By Thomas A. Parmalee
Lisa Malcore, vice president of Malcore Funeral Home & Crematory and the CEO of Solace Urns, never thought of getting into funeral service – or starting an urn company for that matter. But things can change pretty fast when you marry a fifth-generation funeral director.
She met Matt Malcore while working at a shoe store in college.
“Before I met my husband, working in funeral service never crossed my mind,” she said. “Actually … I used to tease him that he might want to consider locking someone down because once he introduced himself as Matt Malcore, funeral director, it might reduce his pool of marital prospects.”
He took her advice and did lock someone down – her – and before she knew it, she was getting increasingly involved in the funeral business.
Earlier this year, she kicked that involvement up a notch when she founded Solace Urns, which she serves as CEO.
Already, it’s picked up almost 100 funeral home customers, and business is growing. Malcore also has no shortage of ideas when it comes to creating urns that will resonate with families.
FuneralVision.com recently caught up with Malcore to learn more about how she made her way into funeral service, what led to the founding of Solace Urns and how she plans to continue leveraging her creatively to drive family satisfaction.
Edited excerpts follow.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Lisa Malcore. I am 39 years old. I grew up in the tiny, yet delightful town of Luck, Wisconsin.
My husband and I have two children, Violet and Oliver, ages 12 and 10 and an excessively large Great Dane, named Evie, lovingly referred to as “Baby Moose” given her massive size.
When I’m not working, I am usually found hauling one or both of my kids to basketball, football, cross country or soccer practice. Their sports take up a good chunk of our free time. I also rebind and restore antique books and make overly large, elaborate but amateur cakes for family birthdays, baby showers and weddings.
I like to renovate. I’ve spent the last two years updating our Westside of Green Bay Funeral Home. Now that I’m finished, I can see the look of panic in my husband’s eyes when I stare overly long at our kitchen or the bathroom at the top of the stairs. I also love to read. I will read anything that is well written. Also, I will read things that are poorly written as long the story is engaging.
How did you get into funeral service?
Ultimately, it was necessity that made me permanently join the funeral home staff. Ever since my husband and I were dating, I would help out where and when I was needed. In 2017, one of my husband’s brothers left due to medical reasons. In 2018, his other brother decided to take another career path.
Up until that point, I had been working in the mental health field for 12 years. I took over the funeral home finances in 2018, started preneed in 2020, took my apprentice classes in 2022 and launched Solace Urns in 2024. I am hoping to end the streak of starting something new every two years and just concentrate on growing Solace to its full potential.
Have you ever thought about becoming a licensed funeral director? Why or why not?
Becoming a licensed director was something I considered for a brief period of time when we were really struggling with staffing. In the end, we knew that if I did become a licensed director, I would not have the flexibility necessary to be available for our kids and our overly large pooch. We felt it was important for them to be able to have at least one parent at their school concerts, doctor appointments and be able to haul them to and from practices.

How many families per year does your funeral home serve – what is the cremation rate, and what are the biggest challenges your firm is facing?
We have two traditional funeral homes as well as a cremation-focused business. In 2023, we served just over 700 families. Our cremation rate is skewed because of our cremation focused business. Last year, 77% of our calls were cremations.
I would say our biggest challenge is competing with corporate owned funeral homes. We had a very large, corporate owned firm move in a few blocks from our front door. That was when we opened our cremation-focused business. We knew that if we didn’t do something to counteract them, we would lose the calls for families looking for the perceived economical option.
You are the preneed coordinator. How have you grown your program?
Until very recently, we have relied on our reputation and longevity to drive our preneed program. My father-in-law also teaches a learning in retirement program at the University of WI – Green Bay on end-of-life care, death education and grief support. We get a high volume of preneeds from people who have taken his classes.
We have recently partnered with Precoa to enhance our preneed program. They also provide wonderful aftercare resources. Because I, as many people do in family-owned firms, wear so many hats, giving preneed the time it deserves is something I have struggled with. I am very much looking forward to getting the program up and running.
