Our History
Fontana Mortuary’s building was built by the late Stanley Dickey in 1953 at its present location on Mango, just north of Foothill Blvd. Mr. Dickey was a WW2 veteran and was a visionary with the huge population growth of the 1940s and continuing with the well-known baby boom following. Much of the growth impact was fueled by returning veterans from both WW2 and the Korean Conflict and Fontana was attractive and affordable for these veterans and Kaiser Steel continued as the major employer as it shifted from the wartime effort of steel for ship building and other defense…to steel needed for the auto boom and other domestic consumption. With these returning veterans having large families, often created retiring “grandparents” of the baby boom to relocate to where the new generations were living and in Fontana to have a much more favorable climate than most of the United States.
The late Stanley Dickey had three children and his youngest, is Sarah DickeyTrousdale who was in her early years raised within the then Mortuary residence space (later converted to added office space as the clientele grew)…and then to a house directly across the street from the mortuary. Sarah married her high school sweetheart, Ryan Trousdale, also a Fontana native and baby boomer.
As Stanley’s age and his health declined, Sarah joined her Father’s business and then as it grew further, her beloved husband Ryan changed his career to be in the family business. Stanley passed in the early part of 2009, years after the next generation took it to an expanded level. Both Ryan and Sarah had a broad vision for the community needs…they embraced change in funeral and cremation preferences, welcomed the growth and diversification of the changing Fontana, and reimagined the facility to be more informal, offering space for receptions and meals both indoors and through the creation of a unique patio where children, grieving extended family, and friends can easily gather, in addition to the facilities more formal (yet semi informal) main large remembrance room, or chapel.
The Trousdale’s truly were “all in” on serving including personal availability 24 hours of every day. They decided to retire, and while they wanted their legacy to continue to thrive and serve the community Sarah also felt it was time to retire the “Dickey Mortuary” name, at the time the second oldest family business in the City of Fontana. William Hawkins took ownership at the beginning of 2018 with the new name…Fontana Mortuary and he continues to be involved with the enterprise. The Hawkins-Gomez family considers the Trousdale’s cherished friends and can not adequately express in words their gratitude to Sarah and Ryan who have been great mentors and supporters as their heritage as well as Stanley Dickey’s heritage lives on serving the community.
Ever since we opened our doors we have approached life (and death) differently. While some just see the end of a loved one’s life as a time for grief and mourning, we prefer to think of it as a time for reflection, appreciation and even celebration. This is evident in everything we do, from the way we conduct our services to the amenities we choose to offer. Though we are not a burial ground. We are a close-knit community dedicated to honoring, sharing and preserving the amazing and inspirational stories that are life.