Stout finds a calling in a job she has been interested in since high school

By Matthew Johnson

Reporter

Rachel Stout, former minister of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Sebeka along with a number of other area Lutheran churches over 20 years, is finally working at the job she’s been interested in since high school.  

That job is as a mortician/funeral director and comes after serving in the ministry followed by serving beer to valued patrons at the Disgruntled Brewery in Perham. In fact, some of her regular patrons have been cheering her on over the past months as she completed an internship at Karvonen Funeral and Cremation Service in Wadena where she is now, as of this month, officially one of their funeral directors. 

Following her service in the ministry her husband, Pastor Ryan D.G. Stout of St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in New York Mills, learned that Karvonen’s, a third-generation funeral and cremation service owned by Greg and Suzi Karvonen, was looking for a new funeral director. Shortly after he found out, he encouraged her to reach out and, not long after that, Greg received a text from Stout informing him she had enrolled in mortuary school. That was August of 2023. He basically made her an offer to hire her if she agreed to go to mortuary school.

“Well, I’m in the program. Does that offer still stand?” she queried. 

He was pleasantly surprised by her quick response and gladly followed through with the offer.

Over two years later, after working on 25 apiece of embalmings, funeral services and arrangement conferences; graduating from online mortuary school in October 2024, passing the national board exams in November of 2024 and state board exams in January of 2025, plus completion of her 13.5-month internship in December 2025, she’s earned her licensure. 

“I got my license. It’s a big deal. It feels good,” she said.

She is doing just what she saw Stan Bruss, a funeral director from Bricelyn, Minn., do when she was in high school in the 1990s.

There was a period of time when she was growing up that her family suffered a number of losses one after another. During one particular funeral for a family member, when the family was seated in the family room, she watched Bruss “move and interact with people during the visitation.”

She asked her mom what she would have to do in order to do what he was doing. Later Bruss gave her and her confirmation class a tour of the funeral home, showed them the caskets and entertained any and all questions. He spoke of the work of prepping a body for burial as he showed them the “prep room.”

“Wow, this is really cool!” Stout shared with her friend as her friend tried to understand why.

Years later in mortuary school she took a restorative art course where she learned the importance of bone structure and face shape. She now uses what she learned to “give that person back to them (loved ones) a little bit, and give them a better picture of their loved ones. It is the beautiful part of this work,” she said.

But Stout did not study mortuary science shortly after graduating from United South Central High School in Wells, Minn., in 1997.

“My mom really wanted me to be a pastor. I love my mom so that’s why I chose that,” she said. 

She graduated with a BA degree in 2001 from Augsburg University in Minneapolis and earned her master of divinity from Luther Seminary in St. Paul in 2006. She has ministered at Trinity Lutheran in Moorhead, Immanuel in Wadena, Our Saviour’s in Sebeka, Balsamlund Lutheran in Aldrich and First Lutheran and Elmo Lutheran in Parkers Prairie.

Serving in the ministry helped her to develop a special kind of compassion for people.

“I learned how to really be present with people, not just those who are grieving the loss of a person but anyone grieving a loss of any kind,” she said.

She also loves helping families add special little details to services that honor a family’s deceased loved one in a big way, such as a tribute video that plays their loved one’s favorite music, etc.

“Part of what I like about this work is I am able to help families think outside of the box to honor their loved ones,” she said.

Stout is expressing much appreciation for Greg, Suzi and the rest of the staff at Karvonen Funeral & Cremation Service.

“They’ve all been my teachers and my family has been supportive, as well, including my husband and my kids.”

Greg refers to Stout as a “blessing in disguise.”

“Stout’s one of those,” he said. “We’re so blessed to have those on staff who care and do their job because they care!”

Stout and Ryan have three children and call New York Mills their home.