MACZ LEGACY BUILT ON COMMUNITY SERVICE
Irvin Macz Funeral Home
618-532-5511
234 S. Elm St, Centralia, IL
Tom and Traci Macz have built a legacy of service both locally and statewide.
As active business leaders in Centralia, Sandoval, Odin and Patoka, the Maczs continue to seek new ways to benefit their communities and act as a source of comfort to the families that walk through their doors.
“We are very much in support of the communities that we serve, and we try to make that apparent in everything that we do,” said Tom. “We have served on community boards, and while that isn’t directly linked to our industry, it’s all for the betterment of our community.”
“What continues to drive us is the involvement in the community, building relationships and getting to know the families that we serve and helping them in a time of need,” Traci added. “We are all about forming those bonds and getting to know those that we serve.”
Tom and Traci met at mortuary school, graduating from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale in 2004, before embarking on their journey as funeral directors at Hurley Funeral Home in Petersburg, IL.
The Maczs would later relocate to the Greater Centralia Area in 2011 after purchasing their current locations in Sandoval and Patoka, opening them in 2012. Two years later, Tom and Traci opened their current locations in Centralia and Odin after buying the properties from the late Larry Irvin estate.
Upon opening in Centralia, Tom and Traci immediately got involved in the area’s largest community event, the Centralia Balloon Fest.
“Weve been involved in the Balloon Fest from the get-go. We knew that was something we wanted to be involved in,” said Traci. “Our oldest son was two years old our first year, and he is now eleven. We have really grown with a lot of the families that participate each year.”
This last year, Tom was elected president of the Illinois Funeral Directors Association, of which he has served for eleven years.
“It’s been a good time,” Tom said of his time with the IFDA. “We’ve met a lot of good people and made a lot of good friends. We have met people in our area that we didn’t know before, and people from throughout the state.”
“Just last weekend, a funeral director from up by Wisconsin that I serve on the boards with had a burial in Olney. He borrowed our hearse,” Tom continued. “It’s been nice to meet new people and be able to build those relationships.”
Macz Funeral Homes also recently became a green-certified operation, with green space in Sandoval, a partial green space in Patoka, and one expected to arrive soon in Centralia.
“We are a green-certified funeral home, and that is something we are very proud of,” said Traci, noting that she and Tom are continually seeking new ways to better assist families and fulfill their needs.
Looking to the future, Tom and Traci said they hope to become even more involved in the communities they proudly serve.
“I hope we continue our growth and continue to do what we do to serve our communities,” said Tom. “I am personally looking forward to being more involved, as our kids get older, and finding new opportunities for involvement.”
