By Tom Patten, President, Hilton Funeral Supply
Hilton Funeral Supply is still a family-owned funeral supply company, with no acquisition since its founding in 1992. Funeral homes that call reach real people in Auburn Hills who handle orders, imprints, and custom requests directly. One wholesale account supplies funeral home supplies across stationery, service essentials, prep room equipment, promotional products, urns, and keepsakes.
Quick Answer
Hilton Funeral Supply is a family-owned funeral supply company based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, serving funeral professionals nationwide since 1992. Hilton has built relationships with thousands of funeral homes. It has never been acquired and has no private equity or corporate parent. Funeral directors reach the same Auburn Hills team at 1-800-433-8878 for orders, imprints, and product questions, including a licensed funeral director and embalmer on staff. One wholesale account covers funeral stationery, service essentials, prep room and mortuary equipment, promotional products, and urns and keepsakes.
No Acquisition Here: Hilton Is Still a Family-Owned Funeral Supply Company
Hilton Funeral Supply has stayed a family-owned funeral supply company for more than 30 years. The company has not been sold, merged, or rolled into a larger group. Decisions about pricing, product lines, and service policy are made in Auburn Hills by the family that runs the company.
That continuity shows up in long customer relationships. Elton Black and Son Funeral Home has ordered from Hilton for more than 30 years, according to its Google review.
“Tom, Jason and Conner are an amazing team!”
William Wozniak, Elton Black and Son Funeral Home, Google review
Supplier ownership determines who sets pricing, minimums, product lines, and service policy. A sale or merger can reset all four. Ownership alone does not guarantee good or poor service. It does decide how stable a funeral supplier's answers will be next year.
When any funeral supplier changes ownership, funeral homes should watch three areas:
- Decision continuity: whether pricing, minimums, and policies are reset by new owners.
- Contact continuity: whether the funeral home's account stays with people who already know it.
- Catalog continuity: whether the stationery designs an arrangement room is built around stay available.
Supplier stability matters more as independent funeral homes absorb outside pressure. The National Funeral Directors Association and Selected Independent Funeral Homes announced their intent to combine in July 2026. Both groups cited economic turbulence, regulatory complexity, workforce shortages, and changing consumer expectations.
Real People: Who Answers When a Funeral Home Calls
A director orders a register book set on Tuesday for a Friday service. On Wednesday, the director needs to confirm the ship date and the imprint page. The person who answers that call matters more than the size of any catalog.
At Hilton Funeral Supply, that call goes to the Auburn Hills team that handles the order. The staff includes Jason Weir, a licensed funeral director and embalmer. Product questions are answered by someone who has worked the arrangement room and the preparation room.
- Phone: 1-800-433-8878 reaches the team that places, tracks, and corrects orders.
- Online: the Hilton contact page routes questions to the same team.
- Custom requests: items not listed online are still quoted and sourced by phone.
Funeral directors describe that support in their own words. The customer testimonial videos on the Hilton homepage feature three funeral professionals. Mackenzie Yoder represents Yoder Culp Funeral Home in Goshen, Indiana. Dan Jansen represents Jansen Family Funeral Home in Columbiaville, Michigan. Andy Clayton is Executive Director of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association.
Hilton Funeral Supply holds a 5.0-star rating across 12 Google reviews as of November 2026. Reviewers point to personal service first, often naming staff members directly.
“That kind of personal service is becoming harder to find”
Jenkins Chapel, Google review
The same people also meet directors in person. Tom Patten, Jason Weir, and Conner Patten staffed Hilton's booth at the NFDA 2026 convention in Charlotte.
Real Support: Funeral Stationery Built Around the Service Date
Funeral stationery is where support matters most, because every order has a fixed service date. The register book records who came to support the family. Prayer cards and service folders become keepsakes mourners carry home to remember the person who died. A missed ship date means the service goes forward without them.
Hilton Funeral Supply is a wholesale funeral stationery supplier carrying every piece of a stationery set:
- Register books: funeral register books in six-ring or comb-bound bindings, with full-color covers available, such as the Heartfelt Register Book.
- Cards and folders: prayer cards, service folders, acknowledgement cards, and memorial bookmarks.
- Complete sets: funeral stationery box sets with matching register books and prayer cards.
- Branding: free imprint page installation in register books, plus custom register books designed by Hilton's in-house graphics team.
- Exclusive designs: Hilton Exclusives register books, prayer cards, and service folders not sold by any other supplier.
- In-house printing: Shared Memories, a free print program with more than 160 templated themes for blank paper stock.
- Value options: Good Value and leatherette register books for families working within a tighter budget.
Some families arrange a memorial without a traditional service. The Their Way Celebration Kit includes a register book, 150 blank programs, 50 thank-you cards, and a USB drive with templates. The kit keeps direct cremation families connected to the funeral home.
Always: One Funeral Supply Company for Every Area of the Funeral Home
Many funeral homes buy funeral home supplies from separate vendors for stationery, prep room, and promotional products. Each vendor adds an account, an invoice, and a phone number. Hilton Funeral Supply covers funeral home supplies for each area of the funeral home from one account. Orders of $499 or more ship free, according to the Hilton homepage.
“Always at the ready to make sure we have what we need”
Ware Smith Woolever, Google review
| Area of the Funeral Home | Funeral Home Supplies Hilton Carries |
|---|---|
| Arrangement room and chapel | Register books, prayer cards, service folders, acknowledgement cards, and full-color tissue packs |
| Service and procession | Everyday service items, church trucks, and hearse name plates |
| Preparation room | PPE, cosmetics, and sealants, Champion embalming fluids, and mortuary equipment |
| First calls and removals | The MOBI F650 PRO cot and the MOBI F1200 PRO bariatric cot, listed at 1,000 lb |
| Community and pre-need | Funeral home promotional products, including imprinted funeral home pens and tote bags |
| Cremation families | Full-size urns, keepsake urns, cremation jewelry, and keepsake candles |
Cremation products matter more each year. The National Funeral Directors Association projected a 63.4% U.S. cremation rate for 2025, against a 31.6% burial rate. A funeral supply company that covers urns, keepsakes, and memorial stationery serves both groups of families.
