Wight and Comes' history began over 80 years ago. Marcus P. Gergen founded the Gergen Funeral Home in 1922,in a store front on South Maple in Watertown, SD, near the current location of Tommy's Bowling Alley. At that time the store front was sufficient for making arrangements and selecting a casket, as the embalming, dressing the deceased and visitation, all took place in the home. In 1937 the former Presbyterian Church was purchased and converted into a funeral home by M.P. Gergen and his son Nick.

The solid reputation of the Wight & Comes Funeral Chapel has been built on the dedication of several owners over the years. Leland H. "Bill" Rhodes, Nick B. Gergen, Les Mathiesen, and Ernie Wight Sr., were the Mathiesen, Gergen, Rhodes and Wight Funeral Chapel. The named changed to Wight and Fox Funeral Chapel in 1980 when Paul Fox and Ernie Wight Jr., became part-owners. Ernie Wight Sr. retired in 1984 and sold his interest in 1991.

The current facility was built in 1992 and 200 more feet of highway frontage was purchased for future expansion and parking. Paul Fox sold his interest in the firm in April 2000 and Morrie Comes became a partner in January 2002. The new partners renamed the firm Wight & Comes Funeral Chapel, Inc. To further serve the expanding trade area, a visitation chapel was opened in April of 2000 at Henry, SD.

On September 1, 2004, the firm merged with another Watertown firm, Sogn-Messer Funeral Home. Howard Sogn became a partner with Ernie Wight and Morrie Comes and the firm was renamed Wight, Comes & Sogn Funeral Chapel, Inc. With the merge, a visitation chapel in Florence was added. Ernie Wight, Jr. retired in 2009, and his son Michael came to work with us at that time.

At Wight, Comes & Sogn Funeral Chapel, we handle prearrangement and pre-funding of funerals in addition to all the details of traditional and cremation services. We also offer an exclusive follow-up program to answer your needs days, months and even years following the death of a loved one.

For more than 80 years families of all faiths have become accustomed to expect the highest level of service and quality of work from the Wight & Comes Funeral Chapel. The facilities are second to none, anywhere. The warmth of the fireplace and the serenity of the decor helps create a warm, homey atmosphere. Outside is a well lit parking lot.

Wight, Comes & Sogn continues to be a leader in developing improved services. We provide the convenience of in-house color printing of service folders, the production of a video of the person's life and our exclusive follow-up service offered to every family.

Michael J. Wight, the son of Ernie and Natalie Wight, became a fourth generation funeral director and is a life long resident of Watertown, SD. He started his funeral apprenticeship at the Wight, Comes & Sogn Funeral Chapel in 2006 between attending the University of South Dakota and Mortuary School in Kansas City. After graduating and becoming a licensed funeral director, Michael was employed at Spitzer-Miller Funeral Home in Aberdeen, SD. In the fall of 2009, following the retirement of his father Ernie Wight, Jr., Michael was happy to follow in his father’s footsteps at Wight, Comes & Sogn Funeral Chapel. He is engaged to Megan Lauer of Watertown and the couple plan to marry in September 2010. He is a member of the First United Methodist Church, Lite Young Professionals, Lions Club and the National Wild Turkey Federation. Michael is happy to be back in his home town and serving his community.

Email: mwight@wcsfc.com

Morrie D. Comes began his funeral service career in 1993, serving part of his apprenticeship with the Wight & Fox funeral Chapel, Watertown, SD.   After working two years in Benson, MN and four years in Clear Lake, SD Morrie joined the Wight & Fox Funeral Chapel in April of 2000.  He became a partner with Ernie Wight, Jr. in January of 2002.  It was then that the chapel was renamed the  Wight & Comes Funeral Chapel.  Morrie, a former Waverly area resident, is married to Brenda Maag.  The couple have four children, Bailey, Hannah, Owen and Evan.  The family are members of the Holy Name Catholic Church in Watertown.  Morrie is a member of the Watertown Optimist Club.

Email: comes@wcsfc.com

Howard K. Sogn, a native of Canton, SD, started working at the Miller Funeral Home in Sioux Falls while attending Augustana College. In 1970, he started serving his apprenticeship with George Boom Funeral Home in Sioux Falls where he worked for many years. In 1993, he came to Watertown and worked for Shaw-Messer Funeral Service, became a co-owner in 1996 and the name was changed to Sogn-Messer Funeral Home. Howard is a member of the Grace Lutheran Church, Kiwanis Club, Masonic Lodge #13, Northeast Shrine Club, Watertown Area Council on Aging, serves on the board of directors at Jenkins Living Center and has served on the Watertown Parks and Recreation Board. In July of 2008 Howard was appointed to the South Dakota State Board of Funeral Service by Governor Mike Rounds. Howard and his wife Linda have three sons, Joshua and Jared Sogn and Jason VanMuyden.

Email: sogn@wcsfc.com

Laurie joined the firm in February of 1992 as a secretary/receptionist. Her secretarial responsibilities included answering the phone, filing documents, and greeting families for funeral arrangements and visitations. She now assists in making calls for funerals, preparing obituaries for the memorial brochures and newspapers, helps manage the firm's website and funeral trust information, files insurance claims and performs many other tasks. She was born to Gordon and June Burke in Watertown, where she graduated from Watertown High School. Laurie has two married daughters, Amy and Angela, and she also has a very special granddaughter, Ava. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her granddaughter, her family and friends, her dog, Sayde. She values each and every family who puts their trust in the funeral chapel in their time of need, and she also values working in a very caring environment.

Betty Reppe-Fox, daughter of Harry & LaVon Borg of Willow Lake, is a graduate of Willow Lake High School and Watertown Business University. She is the mother of Nicole (Greg) Kellar and Steven (Katherine Pittman) Reppe, the proud grandmother of four and is married to Paul N. Fox of Watertown. She was employed at Prairie Lakes Hospital for many years then later at Rock of Ages Monument Company as a memorial consultant/counselor. Betty started employment at Wight, Comes & Sogn Funeral Chapel in October of 2005 as a management assistant and is very efficient in organizing and helping the office run smoothly. This includes: writing the obituary, preparing the memorial folders, scanning/cropping photos, calling the appropriate people involved with the funeral such as the pastor, organist, soloist and pallbearers and making the preparations of such as easy and comforting for the family as possible. Other necessary calls are to insurance companies for families, ordering caskets and vaults, and various other clerical and physical duties deemed as to what the needs are.

Jean was born and raised in Watertown, the youngest child of Lewis and Helen Nichols. She married her high school sweetheart Don Fox, a CPA and they have two children, Emily and Adam, plus two beautiful grandchildren. She enjoys volunteering in her community and church. Since 2002 she has worked at Wight, Comes, and Sogn as a visitation hostess, assisting families and welcoming guests to the funeral chapel. She also works as an aftercare counselor contacting families after the funeral for follow up questions and care. She enjoys working with people and feels privileged to be able to help families in their time of loss. She assists families and welcomes guests to the funeral chapel.