When did you first get the idea to start Solace Urns and why?
Solace actually came into being because of the Elysium Urn. There was a company on the West Coast that carried that urn. However, the company dissolved a few years ago. That urn, especially the keepsakes, was something we did very well with at our funeral homes. It was beautiful, different and impactful. As funeral professionals, we always want what we are providing to be meaningful and offer comfort, or Solace, if you will.
It took us three years to track down the manufacturer to find out where we could purchase the urn, and the answer was nowhere. They made the urn specifically for the company that was no longer in operation. We talked about potential options and found out they were also the manufacturer for a couple of the other urns we carried that were, again, no longer available anywhere … ultimately, we decided to move forward and create Solace Urns.
This also coincided with a time when we were getting frustrated with the selection of urns that were available. It’s seemed like our wholesalers were all carrying the same products, and those products were becoming more traditional. We felt that this was a huge missed opportunity to celebrate our client families’ loved ones and make the urn part of a family’s home in a unique and meaningful way.
Where do you source your urns? Do you manufacture them yourself, or do use a supplier?
Our main manufacturer is located in Singapore, and they are fabulous. The talent and attention to detail they have amazes me. We are very fortunate to be working with them. Watching our ideas take shape in clay and going through the casting and manufacturing process with them is, for lack of better words, so very cool. We have exclusive rights to the products they make for us, which is how you can be sure client families won’t be able to find them on Amazon. Our Northwoods urn is manufactured in India.
We have spoken to a few local artists and are working to offer urns made locally in the Green Bay area. We plan to first offer limited runs to learn where interest is and hopefully add products to our permanent selection.
I assume your funeral home is offering the urns from Solace to families. How do you work this into the conversation? Do you have the urns as part of your selection room?
We do offer our urns at our funeral homes. We have our products as part of our regular urn displays right alongside urns from Terrybear, Treasure Line and Brown-Wilbert. I don’t make a point of pointing them out unless I know the decedent had an interest in that area. I don’t bring up the fact that they are our urns unless the family is asking questions about them. I never want anyone to obligated to choose a Solace urn to not hurt my feelings. And yes, we are Midwesterners, the people here are so nice that they might choose an urn that is not their first choice in order to not disappoint someone.
You have some nice fishing and hunting themes in your urn selection. Why was this important for you to include?
We are located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and we decided to initially focus on what we knew would sell well in our area. We have a unique perspective in having our own funeral home. We know what our client families are requesting and what is currently available and unavailable. Hunting and fishing are a big part of the Midwest culture and something we receive many requests for from the families we serve.
Northwoods was brought to life from a preneed client whose favorite thing to do was chop firewood. His son asked if we had a stump that we could hollow out for him. So, raise a glass to Dennis for the creation of Northwoods.
Last Cast, which I lovingly refer to as “my baby,” is an urn that I jokingly say that half of my family will end up in (though the statement may be accurate). Going through the sculpting, molding and casting process was fascinating. I do have to give credit to my brother for the outstanding name, though I wish I could take it for myself.
What has been the bestselling urn so far – and what has been the initial reaction/feedback from families?
Believe it or not, as of today we have a three-way tie for the number one seller in full-size urns. Last Cast, Northwoods and Final Hunt are leading the pack. Our number one selling overall product is the Northwoods keepsake, which has been flying out the door.
We do expect to have different best sellers in different areas of the country, and I’m eager to see how the numbers will change as we move into different markets.
I also love the enthusiasm we are seeing from funeral homes. I’ve had people send pictures to me of their display rooms with our urns and our brochures. People have asked for images, so they can include our products in their online merchandise and make posts to social media. My favorite is when they get the urns they ordered and call back after the delivery saying they love them, and they need to carry other ones as well.
