BIRTHS - At Friendship Park Villa, in Liguanea, St. James, Jamaica to Lillian Wright and Josiah Wright (deceased).ĪIKMAN. Sybil was born on November 15, 1940, in St. Family Search Genealogy Research LibraryĪDAMS, Sybil Maud Wright, died Octoin British Columbia, Canada. Hingley writes frequently on nostalgic topics, giving her a deep appreciation for changes through the years. Richmond-based freelance writer Audrey T. “People need to have conversations … death comes to all of us.” “Our commitment to service and the community is the legacy of our family and drives us as a business,” Bliley says. Being a family-owned local business is an advantage,” Gresham notes. “Technology has given us more time to focus on families and their needs. “We try to provide the highest caliber of service, a meaningful service that can remember,” Lambert says. One thing hasn’t changed for Bliley’s, Scott’s or Billups: service. Gresham remembers when employees had to take obituary photos to the newspaper. Technology allows video memorials and online remembrances and saves time. Four of six employees are Billups family members.īillups is seeing more cremations, too, but Gresham notes, “You also see traditional visitation and funeral, but instead of going to the cemetery, the person is cremated.” The 1917 building was expanded in 1928 and, according to Leticia “Tish” Gresham, daughter of Ruth Billups, it was Virginia’s first fully air-conditioned funeral home. Billups, a Mathews County cabinetmaker who created wood caskets, Billups Funeral Home on East Marshall Street is the city’s oldest funeral home. Scott’s still offers a unique service: horse and carriage funerals.įounded in 1850 by Lafayette W. “We get calls from people who are ‘price shopping’.” “Most rural churches still have cemeteries, but the beginning price for plots in the city start at $1,000, and some sites can cost $6,000,” he explains. Lambert sees cost as a factor: traditional funerals can cost $7,000 and up, while cremations run $1,000 to $4,000. Families are now opting for cremation as more people become accustomed to it,” Lambert says. “I’ve seen great changes since I started, especially in the black community where there was a resistance to cremation. began working at Scott’s in 1975, became its owner in 2002 and presided over 2017 renovations and the building of a new 400-seat chapel. in 1910 to serve the African-American community, Scott’s Funeral Home had four Richmond chapels before the business moved to a single location on East Brookland Park Boulevard in 1967. Strange’s: Traditions Rooted in Richmond Soilįounded by Robert C.Local Family Jewelers Still Serving Richmond.Familiar Names in the Richmond Food Scene.“It depends on what you are looking to do.”Ĭheck out some of Richmond’s other long-lasting businesses: Some lean toward cremation because of cost, but Bliley says cremation is not always cheaper. Bliley says Richmonders may have church cemetery plots or want a traditional burial but explains, “Families that don’t have are more likely to choose cremation.” In the late 1960s, most cemeteries were locally owned today a good chunk of cemeteries are owned by conglomerate firms, driving up cost.” He adds that some “local” funeral homes are owned by large national corporations. “We have a certified funeral celebrant who helps with non-traditional ceremonies. Now services can take on a totally different nature,” Bliley says. “Most everybody in the 1960s to 1970s had a church or synagogue affiliation and some type of religious ceremony. Changes have been driven by both the industry and culture. He says more women work in the industry, noting that Bliley’s has female funeral directors. Regarding business changes, he says, “My cousin Eric Bliley and I work in the business – in the 1960s there were many Blileys working in the business.” “This is a very vocational type of work, a calling, a ministry … if you have grown up in this profession, you see that life comes and goes and are not scared away from it as some might be,” Carey Bliley explains. Bliley’s original location at Third and Marshall streets was a downtown landmark for about 120 years. congressman from 1981 to 2001) was Bliley’s president.īliley’s remains a family enterprise, with fourth generation Carey Bliley presiding over locations on Augusta Avenue, Staples Mill Road and Hull Street Road. By 1969, Tom Bliley (also Richmond’s mayor from 1970 to 1977 and a U.S. Bliley Sr., Bliley’s Funeral Home began as a livery service providing horse and carriage hearse transport. The certainty of “death and taxes” notwithstanding, Richmond funeral homes have seen many changes.įounded in 1874 by Joseph W.
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