NFDA Recognizes Funeral Homes for Excellence in Service to Families and Communities

The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is pleased to announce the names of the 153 funeral homes that have earned a 2013 Pursuit of Excellence Award. The Award is presented annually to firms that have demonstrated a commitment to raising the bar on funeral service excellence by adhering to strict ethical and professional standards and providing outstanding service to families and communities.

To earn an NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Award, a funeral home must demonstrate proficiency in key areas of funeral service, such as compliance with state and federal regulations; providing ongoing education and professional development opportunities for staff; offering outstanding programs and resources to bereaved families; maintaining an active level of involvement within the community; participating and actively serving in the funeral service profession; and promoting funeral home services through a variety of marketing, advertising and public relations programs. Participants are also required to adhere to a Pledge of Ethical Practices.

Award recipients will be formally honored by NFDA on October 21 at the All-Star Recognition Ceremony during the 2013 NFDA International Convention & Expo. The 2013 NFDA Convention will take place October 20-23 in Austin, Texas.

Information about the NFDA Pursuit of Excellence program can be found by visiting www.nfda.org/pursuitofexcellence. Registration and application materials for 2014 will be available in October 2013.

Best of the Best Award Recipients

In addition to receiving the 2013 NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Award, three funeral homes earned the Best of the Best Award, which recognizes the development and execution of an innovative program or service that had a positive impact on the families and communities they serve.

·         Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, Hammond, La.

·         Brunswick Memorial Home, East Brunswick, N.J.

·         Carlson Funeral Service Inc., Rhinelander, Wis.

NFDA Hall of Excellence Inductees

In recognition of their consistent display of professional and ethical excellence, nine funeral homes will be inducted into the NFDA Hall of Excellence in 2013. NFDA-member funeral homes are inducted into the Hall of Excellence upon receiving their 10th Pursuit of Excellence Award.

·         A.S. Turner & Sons Funeral Directors, Decatur, Ga.

·         Alexander & Royalty Funeral Home Inc., Harrodsburg, Ky.

·         Carlson Funeral Service Inc., Rhinelander, Wis.

·         Cobb Funeral Home, Blytheville, Ark.

·         Hooper-Huddleston and Horner Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Cookeville, Tenn.

·         Memorial Funeral Home – Edinburg, Edinburg, Texas

·         Milward Funeral Directors, Lexington, Ky.

·         Murray Memorial Mortuary, Salt Lake City, Utah

·         Wm. Sullivan & Son Funeral Home, Utica, Mich.

2013 NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Award Recipients

*Previously inducted into the NFDA Hall of Excellence

**First-time award recipients

·         A.H. Peters Funeral Home of Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.*

·         A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Directors, Troy, Mich.*

·         A.S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home, Decatur, Ga.

·         Adair Funeral Homes, Tucson, Ariz.*

·         Alexander & Royalty Funeral Home Inc., Harrodsburg, Ky.

·         Anderson & Sons Mortuary Inc., American Fork, Utah

·         Anderson-Burris Funeral Home & Crematory, Enid, Okla.

·         Arlington Memorial Chapels Inc., Quezon City, Manila, Philippines

·         Arnett & Steele Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Pineville, Ky.*

·         Arrington Funeral Directors, Jackson, Tenn.

·         Baird Funeral Home, Troy, Ohio*

·         Ballard-Durand Funeral & Cremation Services, White Plains, N.Y.

·         Bass Funeral Home Inc., Gordonsville, Tenn.

·         Bates Family Funeral Home, De Kalb, Texas

·         Bayliff & Son Funeral Home Inc., Cridersville, Ohio

·         Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals, Tifton, Ga.

·         Branch Funeral Home Inc., Smithtown, N.Y.

·         Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, Hammond, La.

·         Brunswick Memorial Home, East Brunswick, N.J.

·         Caldwell & Cowan Funeral Home, Covington, Ga.

·         Cannon Cleveland Funeral Directors, McDonough, Ga.

·         Carlson Funeral Service Inc., Rhinelander, Wis.

·         Carmon Community Funeral Homes, Windsor, Conn.*

·         Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral and Cremation Service Inc., Alliance, Ohio*

·         Cobb Funeral Home, Blytheville, Ark.

·         Coston Funeral Homes Inc., Pittsburgh, Penn.

·         Cozean Memorial Chapel & Crematory, Farmington, Mo.*

·         Cozine Memorial Group, Wichita, Kan.