How to Choose a Funeral Home Supply Company
Use the scorecard below to compare any funeral supply company. It is a practical evaluation tool for funeral directors, not a regulatory or professional standard. Ask every funeral supplier the same questions. The right column shows Hilton's answers.
| Criterion | What to Ask Any Supplier | Hilton's Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Responsiveness | Who answers when an order has a problem? | The Auburn Hills team that handles the order |
| Licensed knowledge | Does anyone on staff hold a funeral director or embalmer license? | Yes, Jason Weir |
| Ownership | Who owns the company, and has that changed recently? | Family-owned since 1992, never acquired |
| Stationery service | Is imprint installation included? | Free imprint page installation in register books |
| Minimums | Are there case or minimum order requirements? | Call to confirm quantities for custom and imprinted items |
| Catalog continuity | How are discontinued designs communicated? | Exclusive designs controlled by the family, not a parent company |
| Coverage | How many areas of the funeral home can one account cover? | Six, from the chapel to the preparation room |
Before placing a large order with any supplier, call with a real imprint or ship-date question. A funeral supplier that answers clearly before the sale is more likely to answer when a Friday service is at risk.
One Funeral Supplier or Several: The Trade-Offs
Buying wholesale funeral supplies from one funeral home supply company saves time. The table below lists both sides.
| Factor | One Supplier | Several Suppliers |
|---|---|---|
| Purchasing time | One account, one invoice, one phone number | Separate accounts per vendor |
| Order history | One team sees every category | History is split across vendors |
| Price comparison | Centralized for easy management | Disorganized, harder to manage |
| Supply risk | Nimble: Distributor can find alternatives | Multiple contact points create inefficiencies |
| Best fit | Firms who want one efficient source | Firms who want multiple supplier relationships |
Related Buying Guides for Funeral Directors
- Funeral register books and funeral stationery guide for arrangement room selection.
- Custom funeral stationery guide for branding stationery with the funeral home's name.
- Prep room supplies checklist for stocking the preparation room.
- Prep room equipment guide comparing coolers, lifts, roller racks, and embalming tables.
- Mortuary cooler buying guide covering sizes, temperatures, and features.
- Promotional products for inside the funeral home, organized by room.
About the Author
Tom Patten founded Hilton Funeral Supply in 1992 and serves as its president. He has worked with funeral stationery printers across the United States for more than three decades.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Hilton Funeral Supply been acquired?
No, Hilton Funeral Supply has not been acquired and is still family-owned. Tom Patten founded the company in 1992, and it is still family-owned and operated from Auburn Hills, Michigan. Hilton has no private equity owner or corporate parent. Funeral homes work directly with the family business and its staff, from stationery imprints to prep room equipment questions.
How do I choose a funeral home supply company?
Choose a funeral home supply company by scoring it on responsiveness, licensed staff knowledge, ownership stability, stationery service, minimums, catalog continuity, and category coverage. Call with a real imprint or ship-date question before placing a large order. Ask other directors in your state association how the supplier performed under deadline. A supplier that answers clearly before the sale is more likely to answer when a service is at risk.
Where do funeral homes buy funeral stationery wholesale?
Funeral homes buy funeral stationery wholesale from funeral stationery suppliers that sell only to funeral professionals. Hilton Funeral Supply is one such funeral home supply company, carrying register books, prayer cards, service folders, acknowledgement cards, bookmarks, and box sets. Imprint pages are installed in register books free, and Hilton Exclusives designs are available from no other supplier. Funeral homes can also print in-house with the free Shared Memories program.
What supplies does a funeral home need?
A funeral home needs supplies for six areas: the arrangement room and chapel, service and procession, the preparation room, first calls and removals, community and pre-need outreach, and cremation families. That covers stationery, service items, PPE, embalming fluids, mortuary equipment, cots, promotional products, urns, and keepsakes. Exact needs vary with call volume, cremation rate, and state preparation room rules.
Does a funeral supplier's ownership matter?
Yes, a funeral supplier's ownership matters because it determines who sets pricing, minimums, product lines, and service policy. A sale or merger can reset those decisions and change account contacts. Ownership alone does not guarantee good or poor service. Ask any supplier who owns it and whether ownership has changed recently, then weigh that answer alongside responsiveness and lead times.
Is it better to use one funeral supplier or several?
One funeral supplier usually suits firms with limited office staff, while several suppliers suit firms with a dedicated purchasing role. One supplier means one account, one invoice, and one team that knows the full order history. Several suppliers make price comparison easier and limit the effect of a single disruption. Many funeral homes consolidate most categories and spot-check prices periodically.
Who can buy from Hilton Funeral Supply?
Hilton Funeral Supply sells wholesale to funeral homes, licensed funeral directors, mortuaries, county coroners, morgues, medical examiners, and government organizations. The company does not sell to the general public. Families looking for funeral products are directed to their local funeral home. Funeral professionals can open an account online or by calling 1-800-433-8878.
Does Hilton install imprint pages in register books?
Yes, Hilton Funeral Supply installs imprint pages in register books free with every order. An imprint page carries the funeral home's logo and contact information. It keeps the funeral home's name in the register book the family takes home. Funeral homes can also order custom register books branded with their name, designed by Hilton's in-house graphics team.
