KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI — The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs announced Thursday that it has issued a cease and desist order to a Kalamazoo-based funeral home and cremation center.
The notice and order to cease and desist was issued to Langeland Family Cremation Center, Inc., on June 30. The state licensing board claims that the longtime family-owned funeral home had established and operated an unlicensed crematory facility at 6628 Tall Oaks Drive near Kalamazoo in 2019.
According to the order, the funeral home, under the supervision or management of Gregory N. Langeland, cremated more than 2,000 dead human bodies between Aug. 31, 2019 and May 25, 2022.
The order directs the respondent to stop operating until it obtains a crematory license under the Cemetery Regulation Act and to pay a $10,000 administrative fine.
“We have not seen any orders from the state so it is hard to comment on anything,” said the funeral home and crematorium’s former owner, Norm Langeland.
Langeland told the Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive Thursday afternoon that both the funeral home and crematorium, which have operated as separate businesses in accordance with state law since day one, were recently sold to Heritage of Michigan, LLC, on June 1, 2022, but the family still operates both.
Langeland said the new company has already applied for a license to operate the crematory, located directly behind the company’s Oshtemo Township funeral home — which is located at 3926 S. 9th St. The crematory and funeral home are operated as separate LLCs, he said.
Langeland said the family had received a fair share of misinformation when the family decided to build the crematory in 2019.
“We were told as soon as the state air quality and inspector approved your facility, you were good to go, so as soon as he said we were good, we started to operate, but no one from the state ever came and said you have to have a separate license to operate that. It was a series of misinformation,” he said. “We’ve even been filing taxes with the state and they never questioned that.
“As our attorney said, there was no harm done to anyone, we did everything according to the law except we didn’t have that little piece of paper on the wall that we didn’t know we needed.”
An investigator with LARA’s Corporations, Securities & Commercial Licensing (CSCL) Bureau first discovered, during a routine inspection, of Langeland’s 9th Street funeral establishment on May 26, that the unlicensed crematory facility was both open for business and preparing to cremate a dead human body, a news release from LARA issued Thursday stated.
“It is imperative that, in addition to obtaining other necessary permits, that a person obtain a registration under the Cemetery Regulation Act before establishing and operating a new crematory facility or obtaining ownership of an existing crematory,” said CSCL Director Linda Clegg in a statement. “This process ensures crematories are operated in a responsible manner to secure the safety of Michigan residents and the dignity of the deceased.”
The funeral establishment, known as Langeland Family Funeral Homes Westside Chapel, was undergoing the inspection as a result of a change of ownership. The crematory facility was offering both human and pet cremation services, the news release states.
The bureau also determined that Gregory N. Langeland supervised or managed the unlicensed crematory facility when it began operating on August 31, 2019. Between that date and the May 26, 2022 inspection, no one notified CSCL that it had intended to establish or operate a crematory facility to cremate human remains, which is required by law.
Upon notification of its unlicensed status, Langeland Family Cremation Center, Inc. represented to the bureau that it would voluntarily cease operation of the crematory facility, the news release states.
Norm Langeland told the Gazette that no cremations have taken place in over a month. He also said the family has fully cooperated with the investigation.
Langeland said the company has always offered cremation services, but like other funeral homes in Michigan has always outsourced those services. The family never had an on-site crematory until 2019, when the one was built on Tall Oaks behind the 9th Street funeral home, he said.
Langeland Family Funeral Homes Burial & Cremation Services has been operating in the Kalamazoo area since 1934 and has multiple locations in the community.
As the investigation remains ongoing and once complete, the CSCL Bureau stated it may bring additional charges against the respondent or others involved under the Occupational Code or Cemetery Regulation Act. In response to a cease and desist order, the respondent may either request a formal administrative hearing within 30 days or the order becomes final by operation of law.
As the investigation is ongoing, anyone with information relevant to the operation of the crematory facility is asked to contact the CSCL Bureau at 517-241-9221 or CSCLonline@michigan.gov. Additional information about the regulation of cemeteries under the Act may be found by visiting www.mi.gov/cemetery.
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