Park Lawn and SCI recently struck a deal on Waco, Texas’s historic Connally-Compton Funeral Home. Following the acquisition, Park Lawn shuttered the competing facility. According to local reporting, Park Lawn now owns three iconic Waco-area funeral brands: Connally-Compton, Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey, and Waco Memorial. The company also owns Cole Funeral Home in McGregor and Adams Funeral Home in Marlin. Interestingly, the funeral home was purchased from the founders estate in 1960 by R.L. Waltrip as he began serious consolidation, making it one of the seminal SCI properties. SCI went public in 1969.
Transition of Operations and Pre-Funeral Contracts
Bobby Drake, former general manager of Connally-Compton, stayed on with Park Lawn. One employee lost their job as the result of the deal, the rest have been reassigned to nearby Park Lawn properties. Drake now oversees Cole Funeral Home and Adams Funeral Home. Speaking with a local reporter, he said Park Lawn bought the business but not the real estate, which has been a rising trend among consolidators.
Drake said the deal included “a few million dollars” in preneed. The property remains on the market with an asking price of $2.5 million.
According to the commercial real estate listing, the existing structure holds no material value for ground-up developers and is expected to be demolished to clear the lot for pad site uses.
“I hope someone puts a nice, big gas station there,” Drake told the Waco Tribune-Herald. “We don’t need another strip mall.” Potential future uses outlined by brokers include a convenience store, quick-service restaurant, medical facility, or entertainment venue.
A Local History
The closure marks the end of an era for a business whose origins date back more than a century. Connally-Compton was formed through a 1972 merger between two pioneer funeral businesses in Central Texas. Compton Funeral Home was originally established in 1908 when F.M. Compton relocated from Illinois to Waco and purchased the John C. Lees Funeral Home. Operating later out of 11th Street and Austin Avenue as F.M. Compton and Son, which was the business Waltrip bought. E.L. Connally who had built the first funeral home in Groesbeck and owned the first ambulance there, joined brother Gordon Connally in expanding their funeral business to Waco in 1939.