·         Crowe’s Funeral Homes, Jamaica, N.Y.

·         Dalin-Hantge Chapel, Winthrop, Minn.

·         David C. Brown Funeral Home, Belleville, Mich.*

·         Davis Funeral Home LLC, Nashua, N.H.*

·         Deiters Funeral Home and Crematory, Washington, Ill.

·         DeMoney-Grimes Countryside Park Funeral Home, Columbia City, Ind.*

·         Deseret Memorial Mortuary, Salt Lake City, Utah

·         D’Esopo East Hartford Memorial Chapel, East Hartford, Conn.*

·         D’Esopo Funeral Chapel, Wethersfield, Conn.*

·         Dobratz-Hantge Chapel, Hutchinson, Minn.*

·         Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Home, Canal Winchester, Ohio*

·         E. Blake Collins Funeral Home, Wilkes Barre, Penn.

·         Eggers Funeral Home, Chesnee, S.C.*

·         Evergreen Mortuary, Cemetery & Crematory, Tucson, Ariz.*

·         Falco Caruso & Leonard Funeral Home, Pennsauken, N.J.**

·         Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, Rockford, Ill.

·         Forest Lawn Funeral Home, Hendersonville, N.C.

·         Freitag-Reeves & Baskerville Funeral Home, Wilmington, Ill.

·         Freitas Rupracht Funeral Home, Yerington, Nev.

·         French Funeral Home, Brazil, Ind.*

·         French Funerals and Cremations, Albuquerque, N.M.*

·         Funeraria San Vicente S.A., Medellin, Colombia

·         Gamble Funeral Service, Savannah, Ga.

·         Gardinier Funeral Home Inc., Franklin, Penn.

·         Geisen-Carlisle Funeral and Cremation Services, Michigan City, Ind.

·         Glende-Nilson Funeral Home, Fergus Falls, Minn.

·         Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, Lansing, Mich.*

·         Gunderson Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Madison, Wis.*

·         H. L. Jones and Son Funeral Home, Richton, Miss.

·         Heath Funeral Chapel, Lakeland, Fla.**

·         Henderson Funeral Home & Crematory, Pekin, Ill.*

·         Heritage Funeral & Cremation Services, Indian Trail, N.C.**

·         Heritage Funeral & Cremation Services, Matthews, N.C.**

·         Heritage Funeral Home & Crematory, Spokane, Wash.*

·         Heritage Funeral Home, Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Canada

·         Holladay Cottonwood Mortuary, Holladay, Utah

·         Holman-Howe Funeral Home, Lebanon, Mo.

·         Hooper-Huddleston and Horner Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Cookeville, Tenn.

·         Howard K. Hill Funeral Services, New Haven, Conn.

·         Hughes-Hantge Chapel, Hector, Minn.

·         Johnson-McBride Chapel, Glencoe, Minn.**

·         Jones-Wynn Funeral Home & Crematory, Douglasville, Ga.*

·         Jones-Wynn Funeral Home & Crematory, Villa Rica, Ga.*

·         Joseph Vertin & Sons Funeral Home, Breckenridge, Minn.*

·         Kerrville Funeral Home, Kerrville, Texas*

·         Kilpatrick Funeral Homes, West Monroe, La.

·         Kimble Funeral Home, Junction, Texas**

·         LaGrone Funeral Chapel, Roswell, N.M.**

·         Lakeside Memorial Funeral Home Inc., Hamburg, N.Y.

·         Larkin Mortuary, Salt Lake City, Utah**

·         Larkin Sunset Gardens Mortuary, Sandy, Utah**

·         Larkin Sunset Lawn Mortuary, Salt Lake City, Utah**

·         Lentz Funeral Home, Algona, Iowa

·         Lord and Stephens Funeral Home, Athens, Ga.

·         Lyons Funeral Home, Danvers, Mass.**

·         Mangano Funeral Home Inc., Deer Park, N.Y.

·         Martin Funeral, Cremation & Tribute Services – Fairgrove, Mount Morris, Mich.*

·         Martin Funeral, Cremation & Tribute Services – Mt. Morris, Mount Morris, Mich.*

·         Martin Funeral, Cremation & Tribute Services – Vassar, Vassar, Mich.*

·         Memorial Funeral Home – Edinburg, Edinburg, Texas

·         Memorial Funeral Home – San Juan, San Juan, Texas*

·         Merkle Funeral Service Inc., Monroe, Mich.**

·         Miller-Carlin Funeral Home, Saint Cloud, Minn.**

·         Milward Funeral Directors, Lexington, Ky.

