Business Back to family business

The two oldest funeral, cremation and cemetery businesses in Lincoln County are once again family-owned and operated.

Tillamook native David Schroeder and Hillsboro native Michael Ashe jointly announced their recent purchase of Bateman Funeral Home in Newport and Pacific View Memorial Gardens in Lincoln City.

“We are very pleased to announce our new ownership and management of these two well known local businesses,” they said.  

Bateman Funeral Home, operating in Lincoln County for 96 years, was family owned and operated until brothers Gene and Dene Bateman retired in 1999. An out-of-state corporation purchased both the Bateman and Pacific View locations, and until October the sites were under big corporate ownership of out Texas and Florida. 

“The Batemans and Schroeders are long-time friends, and we are more than pleased to be ‘reunited’ with David and his partner in their efforts to better serve our community,” said Judy Bateman, widow of Gene Bateman.

Schroeder and Ashe currently own and operate several family-managed funeral homes and cemeteries in the greater Portland Tri-County areas.

“With the continuing support of the Bateman family and return of ownership to native Oregon residents, we look forward to providing premier, personal and compassionate service with the most reasonable price to families along the Oregon coast and surrounding areas,” said Newport resident and general manager Jayson Watkins.

Bateman and Pacific View combine the services of funeral home, chapel, crematory, mausoleum and cemetery memorials.

“Price, locations, reputation and personal service are of the utmost importance in this business, and I am so pleased they now have all of those again,” Bateman said.

Bateman Funeral Home and Cremation Service is located on N.E. Yaquina Heights Drive in Newport. Pacific View Memorial Chapel will move from its old location near City Hall on Highway 101, which was put up for sale and will no longer operate as a funeral home, Schroeder said.

“We hope to begin construction after our remodel of the existing crematory building currently existing at Pacific View Memorial Gardens [located in the 2900 block off N.E. East Devils Lake Road],” Schroeder said. “The crematory remodel will begin immediately. Until the new funeral home and reception center is complete, we are currently assisting families either at Bateman Funeral Home in Newport or at a small office to be located at Pacific View Memorial Gardens. We can also help them make arrangements over the phone or come to their own home if it is more practical for them. This new building is purposefully designed to be a small welcoming structure in order to keep prices as reasonable as possible for Lincoln County residents. We look forward to serving the community with our new family ownership of these locations.”

The change in ownership will not affect arrangements already in place, Watkins said. 

“Not only will we honor arrangements already on file, but people with pre-arranged plans elsewhere will be accepted and honored by us,” he said.