Full History

The history of Mattson Funeral Home & Cremation Service can be traced back to the early 1900s, when Charles A. Mattson purchased the Forest Lake Undertaking Company of Scandia, Minnesota. He and his brother, John, operated the business in Scandia until 1920, when Charles bought the Peter Simmons Funeral Home in Forest Lake and moved with his family. The business operated in downtown Forest Lake until the late 1930s, when it moved to North Shore Drive.

Charles's son, Archie, bought the business from his father in 1940 and owned it when Highway 61 was re-routed in the north part of Forest Lake. At that time, the funeral home building was moved to its present location on the east side of North Shore Drive.

Neil J. Mattson purchased the business in 1965 from his parents, Archie and Mildred. Neil and Mabel, his wife, continued the Mattson tradition of providing compassionate, professional funeral service to the families of Forest Lake. In 1993, they sold the funeral home to the Vertin family of Breckenridge, Minnesota, while remaining apartial owner. The Mattson and Vertin families had known each other for many years—both personally and professionally, as the Vertins were close relatives of the late J.B. and Nellie Weisser of Forest Lake. The Weissers served the community through their business, the J.B. Weisser Lumber Company.

In the summer of 1999, construction began on the new funeral home building located adjacent to the existing funeral home. In the fall of that year, the original building was demolished, and construction of the new building was completed in February of 2000.

In 2004, Paul and Susan Hutchison partnered with the Vertin family and Neil Mattson as local owners. Today, Susan manages the funeral home, continuing the Mattson tradition of personalized, professional service that families in Forest Lake have come to expect.