Personalized memorials and celebrations of life

At Defenbaugh-Wise-Schoedinger, we believe that every service should be as unique as the life lived. We capture the essence of your loved one to create an event that honors your special person and gives friends and family a chance to come together and remember.

Perhaps it’s a barbecue in honor of the pit master, complete with live music and bottles of homemade sauce for guests to take home. Maybe it's a simple service for a nature lover. Or perhaps it's a memorial service in the chapel at the funeral home followed by a quiet outdoor scattering ceremony with the closest family and friends. No matter your wish, no matter the detail, we handle it all.

Whether you want to arrange a traditional funeral service or modern celebration of life, large gathering or more intimate service, we will work with you one-on-one to ensure your needs and budget are met. From floral arrangements to music selections, decor, mementos and more, we guide you through your choices with care.

See how we celebrate life.

Cremation in Circleville

There are many options for cremation in Pickaway County—and they're not all equal. We specialize in cremation services that honor loved ones in personalized ways. With expertise in scattering ashes and a friendly team dedicated to the little things, we provide service that is second to none. Schoedinger State Street – Midtown operates an on-site crematory, which means your loved one never leaves our care.

More and more people are choosing cremation over traditional burial, but most aren’t familiar with the many options:

• a cremation without a funeral or memorial service of any kind.
• a funeral with your loved one present, followed by cremation.
• a cremation followed by a scattering, cemetery memorialization or celebration of life—or all three.

If you're interested in cemetery placement, we work with all Central Ohio cemeteries. For those who wish for a more dramatic memorial, Neptune Memorial Reef is an underwater cremation garden off the coast of Florida. A Celestis Memorial Spaceflight takes ashes into space for a little while or forever.

Learn more about our cremation options.

Tara’s Touch grief therapy dog program

Dogs were dubbed man's best friend for a reason. They're loyal, nonjudgmental listeners who love to be petted, and petting a dog has been shown to lower stress levels and improve mood. Our grief therapy dog is available by request to accompany you while you are making arrangements, attending a loved one's funeral and more.

Veterans and public servants programs

We deeply appreciate those who have sacrificed for our freedoms, and we specialize in serving the veterans community. It's our privilege to honor veterans and their families in need of funeral services. When it comes to honoring veterans, no other funeral or cremation provider is more committed to fulfilling your or your family’s wishes.

The Dignity Memorial^® Homeless Veterans Program offers dignified funeral services with military honors to eligible homeless and indigent veterans. In addition, the Dignity Memorial Public Servants Program offers no-cost tributes for career and volunteer law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency services personnel who fall in the line of duty.

Learn more about how we honor veterans and public servants.

The Julie Schoedinger Fund

In honor of Julie Schoedinger, who died at age 11, Schoedinger Funeral & Cremation Service donates services for children who pass away under the age of 12.

Planning in advance

In addition to assisting with an immediate need, Defenbaugh-Wise-Schoedinger specializes in working with families to make final arrangements in advance. When you plan ahead, you relieve your family from financial and emotional burdens while ensuring your wishes are fulfilled. We offer in-person and virtual consultations, as well as a free Personal Planning Guide.

Find out everything you need to know about prepaid funeral plans.

Community recognition

Our workplace culture is based on mutual caring, and we strive to uphold that every day. Columbus CEO has named Schoedinger Funeral & Cremation Service a Top Workplace. Our CEO, Randy Schoedinger, was recognized with a special award for leadership by the magazine in 2020.

What's more: Columbus Dispatch readers have chosen Schoedinger as a CBUS Top Pick for funeral services multiple years.

Here when you need us

If you'd like to talk about pre-planning a funeral or have an immediate need, contact us and we'll be in touch right away. We can help you arrange services in person, by phone, virtually or via email.

We're honored you're considering Defenbaugh-Wise-Schoedinger, and we're here with compassionate, professional care day and night.

Contact us.

History

In 1829, Philip Schoedinger emigrated to the United States from Dörrenbach, Germany. Philip was a craftsman by trade and in 1855 he opened a casket-making company. In 1865, Philip established Schoedinger & Brown on West State Street in Columbus.

Philip's sons, George J. and J. Albert, soon joined the family business. Shortly thereafter, the funeral home began to see such innovations as the addition of the first automobile hearse and a new chapel at 229 E. State St., which was the first chapel built expressly for the purpose of funeral service and one of the earliest in America of such magnitude. Today the belltower at this location stands as a city landmark. Other firsts, such as becoming one of the first companies to offer an air-conditioned building and the first to offer guaranteed advance funeral arrangements, soon followed.

In time, George J.'s sons, Fred and George R., also chose to join the family funeral home, known at that time as Schoedinger & Co. In 1933, George R.'s three sons, George Jr., Robert and John, all entered the family business.

As the funeral home grew, so did the Schoedinger family's desire to offer more services and greater convenience to the families of Central Ohio. In 1950, the Schoedingers opened their Hilltop Chapel on West Broad Street; 1961 saw the addition of the Northwest Chapel in Upper Arlington. Linden, Grove City and Reynoldsburg all followed.

In 2016, the Schoedinger locations in Hilltop and Linden were rebranded Heart & Hope Funeral Home by Schoedinger, as an evolution of the Schoedinger brand's commitment to affordable funerals and cremations. In the years that followed, the Grove City funeral home was relocated and a new location opened in Dublin.

In 2021, Schoedinger Funeral & Cremation Service and Heart & Hope Funeral Home by Schoedinger joined the Dignity Memorial family of funeral, cremation and cemetery providers.