Capital Campaign Donation in Memory of Lewis County Funeral Director

The Lewis County Hospital Foundation is pleased to announce that the family of Lawson M. Virkler, including his wife Carol, son Timothy, daughter-in-law Mariko and grandson William, have made a generous donation to the Lewis County Hospital Foundation in his memory.  The donation will serve to name the Lewis County General Hospital’s new morgue. 

As a long-time funeral director, the gift is a fitting tribute to Mr. Virkler, who passed away in March of 2018.  During his nearly three decades of operating the Virkler Funeral Home, Mr. Virkler greatly valued the services provided to the community by the hospital and was a frequent visitor to the facility’s old morgue. 

The Virkler Funeral Home was originally founded by Mr. Virkler’s father, Maurice N. Virkler, in 1926 and was at the time the first funeral home to operate in the Village of Lowville. The elder Mr. Virkler operated the funeral home until his death in 1954, at which point Lawson took over the operation of the business, which at the time also included an ambulance service. He then operated the funeral home until his retirement in 1981.

During his years in business, Mr. Virkler was well known in the local community and developed an excellent reputation for helping families through the difficult time of dealing with the loss of a loved one.  Prior to taking over the Virkler Funeral Home, Mr. Virkler graduated from Lowville Academy in 1948, attended Hobart College and graduated from the Cincinnati College of Embalming.  He enlisted in the United States Navy and at the time of his discharge in 1954.  He was a Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class.

Following his retirement Mr. Virkler continued to appreciate the hospital and he supported the role it plays in our local community.  He was thrilled when his grandson was born in the hospital in 2007 and would be both amazed and proud of the recent upgrades to the medical surgical and critical care facilities at the hospital.

 His family is honored to be able to preserve his memory and the memory of his association with the hospital through their donation.