About Us
About Us
Our funeral home was founded in Bluffton by Ralph Jahn in 1922, which at the time was named Jahn Funeral Home. In 1956, Carl Goodwin purchased the funeral home from Ralph Jahn and Al Reed and re-named the business Goodwin Funeral Home.
In the early 1970s, Carl built a new funeral home on the east side of town, which is where the funeral home remains today. The funeral home has undertaken several renovations since then, including a large facility expansion in 2000. Carl served his community in many ways, including his service as Mayor of Bluffton from 1967 to 1971. He played an instrumental role in building the current Police/Fire Department building, upgrading the sanitation system, along with many other civic projects. Carl also served the community through active roles within the Kiwanis Club and St. Joseph Catholic Church. Carl passed away in August of 2008, leaving a long legacy of community service to both families in which he served at the funeral home, and the public, in which he so much enjoyed.
In 2012, Doug Cale and Mitch Harnish joined Carl’s son, Dave Goodwin, as owners of the funeral home, which was renamed Goodwin – Cale & Harnish Memorial Chapel. Following Dave’s retirement in January of 2017, Doug and Mitch owned and operated the funeral home until July of 2025, when Doug retired.
Mitch Harnish, along with his wife Bre, are now the sole owners and operators of the funeral home, now named Goodwin–Harnish Funeral Home & Cremation Services, and are blessed to continue to serve the community through providing dignified and personalized care to every family they serve. The funeral home is also blessed with a great staff, including licensed funeral director Braden Arnold, office manager Alyssa Thatcher, and support team members Tony Terhune, Rick McEvoy, Rob Moon, Ron Macklin, Clark Stoller, and Cathy Dohrman.
Our funeral home has been locally and family owned since 1922, and we plan to continue that great tradition for many years to come.
Mitch and Bre Harnish Family
