For Hometown News
VERO BEACH - Growing up in the '50s and '60s in a modest house on Bonita Avenue, Lowell and Victor Lohman never imagined they'd be principals in one of the largest funeral home and cemetery acquisitions in the state.
The brothers, with two other family members, owned the largest private, family operated funeral and cemetery business in the state, until a $25 million sale to StoneMor Partners closed on July 31.
The 14-companies sold to Pennsylvania-based StoneMor include eight funeral homes, four cemeteries, a pet loss entity and a cremation society, which are located throughout Volusia and Flagler counties.
Lohman Funeral Homes, Cemeteries & Cremation will keep its name and the day-to-day operations will continue to be managed by three of the Lohman family members.
With StoneMor, the remaining Lohmans will serve as regional directors in their respective areas: Victor will oversee cemetery operations, Lowell's wife, Nancy Lohman, will manage funeral services and Lowell's son, Ty Lohman, will lead pre-need sales. Lowell, who served as president and CEO, will now step into a consulting role.
Though these two brothers now reside in Ormond Beach, their hometown of Vero Beach will always be the place where it all began.
Lowell and Victor graduated from Vero Beach High School in 1963 and 1969 respectively.
Lowell's first job as a teenager was in downtown Vero washing windows at The Petite Shop where his mother once worked.
Recently, Lowell was given a special gift by longtime friend and former VBHS classmate John Haire of Vero Beach.
The gift, a golf shirt embroidered with "Bonita Avenue Boy," serves as both a token of respect for Lowell and a reminder of how far he has come.