Krueger Funeral Home began in Mattydale in 1953, it was a struggle for Ed & Lee Krueger. Both coming from a rural background and no business experience they developed a well respected and long standing professional business.

In 1963 they purchased and moved into the Alma Motel which was situated next to the existing funeral home. They ran the two operations as well as raising 4 children. Ed also kept busy working on the side hanging storm windows and selling real estate among other odd jobs.

It was always a family business in every sense of the word. The children all helped out with everything from cleaning and maintenance to tending the parking lot and the door during calling hours. Howard, the youngest Krueger, graduated from Simmons School in 1983 and began his career as a Funeral Director. He moved into the Motel in 1988 and took over managing the two Family businesses.

With the unfortunate death of Ed Krueger in 1993, Howard purchased the property from Lee to complete the family transition. 

The days of a small family run motel were numbered. With the build up in the area of huge hotels it made it impossible to compete. The clientele was changing, renting rooms in the middle of the night and the decline of steady business were taking it’s toll on Howard who was also trying to raise two small children (Kimberly & Kenneth.)

In 1994 they moved out and looked into several alternative uses for the property including efficiencies, senior housing and retail space. Nothing made sense until Howard brainstormed the idea of tearing down the motel to make room for a new funeral home. The design evolved through out the following year and began construction in September of 97.

The final product was not only an improvement to the previous funeral home but a "State of the Art" Funeral Facility which may very well have become one of the largest and most elegant funeral homes in the area. The Kruegers took their 45 years of experience and created a wish list design to eliminate any of the problems they have had to deal with. With the help of DeGilormo Construction they ended up with the building they could have only dreamed about. They were pleased to announce that they were able to accomplish it and still maintain their competitive pricing with out specifically increasing their fees.

Some of the distinctive features of the new building are an expanded and well lit parking lot with improved traffic patterns. The building was designed with easy access for the elderly as well as handicapped accessibility. It is spacious yet comfortable while still having a homey atmosphere. It contains 2 viewing chapels each large enough to accommodate most families that can be combined if needed to create a room capable of seating over 200 people comfortably. The ceilings are domed and accentuated with 5 Crystal Chandeliers and soft trim lighting. The building is also adorned with a large fountain in the foyer, traditional brass light fixtures, solid cherry furniture and a beautiful rendering of the founder Ed Krueger in the main hall. It also houses several private counseling rooms and the first casket selection room of it’s kind in upstate New York. The caskets are displayed in a way so the consumer feels at ease and not apprehensive to compare the differences, hence making a more informed and rational choice. It also contains several Cremation options caskets which allows a family to choose a funeral service involving cremation with traditional elements cost effectively.

Some the functional aspects of the building are the Preparation rooms which have incorporated clean room technology and OSHA standards for a clean and efficient workspace, a Back-Up Generator System which was first put to use after the "Labor Day Storm", a sprinkler system and a computer network wired for expansion into the new millennium.