Modlich Monument Company, located on North Hague Avenue in Columbus, is a family-owned and operated business that has created gravestones and memorials for nearly a century.
Modlich is one of several monument companies in the diocese that work with families and cemeteries to permanently memorialize loved ones who have died with grave markers that range from simple to elaborate.
Not everyone chooses a stone marker because of changes in burial practices, family wishes or budget concerns. For those who do, the selection process could start during the pre-planning of a funeral, but sometimes those decisions aren’t made until after a death.
In Catholic and other cemeteries, symbols of faith can be found that are incorporated into the design along with the names of those who are buried. Some of these include rosaries, crucifixes and images of Christ or the saints.
Technology has enhanced the process of stone engraving since Linus Modlich came to America from Germany in 1927 and began working for Zenker Monuments, a central Ohio company no longer in business.
When the Great Depression struck shortly thereafter, Zenker could no longer afford to pay Modlich enough to support his wife and their four children. As a result, Linus left the company to begin his own business located on Mound Street.
Linus and his wife worked together for almost 30 years with help from their children. One of their sons, John, who was born in Germany in 1925, began helping in the shop at age 14. John joined the Navy after high school and returned to work in the family business before eventually purchasing it from his father.
Under John’s ownership, the company relocated to Hague Avenue, where it remains today. John and his wife, Helen, had nine children together, all of whom worked for the family business at some point. John passed away several years ago, but Helen is still alive at age 95.
“Our dad was our role model,” Jerry Modlich, John’s oldest son, said. “My grandfather (Linus) was an extremely hard worker (and an) extremely honest guy, and he passed those values on to my dad.”
When John was in his 50s, he began slowly turning over the management of the business to Jerry and Jerry’s brother, Dan, who were then in their late 20s.
“My dad kind of gave me a gift in that he showed how he could step away,” Jerry said of his father’s passing on the company to his sons, “so I (would) eventually (be) able to step away. It really had to be hard on him.”
Dan and Jerry eventually bought the business from their father and ran it until Dan’s son, Jonathan, took over. Dan’s daughter’s husband, David, eventually became co-owner alongside Jonathan, both of whom still run the company.
Jonathan said that it’s an honor to be part of a business in the hands of the family’s fourth generation.
“More than anything, we want to make sure that we continue to run a successful business in an effort to help people through a very difficult time in their lives,” he said. “We want them to be able to permanently remember (their loved ones).”
Asked about the process of helping grieving family members choose a memorial, Jonathan said his goal is “to get down to what about the individual they’re memorializing.”
Although it can be a somber process, he said “it can be a very positive experience” and he finds his career extremely fulfilling.
“A lot of people (get financially) taken advantage of (while purchasing a gravestone),” Jerry said.
His grandfather and father’s primary principle, however, was honesty. “Treat people fairly and do a good job and do what you say you’re going to do,” Jerry said. “That’s how we built our business.”
Not only are Modlich Monument’s customers treated with dignity, but their employees are as well. Jerry said that most staff members have been there for many years because they are treated like family.
The next generation of the Modlich family is still too young to start working in the business, but Jonathan said they will likely join at some point in some capacity.
For more information on the company, visit Modlich-monument.com.