Our History

Our History

John W. Toland and his wife, Marguerite, founded the Toland Funeral Home on the corner of Slingluff Ave. and Walnut St. in 1929. John was formerly employed by the Boyd Furniture & Funeral Company in Dover and made the decision to strike out on his own. In 1935, the couple purchased the Toomey home at 803 North Wooster Ave. in Dover, which is still the location of the funeral home today. Richard Herzig married John and Marguerite's daughter, Marilyn, and joined the business in 1950, and a few years later the funeral home’s name was changed to Toland-Herzig. Richard and Marilyn had two children, John and Peggy. After graduating from college and mortuary school, John Herzig joined his grandfather and father in the operation of the funeral home. John Herzig married Joyce Dallau in 1975; the couple had three children, Trevor, Troy and Tricia - and they now have seven grandchildren.

Toland-Herzig went on to acquire the Steffe Funeral Home in Strasburg, bringing it under the Toland-Herzig banner. After many years at the same Strasburg location, the business was moved in 2019 to the site of the former Strasburg Masonic Temple, which, after its closure, had been purchased and undergone a complete renovation for use as a funeral home - including a large reception area

The Toland-Herzig Monarch Center on the Boulevard in Dover is a premier gathering place for after-service receptions, non-traditional memorial events as well as community and corporate meetings. The Center was created from a former Friendly’s Restaurant and was opened as an accompaniment to the funeral home in 2000.

In 2005, John and Joyce’s daughter, Tricia Herzig-McKinnon, became the third generation to join the business after graduating from Ashland University and the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. Tricia is a licensed funeral director, embalmer and certified crematory operator. She is married to Joel McKinnon and the couple have three children, Jack, Stone and Klaire.

Troy Herzig joined the family business in 2015 as a certified crematory operator in charge of the funeral home’s crematories. Troy lives adjacent to the Dover funeral home, and has four children, Kylan, Alyssa, Ava and Alyvia.

As many area residents know, John Herzig has a vast collection of prayer cards, memorial folders, funeral programs and other memorabilia from the services of notable individuals. Many of these items are on display within the walls of the Dover funeral home in what is called The Famous Endings Museum. The museum is a point of interest for guests at visitations and services, and is available to other visitors from near and far as well as group tours.

Toland-Herzig is a caring family business, dedicated to the community, proud of its past and continually working to improve for the future.