By Joe Smith

If you’ve spent some time living in Kinston at any point during the past century, you probably know of Edwards Funeral Home.

According to Jim Eason, who became part-owner of the business in 1986 before spending 30 years at the helm, it's the oldest funeral home in town, and it's been sitting on the same stretch of North Queen Street as long as he has known it existed.

“Everyone knows the family, and everyone knows the name,” Eason said. “80 or 90 percent of our business were repeat families...most people coming in didn’t even have to ask my name after about five years.”

Eason sold his stake in the funeral home in 2017, but it is still going strong today under different ownership. This month, Edwards Funeral Home is proudly celebrating its 100th year of business — it first opened its doors in July of 1920, and as current owner Justin Smith understands it, the first service was performed on July 20th that year. 

Since that fateful day a century ago, Edwards Funeral Home has established a rich legacy and become a staple of the local community. Smith said being a part of that history — as well as overseeing such an important milestone in the funeral home’s history — is “an honor” and “a humbling experience.”

“I’ve only been a small part of this business, but to be able to continue the legacy and the vision which was started 100 years ago is a cool experience,” he said. “You think of all things that have happened in our world in the last 100 years...but this funeral home has stood the test of time and has been here to serve the residents of Lenoir County.”

That long history begins with the namesake of the business, the Edwards family. The funeral home stayed in the family for four generations before it was sold to Eason and one of his business partners. The next and most recent change in ownership came as Smith took over in 2017.

Since 1958, Edwards Funeral Home has occupied the current building it calls home. So as the business reached such a major milestone this year, Smith decided to invest in some renovations to the building, which he called “a major overhaul.”

“[We wanted] to bring this building back up to have a more modern look and to provide families with a five-star building to go along with what I believe is our five-star service,” Smith said. 

For Kinston — which Eason refers to as a “big farming town” — those renovations have been a welcomed addition to a recent push to help revitalize the community and downtown area after the population has waned by the thousands in recent decades. 

Smith said he gets a lot of enjoyment out of helping give back to the town that has given Edwards Funeral Home the opportunity to exist and thrive for so many years.

“We’re glad that we invested the money back into the community. There’s been a lot of movement trying to bring Kinston back to life and to be a part of that has been really nice. We’ve got a lot of compliments from the community...it’s been a rewarding experience,” Smith said.

“I understand people in the community are beginning to see what [Justin] is doing and that it’s become a talking point of the community,” Eason said.

That effort being put in by Smith, a relative newcomer to both Edwards Funeral Home and the town, is something that Eason sees as well-deserved. After spending three decades serving the community, he has developed a lot of love and respect for Kinston and the surrounding area.

“There are some fine people there. I’ve never dealt with any nicer people than there are in Kinston and Lenoir County,” he said.

Smith started in the funeral home business at the age of 16. At his grandmother’s funeral, his father noticed Smith had a knack for helping organize and work funerals and recommended he give the industry a try. He obtained his license to be a funeral director and embalmer at age 20 after graduating from the Funeral Service Education program at Fayetteville Technical Community College.

He viewed the industry as a “ministry opportunity,” and finds passion in helping families cope with some of the toughest and, often, most tragic times of their life. He hopes to continue to bring that energy to the Kinston community as he continues to operate Edwards Funeral Home.