Meet Our Staff - Park Forest, IL

Peter W. Jordan

Managing Partner / Funeral Director and Embalmer

Peter is an Illinois licensed funeral director and has been a part of the funeral industry since graduation from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 1991. Throughout his career he has served countless families throughout the U.S. as a funeral director and has been licensed in six states. He additionally has served extensively as an American Board (ABTC) certified transplant preservationist, traveling and helping to facilitate solid organ transplantation in many regions of the US, including Puerto Rico and Alaska.

Peter’s passion for helping others extends beyond the role of funeral director, as he serves as a minister in his south suburban Chicago neighborhood for the Chicago International Christian Church and volunteers for MERCYworldwide, a faith-based humanitarian organization. 

Peter is blessed in marriage to his lovely and awesome wife Lori. They are parents of seven children and three grandchildren. Outside of work, Peter enjoys golf and spending time with family.

Peter is an avid saxophonist and was a touring member and saxophonist for the R&B funk band “Heatwave”.

Peter is a father’s auxiliary member of The South Suburban Chicago Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. and the National Funeral Directors Association. 

Lori Jordan

Director of Business Development

Lori’s primary strengths are her financial acumen, conceptual thinking, and a quick-study nature. Her contributions are an integral part of the guiding principles of Lain-Sullivan Funeral Director’s. Her financial training is both academic and practical: she holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from Duke University (where she graduated at the age of 19), sat for and passed 3 of 4 parts of the CPA exam, completed GE’s well-respected 2-year Financial Management Program with National Honors, has held SEC securities licenses, and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. Lori has leveraged her academic financial training to serve in a variety of roles including controller, P&L leader, CFO, broker/dealer principal, M&A executive, corporate strategist, venture capital principal, regional pricing specialist, product leader and long-range planning leader. These roles required her to develop a working knowledge of the business and technology drivers within several industries including consumer banking, commercial leasing, telecommunications, internet technology, software licensing, cloud technology, and media. Lori has co-founded 3 independent entities: Image Café, The McLean Group, and Venturepreneur Partners and is a member of the Board of Directors of Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: FBC) and MERCY Worldwide a faith-based global humanitarian organization which currently operates in 80 cities on 6 continents, with more than 25,000 volunteers across 700 projects. Lori was previously a Board member to HOPE Worldwide another global humanitarian organization that serves more than 1.5 million people annually. Lori is a prior Board member of the YWCA of Boston (marketing, finance, and audit committees), and is on the advisory board for the BBALL101 Foundation. Lori served two terms on the Board of the Seattle Chapter of Jack and Jill of America Incorporated. Jack and Jill of America was founded on January 24, 1938 and today boasts 247 chapters nationwide, representing more than 40,000 family members. Lori served on the By-Laws committee, the Executive Board, the Grievance Committee, and the Membership Committee. She was also interim treasurer for one-year. Lori was appointed in the mid-1990s to the NASDAQ Qualifications Listing Panel. She is married to her best friend Peter.

Aretha Morgan

Licensed Funeral Director & Embalmer / Licensed Insurance Producer

A Chicago native, Aretha realized at a young age that she wanted to make a difference in the funeral industry. She is a graduate of Southern Illinois University – Carbondale, with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mortuary Science and Funeral Service.

She has provided exemplary service for many families throughout the Chicagoland area for over seven years as a licensed funeral director, embalmer and insurance agent, providing each family with the utmost level of care and compassion at the most difficult of moments. She cares for every family as if they are her own.

Aretha loves travel, dance and spending time with her family. Her favorite saying is, “It’s not a problem at all!”

Aretha is a member of the Illinois Funeral Director Association, Illinois Selected Morticians Association and the National Funeral Directors Association.

Rick Serrano

Office Administration

Rick Serrano grew up in Grant City, Illinois next to St. Louis, where he attended high school. Then he went to the Southern University of Illinois in Evanston, Illinois and later served in the Army’s Special Forces for 27 years, where he was given the Legion of Merit Award. He serves his community as a member of the Knights of Columbus, Masons, VFW, American Legion, Am Vets, DAV, and the Eagles.

Married to Sharon, he and his wife share four daughters, two sons and three grandchildren. When he’s not running in marathons, you’ll find him scuba diving, with his stamp or coin collection, or taking a Caribbean Cruise with Sharon.

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Crystal Williams

Ambassador / Administrative Assistant

Born and raised in Institute, West Virginia, Crystal is a graduate of West Virginia State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. Her career encompasses many years of advocacy, serving those in need as a civil rights investigator and as an employee of the public school systems.

Crystal oversees service and guest experience, ensuring that each family receives the high level of care and compassion that our families have come to expect. 

She is a proud mother and grandmother, and is also an active member of her local church where she regularly attends Bible Study and volunteers to serve those in the community.  

Codrut Birsan

Music Services Director

Music Services Director Lain-Sullivan Funeral Director’s is pleased to collaborate with Emmy Award winning composer, international pianist and opera singer Codrut Birsan, in providing music performance for funeral and memorial services. Codrut was born in Brasov, Romania. He began piano lessons at age 6 and continued his studies at the Brasov Conservatory and the Bucharest University of Music. By the age of 14 he won first prize in the Romanian National Competition. Codrut has sung with Opera Constanta and the Romanian National Opera.

Codrut moved to the United States in 2005 and obtained a Master of Voice degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He has performed with the San Francisco Lyric Opera. He has won many music awards, both here and in Romania. In 2009 Codrut founded the Chicago Summer Opera.

He has collaborated with Lain-Sullivan’s managing partner, Peter Jordan to provide music of comfort and celebration.