Ren Newcomer
Founder and Chairman of the Board
Ren Newcomer
Founder and Chairman of the Board
Ren Newcomer serves as the Founder and Chairman of Newcomer Funeral Service Group, Inc. Following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather before him, Ren become a funeral director and started his career in Topeka after graduating from the University of Kansas. He founded Newcomer Funeral Service Group, Inc. in 1978 when he purchased his first funeral home and has spent the decades since expanding the company to over forty locations in ten states. Ren is the Past President of the Kansas Funeral Directors Association, a board member of CoreFirst Bank & Trust and is a licensed funeral director in the states of Kansas and Ohio.
John Newcomer
President
John Newcomer
President
John Newcomer serves as President of Newcomer Funeral Service Group. He joined the Company in 2012 as an Apprentice Funeral Director in Louisville, KY before serving as Manager of Newcomer’s operations in the Louisville area. John moved to the Home Office in Topeka, KS in 2017 and succeeded his father as President of the company in 2021. He is a licensed funeral director in Kansas and Kentucky.
Prior to joining his family’s business, John was a certified public accountant with KPMG’s Chicago office for four years. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and his Masters in Accounting, both from the University of Kansas.
Perry Hasselbeck
Executive Vice President, Chief Operations Officer
Perry Hasselbeck
Executive Vice President, Chief Operations Officer
Chief Operations Officer Perry Hasselbeck is a graduate of University of Cincinnati and attended Wharton School for Executive Education at the University of Pennsylvania. He began his career at Batesville Casket Company, eventually holding management positions in their national accounts division and cremation products division. Perry shares that when he reviewed his career and future opportunities, he saw that the growth of our company was in line with his goals, and joined Newcomer in 2003. He was, and still is, impressed with the entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to growth within our organization. Perry leads our Operations Department, and assists our division directors and funeral home managers with daily challenges and strategic initiatives.
Robert Stanley
Vice President, Chief Information Officer
Robert Stanley
Vice President, Chief Information Officer
Chief Information Officer Robert Stanley is a graduate of Missouri State University. He began his career as a Software Developer for Conoco and later Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, before moving into leadership roles at Security Benefit/SE2 where he managed large teams as a Director of Technology Solutions. When he joined Newcomer in 2015, one of the immediate appeals was our organization’s genuine desire to serve families. The primary focus of Robert’s previous employers had always been profits and investors, and Newcomer’s culture and values have been a refreshing change. He also appreciated the new challenges of the CIO role, along with balance brought by the company's concern for their associates. Robert’s responsibilities include leading Newcomer’s IT team in providing the technology to meet the needs of our associates and the families that we serve, anticipating future needs, and securing all the information that families entrust to us.
Chet Stone
Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Chet Stone
Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Chief Financial Officer Chet Stone is a Certified Public Accountant who joined our company in 2019. A graduate of Washburn University in Topeka, KS, Chet has previously worked with SS&C CPA’s, First Life America Corporation, CAS Construction, Jetz, and Empire Candle Company, in auditor, controller, CEO and CFO roles. Chet manages the activity of our Accounting Department, along with our finance, insurance, and banking relationships. He shared that he enjoys the family environment of our workplace, which gives him the opportunity to work with a great group of people who are providing a valuable service to our communities every day.
Darren Miller
Vice President, Facilities
Darren Miller
Vice President, Facilities
Vice President of Facilities Darren Miller graduated with a degree in criminal justice from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. He began his career as an aircraft mechanic and instructor, then served as a regional airline transport pilot and chief pilot for an air charter service. Darren joined Newcomer in 1998 to manage the needs of our facilities and support the travel needs of the organization and currently leads the facilities and construction aspects of our business. Darren was attracted to our company because of its longevity and stability, care for families and associates, and our demonstrated high standards and responsibility towards our facilities. Darren is the Past President of the Air Explorer Post 8 Ops – Topeka.
Bob Ekins
Vice President, Field Operations
Bob Ekins
Vice President, Field Operations
Vice President of Field Operations Bob Ekins is a graduate of Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. He began his career at Batesville Casket Company in a sales support role for funeral homes from coast to coast, eventually specializing in the cremation product line.
Later, Bob worked in the preneed trust and insurance side of our profession with Forethought and Trust 100 and eventually moved into business development and succession planning efforts with Johnson Consulting.
Bob joined Newcomer in 2025 and shares that for most of his career, he has admired the quality service and value our organization provides to families. When presented with the opportunity to join us, he saw it as the best way to further expand upon and round out his funeral service career with a role that closely impacts every family we serve.
Bob supports our operations team, making sure that those assisting families have everything they need to provide a quality service.
Julie Gould
Compliance Manager
Julie Gould
Compliance Manager
Compliance Manager Julie Gould graduated with a bachelor's degree from Washburn University. She began her career as a Sales and Events Assistant at Cumulus Broadcasting before joining our company in 2009 as an administrative assistant for our Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home in Topeka. She chose to join Newcomer because she had always heard positive things about the company in the community. Julie later joined our Home Office team, focusing on compliance and operations, and more recently transitioned to a cemetery manager role for our two properties in Topeka. Now, as our Compliance Manager, Julie addresses compliance inquiries and concerns, conducts site visits, and ensures that we have effective communication and training related to compliance matters. Julie is a past member and board member of the Junior League of Topeka. She appreciates that the Newcomer’s genuine care for each family we serve is reflected in every decision that is made, and the way the company fosters a supportive work environment, valuing work-life balance and treating associates with great respect.
Tyler Cummins
Director of Human Resources
Tyler Cummins
Director of Human Resources
Director of Human Resources Tyler Cummins graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University. He began his career at the Kansas Golf Association where he led volunteers and staff members and oversaw the day-to-day activities of the junior golf and membership programs throughout Kansas. When looking to make a change in 2017, he was attracted to Newcomer because of our reputation and positive impact on the communities we serve, and the way we continually invest in our associates. Tyler joined the Human Resources team as an assistant and has since held the roles of Benefits Administrator and Human Resources Business Partner. As Director, Tyler oversees the day-to-day activities of HR and supports our leadership team, managers, and associates company-wide. The genuine care, compassion and professionalism of our associates motivates him every day to make sure that HR is meeting associates’ needs so they can better support the families we serve.
Jeremy Lamb
Director of Marketing
Jeremy Lamb
Director of Marketing
Director of Marketing Jeremy Lamb is a graduate of Friends University in Wichita, Kansas. He has a strong background in Marketing and Sales across a number of industries, including radio, auto and digital marketing. In 2018, he joined Newcomer to lead our Marketing Department, overseeing all marketing and communication efforts. Jeremy shares that he was interested in our company because it is a family-owned organization which continually invests in its employees.
Roy Montgomery
Director of Sales
Roy Montgomery
Director of Sales
Director of Sales Roy Montgomery is a Kansas native who attended Bethany College. He has worked in sales throughout his career, initially in business-to-business opportunities, and later joining the life insurance industry with American Home Life. In 2006, he transitioned to a funeral preplanning sales position with our funeral home in Lakewood, Colorado, eventually attaining a regional sales director role before becoming our national sales director in 2020. Roy is responsible for developing, implementing, and monitoring growth sales strategies and technologies, coaching and training our team, and recruiting new talent to help us achieve greater sales results, all while maintaining outstanding customer service.
