Family Owned, Family Focused
Serving families is what our family does best. Trigard is a family-owned and operated burial vault manufacturing company dedicated to helping those who have lost a loved one. We do this by ensuring peace of mind with burial vaults and urn vaults that protect caskets and urns with three layers of protection.
Trigard Mission
Our mission is based solely upon you. We will be the best partner to our clients, employees, vendors and community.
Trigard Vision
Our vision is to be the clear choice; a strong, viable, innovative leader.
Trigard Values
Passion, Integrity, Innovation, Leadership, Family, Stewardship
The Darby family, Charles and Florence Darby along with their two sons, James and David, moved to Danville, Illinois, in 1960 after purchasing Sunset Memorial Park. Trigard was founded in the late 1960s in an effort to increase the size of the existing business, which consisted of two cemeteries and a burial vault company.
When it came to memorialization, Trigard’s founder James “Big Jim” Darby, always believed “there has to be more…” A born entrepreneur, an idea sparked when Big Jim heard about thermoforming of polymers.
The new polymer liners were a tad shorter than the old fiberglass ones which made them sturdy enough for safe transportation. Through research and study, the Darby brothers introduced the arched cover design as well as added dimension which vastly improved the overall product. The company trade name was born, Trigard, for the three layers of protection a Trigard burial vault provides.
The Darby family not only manufactures Trigard burial vaults, but also uses them as funeral home owners. Sunset Funeral Home opened in December 1984 as one of the first funeral home/cemetery combination in the state of Illinois.
Big Jim’s vision continues on through his children and grandchildren, current owners Linda Darby-Dowers (Chief Executive Officer), Ethan Darby (Chief Marketing Officer), and Ross Darby (Chief Operating Officer).