GOING BACK IN TIME

Our History

A Custom of Caring

Our family established R.G. Harris in 1910. Robert Harris prepared himself with formal schooling an apprenticeship, and began serving people with the help of his father, George R. Harris, who was a manager with the Detroit Free Press. Four years later George joined his son full time and the firm became known as the R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Home located in the Haste Mansion. Robert's wife, Flora, my grandmother, also obtained her funeral director's license.



Over the years, many changes took place. A move to Cass Avenue and later to Harper Avenue offering families greater convenience...a public relations campaign to inform people about how funeral costs compare...and two branch locations added in the suburbs to better serve the growing number who preferred the Harris family to serve them.

During all these transitions, Robert's son, Tom, and my father, Clarence Rost, who was the founder's son-in-law, continued the quality service families could depend on.

We were the leader in providing cost information to consumers and have always offered cremation and memorial services to be sensitive to families who preferred an alternative to the traditional funeral.

As Robert Harris' grandson, I am committed, along with my son, Matthew, to extending the family tradition to new heights of even better service in aftercare, pre-planning and assistance at time of need.

We believe that the most valuable thing we own cannot be seen or touched - it is the goodwill of people we have served and people who recommend us. We are one of the few remaining family owned and operated mortuaries serving the community for more than 90 years.

We really care about the people we serve and in doing things right. Our services continue in the months ahead as we have a bereavement support person on our staff who is known nation wide. We also offer a complete pre-planning service, which provides the peace of mind that the plans you make today will make things so much easier for your survivors. In addition we adhere to strict procedures for every cremation.

We encourage people to visit our facilities, meet our staff, and compare. As funeral service professionals, every day that we come to work, we have the opportunity to make important differences in people's lives. Quite simply, this is our mission.

A Family Tradition of Service

In 1910, Robert G. Harris established R.G. Harris in the Haste Mansion (Trumbull and Hancock) with his personal residence in the upstairs apartment. He began serving the families of Detroit with the help of his father, George R. Harris, who was a manager with the Detroit Free Press. Four years later, George joined his son full time and the firm became known as the R.G. & G. R. Harris Funeral Home. It was in these early years that Robert's wife, Flora obtained her funeral director's license; making her one of the very first woman in Michigan to receive her license.

As the years passed and their business grew into one of the largest volume, single location funeral homes in Detroit, it became necessary to move in the 1930's to a new location on Cass Avenue at Canfield. In order to offer greater conveniences to the families on the East side of Detroit, the Harper Avenue location was completed in 1941 and the need for a Northwest Detroit location soon became evident and in 1951 the facility on McNichols Avenue was completed.

Upon Mr. Harris's death in 1966, Robert's son, Thomas L. and Clarence Rost, who was the founder's son-in-law, continued to provide the quality services families could depend on. It was during these transition years that a facility in Livonia was purchased in 1964 and one in Garden City in 1969 to better serve the families of Western Wayne County.

Since the retirement of Thomas Harris and Clarence Rost, the R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes and Cremation Services has been owned and managed by Thomas F. Rost, grandson of Robert Harris. He, along with his son, Matthew, are committed to providing funeral services that meet the emotional, relational and spiritual needs of the families we serve.