CROSSVILLE – It’s not that often a business survives through three generations of family ownership. It’s far less common the business would make it through a century of service to the community.
That’s why Bilbrey Funeral Home is such a unique business, having survived and thrived through three generations and soon to be a century of serving the residents of Crossville and Cumberland County.
In September, Bilbrey Funeral Home will commemorate one hundred years in business here.
“My family has served Cumberland County for all this time with a long-term outlook, offering personal and professional services to all our people,” said owner Frank Bilbrey Bohannon.
“Our goal is provide dignified, affordable service to families of all faiths,” Bohannon said. “We have been very fortunate to carry on the tradition of quality service to the families of the Cumberland County area that was established almost a century ago by our founders.
“We want people to feel secure knowing that the final tribute to your loved one will be conducted to the personal wishes of each individual family,” Bohannon said. “Our staff will gladly answer any questions regarding pre-planning or specific funeral services, mausoleum, cemetery or cremation needs, and we’ll do it frankly, honestly and confidentially.”
Bohannon said the key to Bilbrey’s success all through the years has been its people.
“We have a highly-qualified, caring staff, and Bilbrey’s has been blessed with that for almost 100 years,” he said. “That’s been the key to our success and longevity, and we are so thankful for it.
“Our staff is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide competent, prompt and compassionate service to families in their time of need in the loss of a loved one,” Bohannon said.
Long, rich heritage
Bilbrey Funeral Home has a long, rich heritage, that actually started just a bit over 100 years ago. In 1913, K. L. Bilbrey was a co-founder of Bilbrey’s Hardware and Furniture Company located on Main Street. This was the forerunner of the funeral home.
A year later, Kasper Bilbrey founded Bilbrey Funeral Home on Main Street. In 1917, Italy (H. I.) Bilbrey, K. L.’s brother, joined the Bilbrey’s business. The Bilbrey brothers sold caskets and funeral paraphernalia out of the mercantile store they operated, while Italy practiced the art of embalming on the second floor of the business.
A story passed down through the years is that during the flu epidemic of 1919, Bilbrey’s delivered caskets to the homes of the deceased to assist the families in their time of need.
In 1920, K. L. Bilbrey and his family left Crossville and Italy Bilbrey and his wife Mary took over the operation of the business for many years.
In 1938, Lewis H. Bohannon married Kasper’s daughter, Mildred F. Bilbrey, and was also licensed by the State of Tennessee as a Funeral Director and Embalmer. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, Bohannon became a partner in the Bilbrey business. The Bohannon’s later bought Kasper’s interest in the business, partnering with H.I Bilbrey, and the business was moved off main street to its current location on East Adams Street.
In the years after WWII, Lewis Bohannon began to take over the reins of the business and Italy Bilbrey moved toward retirement.
Between the years of 1938 and 1971 Bilbrey’s offered an ambulance service to the Cumberland County area. This was prior to the local county government establishing the Cumberland County Ambulance Service.
In the 1960’s, Lewis Bohannon recognized a need for a cemetery that could serve the needs of the community. Bohannon was instrumental in establishing Green Acres Memory Gardens, located on U. S. Highway 127, just north of the Crossville city limits. Green Acres Memory Gardens, a perpetual care cemetery preferred by many people in the local area, is still owned and managed by the Bohannon family.
In 1980, current owner Frank Bilbrey Bohannon, the son of Lewis Bohannon and Mildred Bilbrey Bohannon, returned home after serving in the U.S. Air Force to help his father in the funeral home business. He became a State of Tennessee licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer. After the death of his father, Frank Bilbrey Bohannon became the manager of the funeral home and has been in that position since.
Bohannon grew up in the funeral home as a small child, and says he is proud of his heritage of being raised in Crossville. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to carry on the Bilbrey family tradition of serving the people of this area in their time of need,” he said.
Bohannon is ably assisted by embalmer and funeral director Karen Vaden (who also serves as assistant manager and has been with the funeral home since 1985), embalmer and funeral director Bobby Allred (with the firm since 1990) and embalmer and funeral director Obra Carter, along with many other valued employees.
Constantly improving and expanding
The facilities and parking areas of Bilbrey Funeral have continually been expanded and improved in order to meet the growing needs of the population of this area. Today, their facilities and parking encompasses one and one-half city blocks at 76 East Adams Street in the City of Crossville.
The first expansion took place in 1960 with the construction of a chapel. In 1984 it was expanded again with a second chapel. A major expansion project was completed when a new lobby wing was added in 2002, which also included a kitchen/dining area and two state rooms.
“We were the first funeral home in this area to offer a traditional church-style chapel for funerals and visitations,” Bohannon said. “The chapel has an appeal of warmth and comfort, with an all-wood cathedral-style ceiling, carpet, surround sound, adequate floral display areas and many other features for the comfort of our families and visitors.”
For more information on Bilbrey Funeral Home, you can call 931-484-6119, visit https://www.bilbreyfh.com, or visit them in person at 76 East Adams Street in Crossville.
