About Us

The history of our funeral homes date back many years. The Aaker Funeral Home was founded in 1918 as the Graham Funeral Home. The Stanley-Iverson Funeral Home was founded in 1949 as the Wonder Funeral Home. Each has its own story and contribution to their community over the years. We could explain in great detail the history of these firms, but it would be too lengthy for your internet inquiry. The history we want to share with you is the history about us; the people who have come to work together, making our funeral homes meet the needs of the families we serve.

Our history begins in 1992, when Ryan Iverson and Dan Kassian meet at the University of Minnesota where they were both attending the Mortuary Science Program and became friends. Both grew up in North Dakota small towns; Ryan in Binford and Dan in Wilton. During the last year of college, Ryan was home for the summer and began discussions for employment with Robert Stanley of the Stanley Funeral Home in McVille. In 1993 Ryan served his internship with Robert and they continued working together. The following year Robert began thinking about the future of the funeral home, so he offered Ryan a partnership and the name changed to the Stanley-Iverson Funeral Home. Upon graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1993, Dan was offered a position at the Mueller-Bies Funeral Home in Roseville, Minnesota. Over the course of time, Ryan and Dan remained in close contact. They continually visited about the future of funeral service and how their ideas and work ethic could benefit the families they serve.

In 1999 James Aaker contacted Ryan about the future of the Aaker Funeral Home in Lakota. After some discussion of our philosophy and ideals, James decided to sell his family funeral home to us, at which time we formed Iverson-Kassian Funeral Services, Inc. Dan and his family moved to Lakota in July of 1999. In January 2000, Robert Stanley retired and Iverson-Kassian Funeral Services purchased his interest in the Stanley-Iverson Funeral Home.

Today we are constantly trying to provide more meaningful services. Ryan and Dan continually brainstorm and research ideas of what we can do better, how we can provide more, and always make our families a top priority. Our history may seem limited if you consider when we started, but the level of service we provide will be a part of funeral service history.