A Tradition of Family Service
Through the years our names, faces, and buildings have changed. what has not changed is our commitment to serving families with dignity and respect. We recognize and appreciate the confidence and trust the Marshall County Community has placed in our funeral home for the past 140 years.
In 1879, what was to be one of Plymouth’s oldest businesses was established to serve all of Marshall County. The J. Leonard & Son Carriage and Undertaking firm became located opposite the Plymouth Opera House on West LaPorte Street. A tradition of quality service and value had begun that would span three centuries.
In 1902, his son, Charles R. Leonard a cabinet maker, relocated the undertaking business to the corner of Michigan and LaPorte Streets (the current site of the Rees Cinema Theater), where he would add furniture to the retail storefront.
In 1920, brothers; Halleck F. and Ralph E. Johnson became successors and formed Johnson Brothers Furniture and Undertaking. Together, they were quick to provide the Plymouth area with ambulance service.
In 1928, Ralph E. Johnson could foresee the change from visitation and services held in the deceased own residence to a location dedicated to that purpose. It was then that he made the decision to move the funeral business to a residence located at 1100 N. Michigan Street. This provided Marshall County with its first “funeral home”, offering a dignified and comfortable setting to serve families. Proud to have his son Francis W. Johnson become a part of the business, this new location became known as Johnson & Son Funeral Home.
In 1978, the Johnson family ownership transferred to Richard and Phyllis Davidson, both Fulton County natives. Under their leadership, many physical improvements were made to provide greater comfort and service to more than one family at the same time. The Davidsons are now retired and reside in North Manchester.
The Danielson family has made significant strides in remodeling and expanding the interior service and family comfort areas of the funeral home, making it a most modern and yet ‘homelike’ atmosphere to serve area families. In the year 2002, a completely new preparation area was added to the facility to provide for the secure and respectful care of the deceased. A major addition to the building was completed in the Spring of 2014.
In September 2017, Jim and Terri Weldy assumed the ownership and operation of the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home. While both are natives of Central Illinois, the Weldy family originated in Wakarusa, Indiana. Jim spent a great deal of time growing up with his Grandparents in the Goshen and Elkhart areas.
Their daughter, Jamie Beckwith, joined the family business in 2020 and graduated from Worsham College of Mortuary Science in 2022 – the same college her father graduated from 45 years before. Working as a true family-owned and operated establishment, they take great pride in continuing the tradition of excellence established by Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home over the years.
