Christin Greven: Zirbel Funeral Home’s newest resident

Art Webb and Amos Malone are the new owners of Zirbel Funeral Home at 115 Williams St. They purchased it this past April from Scott and Karen Zirbel, who owned and operated the business for 42 years. 

The July 26 edition of this column features Webb, and readers will learn about Malone in the coming weeks, but this week focuses on Christin Greven, who is not only the newest licensed funeral director on the team, but she has also taken up residence directly on site – just as Scott and Karen once did.  

Born in Elmira, New York, Christin and her two older brothers, Eric and Aaron Lindgren, were raised there by their parents, Mark and Judy Greven, who are both retired teachers from the Elmira City School District. 

Christin is a 2005 alumna of Notre Dame High School, where she ran indoor and outdoor track, played her clarinet in the symphonic and jazz bands and joined the drama club in her senior year. 

Outside of school, Christin was heavily involved in St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, where she was an altar server and a eucharistic minister. Since moving to the Ithaca area, she has been attending St. Catherine’s Greek Orthodox Church.  

Christin chose to attend Keuka College after high school because it offered a field period program, which requires every student to complete a one-month internship every January, and she thought the program would give her a variety of experiences to help plan her future.  

“I had no idea what I wanted to do after graduation – absolutely no clue,” Christin said. “But I needed a job. One day I was driving over the Walnut Street bridge and spotted the McInerny Funeral Home. I thought to myself, ‘I wonder if they could use an extra set of hands,’ so I walked in and walked out with a job!” 

Keuka’s field program allowed students to choose their own internships, and although Christin had loved everything about working at the funeral home, she wanted to be wise and get exposure to other possibilities.  

“In my first year, I worked at a counseling service in Elmira, and in my second year I went to Italy,” Christin said. “I learned its history and presented it in class, but in my third year, I went to the Walter J. Kent Funeral Home in Elmira.” 

Christin explained that she had helped with calling hours, funeral services and other aspects of the business at McInerny’s, but her time at Walter J. Kent afforded her the chance to do more hands-on and behind-the-scenes work.  

“I found it all fascinating,” Christin said. “It piqued my interest even more! I didn’t know what to do in my fourth year, because I already knew funeral directing was what I wanted to do, so I went to work with my dad and his co-workers at the GST BOCES GED program. That gave me a deep appreciation for education and how fortunate I was to be raised by two educators who made sure I went to school.” 

Throughout her college years, Christin continued playing her clarinet, joined the drama club and was inducted into the Chi Beta Phi honor society. She earned her bachelor’s degree in management with a concentration in human resources and a minor in psychology in 2009. 

The next step for Christin was enrolling in the Simmons Institute of Funeral Service in Syracuse. In nine months, Christin was able to earn her associate degree in funeral services from what was then a two-year program, because so many of her credits from Keuka transferred. 

A one-year residency is required to become licensed, so Christin did hers at Courtney Funeral Home in Walton, New York, where she remained working for a short time after earning her license. 

Christin’s first official job as a licensed funeral director was at Richards Funeral Home in Owego, where she became its crematory operator from 2013 to 2017, but she wanted to move closer to home and do more funeral-related work. 

Olthof Funeral Home was Christin’s next employer. She was able to be a funeral director there, but it was extremely busy.  

“An opportunity to work at Herson-Wagner Funeral Home in Ithaca came my way in 2018,” Christin said, “so I moved to Ithaca and worked there until I came to Zirbel’s. I had met Art and Amos at Herson-Wagner, and the three of us just really gelled – we just had great chemistry. Art asked me to come on board with them to Zirbel’s. It made me feel so confident and needed, so I said, ‘Yes!’” 

Christin moved upstairs at Zirbel’s this past June, and she is thrilled, stating that being there “feels like my dream from high school and college has come full circle and come true.” 

Funeral directing has not been the only thing Christin is involved in. In 2015, she joined the Southport Fire Department in Elmira because she had met other funeral directors at a convention and learned that almost all of them were firefighters or emergency medical technicians (EMTs).  

Christin took all of the necessary training and became a firefighter. When she moved to Ithaca, she joined the Ithaca Fire Department as a volunteer and earned her EMT-Basic certification. She said that she has already recruited Sam Rose as a sponsor to join the Groton Fire Department, but she would like to get more settled first. She did become a member of the Groton Colombian Club recently, though.  

“Everything feels so surreal, but in a good way,” Christin said. “It’s wonderful. Groton is a very tight-knit community, and because of that it’s easy to form relationships and friendships with the families I meet with. It’s a very humbling experience to finally be here. This is not a job or career – it’s a higher calling and a lifestyle that not everyone could do. Despite its many challenges, at the end of the day, it’s very rewarding to have guided families through some of the darkest times of their lives.”  

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com or text or call Linda at 607-227-4922.  

In brief: 

Town of Groton office hours change 

The Groton Town Clerk’s office hours have changed to the following: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday and Friday. The drop box is located next to the front entrance of the building, 101 Conger Blvd.

Dog control reminder 

Dog control in the Town and Village of Groton is provided by Country Acres Pet Services, 5852 West Scott Rd., Homer, New York.  Please call for lost pets, dog complaints, stray dogs, nuisance dogs, sick or injured strays or dangerous dogs. The office phone number is 607-749-2734, and the emergency phone number is 607-345-3139. Email info@countryacresanimalshelter.org. 

The shelter manager is Lindsay Andersen, and the assistant manager is Suzie Tracy. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with Saturday hours by appointment. Please consider adopting a pet from Country Acres. 

Groton Olde Home Days 

Save the date for Groton Olde Home Days, coming your way Aug. 24 through 26 with Southern Soul Productions Battle of the Beasts Rodeo, Playland Amusements Carnival Midway, magic shows, pony rides, food, vendors, live music, the classic car show, Groton Historical Association’s famous crafts and collectibles show, the grand parade and so much more! Keep your eye on this column for more details next week!