Jerry and Mary have been partners in life and business for the past 71 years. They were high-school sweethearts and had the dream of starting a family and a funeral business of their own. They moved to Elwood with their three children, Jed, Peggy, and Ned, in February of 1962 as a result of their purchase of the York and Wright Funeral Home located on South Anderson Street in Elwood. Jerry and Mary both believed in hard work, making personal sacrifices, contributing to their community, and living by the Golden Rule as their core values as they built their lives and business.

In addition to their funeral home business, Jerry and Mary became certified Emergency Medical Technicians and created a full-service emergency Mobile Trauma Ambulance Service for the Elwood and Frankton communities. Like their funeral home business, their ambulance business quickly grew to be the number one choice of their community’s families. The pinnacle of the ambulance business was when they were selected to become part of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race emergency medical crew that provided service to the patrons and drivers of the race. For eight exciting years, their ambulance was present for the Time Trails and on race day was positioned on the short-shoot located between the first and second turn on the speedway track.

From 1962 to 1979, Jerry and Mary, through their quality, professional, and caring service, earned the confidence of the Elwood community. They were both active members of several service clubs, sororities, civic organizations, served on several boards of directors, members of the Elwood Country Club, devout members of St. Joseph Catholic Church, and recipients of countless civic honors. They were truly partners in life and in business, and the reputation of “Our Family Serving Your Family” was born.

As a result of the reputation that Jerry and Mary had earned, in 1980, they were approached by Johnny Harper, the owner of the Harper Funeral Home in Frankton, IN, who wanted to retire and sell his well-established family funeral home. Johnny told Jerry that he only wanted to sell to Jerry because, in Johnny’s words, “I know you will take care of my Frankton families the same way you care for your Elwood families.” This resulted in a “handshake” between Jerry and Johnny to close the transaction.

In 1983, Jerry and Mary were proud to bring their youngest son, Ned, into their business. Following in his parents’ footsteps, Ned quickly inculcated himself into the Elwood and Frankton communities, joining many service and civic organizations, coaching local sports teams, and raising his four children, Caleb, Danille, Jacob, and Mary Beth…….

Now the Dunnichay family is proud to have their grandson and Ned’s son, Jacob Dunnichay, join the family business and be the only 3rd generation funeral home to serve Madison County. Jacob and his wife Alex (Richwine), were both born and raised in Elwood and have since added four children of their own: Hudson, Peyton, Reagan, and Riggins.

At Dunnichay Funeral Home, our compassionate and experienced team is dedicated to supporting you during life’s most difficult moments. We understand how challenging it can be to navigate the loss of a loved one, and we are here to provide guidance and care every step of the way.