52 Deerfield Moments: #38
Kraeer Funeral Home

52 Deerfield Moments: #38 - Classic Style House

52 Moments in Deerfield History

Classic Style House

Kraeer Funeral Home

Kraeer Funeral Home opened in Deerfield Beach in 1964 at the corner of Hillsboro Boulevard and NE 2nd Avenue. The building was designed with stately white columns and green shutters on the outside and a fountain in the lobby that conveyed serenity.

On the property were three historic Kester Cottages put to use as administrative offices. Kraeer Funeral Home’s classic buildings began dotting the landscape in south Florida in 1952.

R. Jay Kraeer and his wife Lorraine opened their first mortuary on Federal Highway and from that beginning they expanded to six more locations.

Mr. Kraeer sold his company to six employees in 1980, but before that he had grown Kraeer Funeral Homes into one of the largest privately held mortuary companies in the country.

At one time, he headed the National Funeral Directors Association and is described by those who worked for him as “a mentor and an inspiration.”

He died in 2004 at age 86.