The reaction from families has been wonderful. They are thrilled to be able to have an urn that they know their family member would have loved. Even our clients who don’t pick a Solace Urn comment on them and can see how special it will be for the right person. Our goal is to eventually have something for everyone. I have encouraged the funeral homes we’ve worked with to let me know if there is something they think would go over well with the families they serve.
Are you looking to add additional urns to your line and/or other cremation-oriented products?
Oh, yes. I have a new urn idea roughly every 30 seconds. The problem is keeping myself in check.
More immediately, you will see keepsakes for Last Cast, Final Hunt, Liberty and Autumn Mourning. We have the samples, and they will make the most adorable and meaningful memento of a family’s loved one you will ever see. Elysium and Requiem will also have a 10 ½” size.
We have just finished the sculpting phase of a Lighthouse and a Sailboat. Both will have four-inch keepsakes as well as full-size urns. They will be made out of the UV treated granite composite material that is used to make our Elysium urn. They can be placed inside the house as part of décor or they will be able to be placed outside as a garden statue. We are hoping to be able to have these ready for sale by the end of the year.
Additionally, we are working with a local ceramics artist to offer something unique and beautiful. We hope to be able to continue expand that area and work with other local artists who work with different mediums as well.
I have many other thoughts. Within the next year or so, I’d like to have a motorcycle urn. I envision it being from the view of the rider’s seat, seeing the gauges, handle bars, windshield and gas tank cap. Like all our urns, it would be a 360-degree sculpture, so there will be a view of the front of the bike and the sides as well. It will be chrome with black patina – not to get too specific.
I also see a Grambel Roofed Barn in our future. I would like a white birch bark urn similar to our Northwoods. However, I feel like white birch bark doesn’t have the structural integrity needed to stand the test of time. We will need to look at artificial options and see what we can produce that still has the feeling of authenticity we are looking for.
Engraving is also in our future. We are in the process of converting our funeral home warehouse into Solace headquarters. Once we have completed ridding our building of 103 years of discarded funeral home paraphernalia, we can start engraving plates for our urns – which have an excellent base for personalization – and we can also engrave directly on the granite composite urns as well. Thinking of our first sailboat urn (name still a work in progress) to be engraved with the name of someone’s one boat or their loved one’s name and how much that will mean to their family makes me smile. Or the thought of having the initials or handwriting engraved on the future birch bark urn like it was carved on a tree also makes me smile.
How can funeral homes earn money selling your products?
We work strictly as a wholesaler and only sell directly to funeral homes. Each funeral home will price our products as they choose. We do, however, price our products so that funeral homes can sell them at prices comparable to what would be seen on more traditional urns. We feel that every family deserves the possibility to memorialize their loved one in a personal and meaningful way regardless of their level of income.
How many funeral homes are you working with?
As of today, we have shipped orders to 78 different funeral homes, and I’m happy to say the number is growing. Solace launched at the beginning of June. At this time, I have only attended one conference and sent mailings to the Midwest. I can also see the cities of where people try to access our website and if it isn’t an area where I have sent our mailers, I try and send them to area funeral homes. However, when someone tries to access our website in Philadelphia or San Antonio, it’s hard to narrow that down to a couple funeral homes.
How can other funeral homes offer the urns from Solace?
By calling me at 920-621-8134 or emailing me at Lisa@Solace-Urns.com. I can provide the password to our website, so they can place their own order, or I’m happy to take an order via phone or email as well. As we do not have a billing department (which helps keep our prices down), I do require payment upon order via credit card. Orders placed online can be paid by credit card or PayPal.
Do you have any other thoughts to share?
Once again, I encourage feedback and any suggestions for any future sculptural urns that funeral directors think would do well in their area. I am well versed on the family needs on our area, but I would love to hear thoughts about what client families near you would find impactful. The capabilities we have with our manufacturer are endless, and we hope to wield this power to provide to grieving families and value to funeral home. You can do that by emailing me at Lisa@solace-urns.com.
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