Those directors — Mark Canale, Jerry Pennock and Charli Lynn Peters — will be in attendance to meet the public and to answer any questions people might have at the Open House, which will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The public will not only have the chance to look at the improved building, they can enjoy food and refreshments and have the chance to win gift certificates to local restaurants.

Local is important to the trio, who all have deep Upper Peninsula roots. From using Ishpeming businesses to work on the building to using Ishpeming restaurants to provide the food for the open house, local has been a watchword of the Canale & Pennock entry into town.

“I am proud to be part of the Ishpeming community and we are honored to be here,” said Canale, who has been a licensed funeral director for 38 years but has worked in the field since the age of 15.

Jerry Pennock, Charli Lynn Peters and Mark Canale welcome the public to Canale & Pennock Funeral Home in Ishpeming for an Open House this coming weekend.

“I decided when I was 12 years-old that I was going to be a funeral director,” he said. “My interest developed from the death of a young girlfriend. I saw how well the funeral director cared for her family and I thought, ‘this is what I want to do.'” He is a 1979 graduate of the University of Minnesota Department of Mortuary Science. He has owned Canale-Tonella Funeral Home in his hometown of Marquette since 1986 and serves on the Michigan Board of Examiners in Mortuary Science, appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder.

Jerry Pennock, who hails from L’Anse, has been a licensed funeral director for 18 years. “I enjoy serving others,” he said, when asked why he pursued working in the field. He and his wife, Jacqui, have two children, Ava and Quinn. Pennock is active in the Ishpeming Noon Kiwanis.

Canale and Pennock have worked together for 15 years including at the Canale Gwinn Funeral Home, which was opened in 2000.

Charli Lynn Peters, a Munising native, is part of the Canale Funeral team as well. She graduated from the Worsham College of Mortuary Science in 2013 and has been part of the profession for five years, four of those years as a licensed funeral director. “I have always been interested in service-oriented work,” Peters said. “I enjoy helping people.” Peters is active in Alger County Relay for Life.

“This venture in Ishpeming is a chance for Jerry and Charli to get their feet on the ground,” Canale said.

The building at the corner of Barnum and Pine streets in Ishpeming that houses Canale & Pennock Funeral Service has been a funeral home for decades. The directors have been busy performing upgrades to the facility since they purchased the business on January 1, 2016.

Pennock said, “We’ve upgraded the restroom, purchased new furnishings, new windows and new window treatments. We have painted the entire interior and really brightened it up. The addition of a new front entrance and barrier free ramp is very attractive. We will focus on the exterior next and hope to work on the parking lot in the future.”

Canale said he hopes many people will stop in during the open house to meet the directors and ask any questions they may have.

The directors of Canale & Pennock Funeral Service in Ishpeming are available by appointment. “We can be present at the facility in minutes if needed. All they have to do is dial our number,” Canale said.

That number is 906-485-1500. Additional information is available by visiting the funeral home’s website at canalepennock.com.

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