The Axelson Family, which has been known for excellence and innovation in funeral service, is now offering the Butte community and region a much broader range of services. We are very proud of our 75 year commitment to serving families during difficult times. Axelson Funeral & Cremation Services, an affordable alternative to traditional funeral homes, has been established to meet the changing needs and wishes of Butte.
Brianne Mulvaney – Owner, Funeral Director
Bri Mulvaney has been dedicated to the funeral industry since 2014, beginning her career in Helena with the Stevenson family and Randy Wilke. She graduated from American Academy McAllister Institute in 2016 with a Mortuary Science degree and became a licensed mortician in 2017. Pursuing a career as a mortician has been a labor of love and joy for her. Every day is humbling and her cup is filled.
Bri and her husband, Nick Mulvaney, moved to Butte in 2019. Living in and serving the Butte and surrounding communities has been nothing short of the stars aligning for them. Butte has felt like home since the first day of their adventure here.
Outside of her work, Bri recently has found a new love for working in her garden, enjoys yoga, and spends any spare time she has with her husband, her and her husband’s family, her close friends, and her Godson, Henry.
Being part of the Butte and surrounding communities is a true joy for Bri. She appreciates the professional and personal friendships that have been cultivated in her time here and Bri deeply values the trust her community has placed in her and her funeral home.
Haley Essenheimer – Funeral Director
Haley has been interested in funeral directing from a young age. After high school, she began working toward a degree in human biology, which became the foundation for attending the Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service in Houston, Texas. In 2020, she began her career working at a local funeral home in DeRidder, Louisiana, and graduated with her Mortuary Science degree in 2021. In 2022, she and her husband decided it was time to make the move to their dream location. They fell in love with Butte immediately, and knew it was the community they wanted to serve.
It was a long-term dream come true for Haley to begin working to help families at Axelson’s. Outside of the funeral home, she is still active in all the interests that brought her to funeral service in the first place. She loves to draw people and write about their stories. Haley is also a huge fan of film and literature.
Sharon Ferguson – Office Administrator
Sharon Ferguson, a Texas, and Louisiana native who relocated to Butte in 2013, brings over 10 years of experience as an administrative assistant. She is excited about contributing to the Butte community and looks forward to making a difference. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and exploring her home state, spending time with her loved ones and immersing herself in nature.
Katlyn O’Brien – Funeral Director Intern
Bio coming soon
Nick Mulvaney – Crematory Operations
Nick Mulvaney hails from Helena, Montana, where he was born and raised. Nick has Butte roots as his mother was born and raised in here. When Nick’s wife, Bri, was offered the opportunity to move to and serve the Butte community at Axelson Funeral and Cremation Services, Nick couldn’t have agreed more about what a perfectly timed opportunity this was to end up in the greatest city on earth.
Shortly after their move to Butte from Helena, Nick began working at the funeral home to help on services and assist with other needs at the funeral home. He quickly realized what a rewarding profession it was to serve families when they experienced a death. Shortly after he applied to be a Crematory Operator and has operated our cremation facility and operations since.
Nick has a deep love for soccer and sport spectating of any genre, considers himself a rockhound, and a music aficionado. He appreciates the colorful and charming history of Butte, loves golfing, playing board and card games with his wife, and building intricate Lego models in the winter months.
One of the most notable experiences he and Bri have had in Butte since their move here in July of 2019 was discovering that the building on Harrison Ave that they work out of is the same building that his late grandfather, Jim Matteucci, worked out of for many decades when it was Don’s Office Machines. When Nick and Bri made this discovery, they knew for certain that there was a divine hand in their migration to the Richest Hill on Earth and they haven’t looked back since.
Steve Kambich – Certified Care Assistant Manager
Steve Kambich was born and raised in Butte. He has three children and is married to Dorene, a relationship he started way back in high school and was able to finally see to fruition many years later.
Steve is the kind of person who does it all; he was a bull rider as an adolescent and he now spends his spare time hunting, helping those he knows on their ranches, watching football and other spectator sports, and is always available to help a friend, neighbor, coworker and maybe even an enemy.
Steve is the manager of our Certified Care Assistants and takes so much pride in the excellent care he shows families in the work he does and assistance as a crematory technician. In addition to his work with Axelson’s, Steve is the head engineer for East Middle School.
It doesn’t matter the day or the circumstances, Steve always has a positive outlook, supportive attitude, and is an all-around optimistic presence.
Keri Bolton – Certified Care Assistant
Keri was born and raised in Butte, Montana. Her dad had 13 brothers and sisters – she has a very large and amazing family. Keri moved to Seattle when she was young and spent about 20 years working for Boeing while she lived there. She couldn’t wait to get back to her hometown.
Keri has spent the last several years working for the Butte School district as an engineer and with Axelson Funeral and Cremation Services as a Certified Care Assistant. Keri loves serving her community. In her spare time, she enjoys all the wonders of Montana’s outdoors. Keri simply can’t think of a better place to live and raise a family.
Bob Lockett – Certified Care Assistant
Bob was born and raised in Butte, MT and moved to Helena during High School, where he spent the next 30 years. Bob is an avid fan of football and enjoy fishing and camping at Georgetown Lake with his family and seven grandkids. He is the Chief Engineer for Butte High School and very involved in the sports programs for both Butte High and East Middle School.
Pat Ryan – Certified Care Assistant
Pat Ryan is a fourth generation Butte guy who is busy raising the fifth. He was a sportswriter for years, but now works at the Butte School District warehouse and for Axelson. Pat’s hobby is collecting hobbies, though riding his bicycle might be his favorite.
Jack White – Certified Care Assistant
Jack was born in Butte, Montana. He loves to camp and go 4-wheeling. Jack also enjoys fishing. When he retires, he wants to travel. Jack works as an engineer for the Butte School District and has been working with Axelson Since December of 2021.
Chad Kriskovich – Certified Care Assistant
Bio coming soon
Stephanie Shumway – Certified Care Assistant
Stephanie Shumway has called Butte her home for two years now. When she isn’t serving the clients of Axelson’s, she is working as a paraprofessional for BSD#1.
Stephanie is a wife and mother of two children. She and her family enjoy fishing, camping, and exploring the outdoors with their dog, Pepperoni. You can always find Stephanie with either a book or yarn in her hands.