·         Molloy Funeral Home, West Hartford, Conn.

·         Morrissett Funeral & Cremation Service, North Chesterfield, Va.**

·         Murray Memorial Mortuary, Salt Lake City, Utah

·         Myers Mortuary of Brigham City, Brigham City, Utah*

·         Myers Mortuary of Layton, Layton, Utah*

·         Myers Mortuary of Ogden, Ogden, Utah*

·         Myers Mortuary of Roy, Roy, Utah*

·         O’Brien Funeral Home, Brick, N.J.**

·         O’Brien Funeral Home, Wall Township, N.J.**

·         O’Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral Home, Kearney, Neb.

·         Ochiltree Funeral Service & Aftercare, Winterset, Iowa*

·         Old Bridge Funeral Home, Old Bridge, N.J.

·         Olson Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Sheboygan, Wis.

·         Panebaker Funeral Home Inc., Hanover, Penn.

·         Patrick T. Lanigan Funeral Home, East Pittsburgh, Penn.*

·         Pray Funeral Home, Charlotte, Mich.*

·         Proko Funeral Home & Crematory, Kenosha, Wis.*

·         Radney Funeral Home, Alexander City, Ala.

·         Redwood Memorial Mortuary & Cemetery, Taylorsville, Utah

·         Reeves Funeral Home Ltd., Coal City, Ill.

·         Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Traverse City, Mich.*

·         Robertaccio Funeral Home Inc., Patchogue, N.Y.*

·         Roland Funeral Service, Atlantic, Iowa

·         Roller-Ballard Funeral Home, Benton, Ark.

·         Roller-Chenal Funeral Home, Little Rock, Ark.

·         Roller-Crouch Funeral Home, Batesville, Ark.

·         Roller-Daniel Funeral Home, Searcy, Ark.

·         Roller-McNutt Funeral Home, Conway, Ark.

·         Roller-Owens Funeral Home, North Little Rock, Ark.

·         Rose Mortuary Inc., Knoxville, Tenn.

·         Routsong Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Kettering, Ohio*

·         Savolskis-Wasik-Glenn Funeral Home Inc., Munhall, Penn.

·         Schrader Funeral Home & Crematory, Ballwin, Mo.*

·         Sharer-Stirling-Skivolocke Funeral Home, Alliance, Ohio

·         Shuler Funeral Home, Hendersonville, N.C.

·         Smith Family Mortuary, Derby, Kan.

·         Smith Funeral & Cremation Service, Maryville, Tenn.*

·         Spencer Family Funeral Home, Athens, Mich.*

·         St. Peter Chapels, Quezon City, Manila, Philippines

·         Staab Polk Memorial Home/Cremation Services of Central Illinois, Chatham, Ill.*

·         Strode Funeral Home, Stillwater, Okla.*

·         Tetrick Funeral Home, Elizabethton, Tenn.

·         Thomas McAfee Funeral Home-Downtown Chapel, Greenville, S.C.

·         Thomas McAfee Funeral Home-Northwest Chapel, Greenville, S.C.

·         Tom M. Wages Funeral Service LLC – Lawrenceville Chapel, Lawrenceville, Ga.

·         Tom M. Wages Funeral Service LLC – Snellville Chapel, Snellville, Ga.

·         Tos Funerals Ltd., Lagos State, Nigeria**

·         Twiford Memorial Chapel, Elizabeth City, N.C.*

·         Vensil & Chute Funeral Homes, Frazeysburg, Ohio

·         Waid Funeral Home, Merrill, Wis.

·         Waitt Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Morganville, N.J.

·         Walker Brothers Funeral Home Inc., Spencerport, N.Y.**

·         Waller Funeral Home, Oxford, Miss.*

·         Wappner Funeral Directors, Mansfield, Ohio*

·         Weeks’ Enumclaw Funeral Home, Enumclaw, Wash.

·         Weeks’ Funeral Home, Buckley, Wash.

·         Wieting Family Funeral Home Inc., Chilton, Wis.

·         Wm. Sullivan & Son Funeral Home, Royal Oak, Mich.*

·         Wm. Sullivan & Son Funeral Home, Utica, Mich.

·         Wonderly Horvath Hanes Funeral Home & Crematory, Fremont, Ohio

·         Worlein Funeral Home, Austin, Minn.