For the first time in a long time, the apartment above Dowagiac’s Clark Chapel has a new resident.

Since taking over supervision of the funeral home last month, new General Manager Ray Visotski has made the business his new home, moving into the living quarters once occupied by longtime owner Doug Clark. While still settling into his new space (his wife Alicia is expected to join him later this month) the funeral director is quite happy to not have to worry about commuting to work, with his desk located just feet away from his front door, he said.

“I don’t have any excuses to be late for work now,” Visotski said.

The veteran of the funeral management business has taken over oversight of the funeral home, a part of Starks Family Funeral Homes, arriving in Dowagiac from South Carolina on July 4.

Growing up in Warren County, New Jersey, Visotski pursued the path of managing funeral homes from an early age, following the death of his grandfather when he was 14, he said. In spite of the heartache he and his family went through, the way their family’s funeral director provided a steady hand through troubled waters struck a chord with him, Visotski said.

“When all of us were falling apart and had no idea what to do, here comes someone who took control and said, ‘OK, here is what we are going to do,’” Visotski said. “That is what planted the seeds in my head for me to want to become a funeral director.”

After graduating high school, the young man immediately took a job working in a local funeral home, working there even while attending college.

He later attended Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science — where he studied alongside Tom Starks, the future owner of Starks Family Funeral Homes.

“We graduated about 35 seconds apart from each other,” Visotski said.

Visotski would go on to work at funeral homes in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and eventually owned his own chain of homes in South Carolina. However, with his three daughters all choosing to pursue careers outside the family business, Visotski instead chose to merge his funeral homes with another company, leaving the business entirely, he said.

When his former classmate contacted him earlier this year to see if he would be interested in running Clark Chapel, Visotski jumped at the opportunity, he said.

Without the burden of dealing with the complexities of running a chain of funeral homes, Visotski said his role at Clark allows him to get back to basics: working and connecting with families dealing with the loss of their loved ones.

“At the end of the day, we are here to take care of people going through some of the worst days of their lives, and to build relationships with families to let them know we will not let them down,” Visotski said.

On top of his duties at the home, though, Visotski will also continue the Starks family’s commitment to the communities they serve, reaching out and assisting local service organizations and projects whenever possible. He has already joined the Dowagiac Knights of Columbus, and is in the process of becoming a member of the Dowagiac Rotary Club.

“This is getting back to how a Dowagiac funeral home should be run,” Starks said. “It is families taking care of families.”

Clark Chapel is located at 405 Center St., Dowagiac. For assistance, people can contact the funeral home at (269) 782-2135.