Jason Elmore – River City Six

Meet Jason Elmore, co-founder and owner of Paws & Remember (www.pawsandremember.com).

Tell us a little about your business.

My sister Kelli and I started the Paws & Remember franchise in 2009. We are a pet crematorium business that offers pet memorialization to families in their time of need. Paws & Remember offers a selection of urns, jewelry, and urn packages for families to choose from. Our services are available to all veterinarian clinics as well as to the general public. We preserve a personal hair clipping and offer a clay paw print upon request. We use a stainless steel individualized tag that follows the pet to ensure individualized care and respect throughout the process. The unique part of this business is that we deal with all ages of pet lovers and a variety of pets. You can’t be too young or too old to love a pet.

How did you get started in the business?

We recognized a need to offer a separate service to the community that focused on pets and their families in times of need. Pet cremation diversifies our business from our human cremation business, Elmore Crematory, which is operated separately, and our burial vault business, Omaha Wilbert Vaults. Elmore Crematory has been around since 1983 and Omaha Wilbert Vaults since 1976. Both businesses are a family business and were formerly owned by our father.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced professionally?

Continually striving to provide our quality service for vet clinics and families. We are always looking for ways to serve pet loss families with a personal, individualized memorial product and service that brings them comfort in this difficult time.

What has been your most important achievement professionally?

Growing the Paws & Remember business into a well-known company that has a strong tradition of quality service.

Tell us a little about your family.

My wife’s name is Alicia, and I have two stepsons, ages 21 and 18. We also have a daughter who is three and a half years old. The age differences give us new surprises every day, but I wouldn’t change anything about our life.

What do you see as one of the biggest turning points in your life?

My daughter being born. She literally changed my daily outlook on life the very day she arrived. I’m used to being the boss at work, but when I get home my daughter quickly reminds me that isn’t the case at home.

What is the most unique or interesting thing about you that most people probably don’t know?

I like a good game of chess!

Who inspires you?

My father. He shared his vision, passion, and integrity as a business leader and person. From a very young age, I spent time helping him at work and learning from him. He was a great teacher and I can now admire how he always let me learn from my own mistakes.

If you could choose only one descriptive word to be remembered as, what would it be?

Genuine.

What is your greatest talent that you don’t utilize in your daily work life?

I’m a bit of a thrill seeker. As a kid, I loved steep hills to snow tube down and I still enjoy a rollercoaster or a water slide.

Which talent would you most like to have?

Patience. I’m always in a hurry to get things done. I am still learning how to have patience with simple things that don’t go or get done as I expect.

What is your favorite TV show?

I am often caught watching old TV sitcoms. I shouldn’t admit this, but I still watch re-runs of Married with Children. I think the show was well before its time in humor. I also like to catch a daily re-run of Seinfeld.

If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so?

Phone: (402) 932-0962; Email: jelmore2@cox.net; Website: www.pawsandremember.com.