didn't see that paying off in the long run and decided to leave in 1978. Wanting to put his former boss out of business was his idea and also his intention. He soon rented a building, where he started Peninsula Memorial Chapel. Well, things didn't quite work out that way. Familiarity turned out to be a tough hand to beat.
GETTING STARTED
"People go with things that they're familiar with until they find something else they can have confidence in," said Wisniewski, who had 19 calls the first year. "If not for the fact that I was managing the building I was in, I would have gone out of business." Wisniewski went to the bank for a loan. Although the manager turned him down, "he told me he was looking for a new janitorial service." As fast as you can say 'you're hired,' Tim's Janitorial (service) was born, which to this day "is still operating and still cleaning that same bank."
That business helped Wisniewski find his niche. "It helped me focus on my passion--having my own funeral home."
THRIVING BUSINESS
Around the time Wisniewski's funeral home was hitting its stride, "another would open." At one point, even with four funeral homes in Kenai alone, Wisniewski said he "never lost site of my goals. Over the years, one by one, the funeral homes that came to put me out of business, closed." Eventually, when his was the lone funeral business in town, Wisniewski said he "finally could concentrate on service to the entire Peninsula."
In 1992, a lady from Wasilla paid Wisniewski a visit. Her mission? To gauge his interest in putting a funeral home in the Valley. She struck a nerve. "Once I saw the Valley community, I was sold," said Wisniewski, who went on to establish the Valley Funeral Home in Wasilla.
Wisniewski remained a 'perpetual magnet' for inquires. In 1997, a visiting priest from Fairbanks called on Wisniewski in Kenai and asked if he would consider putting a funeral home in Fairbanks." That gave Wisniewski cause for pause. "We now have Fairbanks Funeral Home. It wasn't until 2004, seeing rapid growth in Palmer that dictated that we build one there." Last year, to keep up with the growth on the Peninsula, he opened the Soldotna/Sterling Chapel. Along with operating the eight funeral homes, Wisniewski employs 15 workers, and has four crematories and operates the Birch Hill Cemetery in Fairbanks. His son, T. Grant, and daughter, Halley, have also joined in to help run the family business.
Despite their busy schedules, in addition to raising four children, the Wisniewskis have shared an interest in giving back to their community. They volunteer at their church, are active at their children's school, as well being involved with several service organizations. In 1984, Wisniewski was honored with the Governor's Volunteers award and in 2002, he and his wife, Terri, received the Pioneer award for their contribution to the City of Kenai.
Wisniewski, who has played the trumpet for more than 40 years, has performed Taps for thousands of veteran's funeral services over the years. "If I have anything to say about it, my services will never be conducted with a pre-recorded version of Taps."
And he thought his grandfather was tough.
Wisniewski's Funeral Homes
* In 1976, Wisniewski drove the Alcan Highway in a 1966 hearse he still uses. Two years later he was founder of Peninsula Memorial Chapel.
* In 1984, a new Kenai funeral home was built.
* In 1986, Wisniewski built Homer Funeral Home.
* In 1988, Seward Funeral Home was built.
* In 1991, Wisniewski expanded business to Anchorage and established the Anchorage Funeral Home.
* In 1992, he built a funeral home in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.
* In 1997, a funeral home was established in Fairbanks.
* In 2004, another funeral home was built in Palmer.
* In 2006, Wisniewski built a funeral home in Soldotna/Sterling area.
Fast Funeral Facts
* Family run business, established in 1978.
* Eight funeral homes (statewide).
* Employs 15 workers.
* Conducts nearly 1,200 services annually.
* Average cost per funeral service: traditional, $5,500; cremation, nearly $1,125.
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