05/23/2026
Throughout the upcoming months, we'll be highlighting some of our founders and their stories. If you love history as much as us, you won't want to miss these!
Heritage Spotlight: Floyd A. Gorsline (1864–1945)
Our Chapel Heritage Series beings with honoring the man who started it all - Floyd A. Gorsline.
Born in 1864 in Wheatfield Township, Floyd came from a pioneering family. His father was the first white settler in the Williamston area, clearing and farming 360 acres of land. In 1893, Floyd and his brother John purchased a local grocery business in Williamston, which they ran for eight years.
In 1903, Floyd purchased a local undertaking firm dating back to the 1880s and, with his sons Claude and Ray, founded F.A. Gorsline and Sons. Like many small-town businesses of the era, it was also tied to a furniture store. Under Floyd’s leadership, the family business became known for its quality, dignity, and professionalism.
Floyd became the first licensed embalmer in Williamston ( #803), the first to practice arterial embalming, and, as a lay Methodist minister, often conducted both the funeral and the religious service.
Floyd was not only a businessman but also a man of faith and community. A member of the Methodist church and Sunday school teacher for 50 years, he was remembered as both a devoted servant of the community and a pioneer of modern funeral service in mid-Michigan.
He passed away in 1945, leaving the business in the capable hands of his sons, who carried the family legacy into Lansing and beyond.
Floyd A. Gorsline’s story is where our heritage begins: a legacy of compassion, tradition, and service that continues to guide us more than a century later.
Celebrating lives well lived. That is our passion, our purpose, and our promise.
