Mukilteo couple buys Edmonds funeral home

EDMONDS – Beck’s Funeral Home, a community business for 55 years, has changed hands.

So has Westlawn Memorial Park, a related business.

The new owners are Jim and Nancy Letson of Mukilteo, who both have strong experience in the industry.

Jim Letson has previously served as president of both the Washington Cemetery and Funeral Association and the Cremation Association of North America.

“The opportunity to keep Beck’s Funeral Home a family business and to become a part of the Edmonds community is a dream come true for my family,” Jim Letson said.

He noted that he and his wife have had a long-term relationship with the previous owners, Steve Beck Jr. and John Forkner.

“Our discussion of the possibility of a transfer of ownership grew out of our mutual respect for each other for this transition,” Jim Letson said.

Beck’s Funeral home was founded in 1951 by Steven and Martha Lou Beck. The business has a staff of nine and 8,000 square feet of space. Its has chapels that can accommodate as many as 140 people or as few as 20.

The company purchased Restlawn in the Woodway area in the early 1980s.