History & Staff

Ryan has been in the funeral industry since 1997 and continues to care for families with compassion. He has completed advanced embalming skill & postmortem reconstructive surgery seminars. Ryan is dedicated to continuing his education and has the designation of being a Certified Funeral Service Practitioner. He has volunteered with Hospice as a bereavement counselor and with the Lions Club International. Ryan continues to assist families at Fir Lawn Memorial Park & Funeral Home as a funeral director, embalmer, and pre-arrangement counselor. In his free time enjoys being outdoors.

April is local to Hillsboro since 1980, growing up in Scholls with her family while attending Groner Elementary and the greatly missed J.B. Thomas Junior High School. Graduating from Hillsboro High in the early 90's she remains close with many alumni here in town.

After working a generation in the healthcare and high-tech industries, she reduced her commute and found peace working with families for their end-of-life plans here at Fir Lawn, where her family is also memorialized.

She enjoys the community events of the local Tuesday Night Market, the west-side summer car shows, events at the Laurel Dance Hall and an occasional night of Karaoke. In her spare time, she is a full-time crafter and creative problem solver. She lives with her long-term partner who she met in Jr. High, and their dogs, Nala & Lewis.

Joel has been an Oregon resident all his life, born in Portland and currently living in Aloha. After three years of working retail, he felt it was time to pursue a more meaningful form of service and joined the team at Donelson Funeral Chapel in the early months of 2021.

Joel is currently a full time student at Portland State University with a minor in architecture and finishing up a bachelors degree in graphic design. As a part time Funeral Attendant at Donelson Funeral Chapel, Joel assists our Funeral Director with setting up and carrying out services for families under our care; as well as contributing to more behind the scenes work in the office where a helping hand can lift some of the weight of the shoulders of our Administrative and Management team.

Before coming to Donelson Funeral Chapel, Joel served as a volunteer for the city of Hillsboro for six consecutive years and has developed a strong understanding of compassion, respect, responsibility, and patience.