When Emil Lohrisch arrived in Bethania area from Schonberg in Silesia, a province of the old Prussia, he was 26 years old, leaving all his family behind, being a funeral director was the last thing on his mind, after all he had been a very skilled cabinet maker back home. It was his skills as a cabinet maker that made him the logical choice to construct the caskets and consequently perform the perfunctory tasks associated with the funeral industry.
Albert Lohrisch was the son of Emil Lohrisch who took up carpentry as a trade which in turn helped when he was required to construct caskets and help his father in the business.
By the time Albert’s son, Jack, took up the family trade as a carpenter the population had grown, and funeral demands had increased significantly.
Up until 1930, a funeral cortege to the graveside was by horse drawn hearse. This was until Jack used a Rugby Ute which had to be improvised for the occasion, through the years a succession of improvised vehicles has been used and Lohrisch Funerals now have a fleet of Burgundy vehicles, which helps put a modern stamp on the funerals we conduct.
Sadly in 1974, Jack Lohrisch, passed away at a very early age and Richard, Jack’s son, who had just come home from National Service, was asked to take over the family business.
Today the current owners, Richard and Victoria (Vicky) Lohrisch run a funeral business that is a far cry from the shovel and horse drawn hearse of their ancestors.
Today they operate one of the oldest family-owned and operated funeral homes in Queensland tracing its establishment back to 1870. Richard and Victoria are very proud that it has remained in the same family for 4 generations.
They bring a long tradition of sensitivity and professionalism that makes some of the most testing times of person’s life just a little easier. JG Lohrisch Funeral Directors and staff understand the pain a death of a loved one causes, and they therefore aim to make this time as easy and hassle free for the grieving family.
Our belief is that families should have a choice of the personal and excellent service a family-owned business like ours can provide rather than that of a large multinational corporation.