Lane Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home

Three weeks ago, the last funeral home in downtown Eugene moved to the western outskirts of the city, in a consolidation with its parent company.Poole-Larsen Funeral Home had operated for decades on the southwest corner of West 11th Avenue and Charnelton Street, near St. Mary Catholic Church. Acquired four years ago by Musgrove Mortuaries & Cemeteries, Poole-Larsen’s one funeral director now is located with other Musgrove employees at West Lawn Memorial Park on South Danebo Avenue.A year ago, the Musgrove family moved its own funeral home — one block away from Poole-Larsen at West 11th and Olive Street — from downtown to West Lawn Memorial Park.The moves are meant to provide greater efficiency to Musgrove Mortuaries & Cemeteries — Lane County’s largest funeral home operator — but they also reflect changes in downtown, where properties are being redeveloped for different uses.The 104-year-old downtown building used by Musgrove Family Mortuary, for example, was razed to make way for the Home2 Suites, a four-story, 120-room hotel, that is expected to open on Oct. 26.Owner Diane Musgrove said it made sense to merge the family’s downtown mortuary with its funeral-related businesses and cemetery at West Lawn.“Why continue to operate in a 104-year-old building, in a downtown that is changing, when we can offer this?” she said.The Home2 Suites is owned by an investment group, including members of the Musgrove family, who donated their downtown land for the hotel in exchange for an ownership stake.Musgrove Mortuaries & Cemeteries owns several funeral homes and three cemeteries in Eugene, Springfield, Cres­well and Junction City. It manages Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Eugene for the Catholic Archdiocese of Portland.The company is owned by brothers Mark and Jeff Musgrove and their respective wives, Diane and Sharon.Jeff Musgrove, 53, said moving Poole-Larsen from downtown was strictly a business decision, similar to the choices that other Eugene businesses have made over the years.“I think about all the busines...