ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 31, 1997 TAG: 9703310021
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: A CUPPA JOE
SOURCE: JOE KENNEDY
If you've driven out Peters Creek Road in North Roanoke County lately, you've probably noticed a striking new building that exemplifies this era of change.
It's the Simpson-Tharp funeral home, a 12,400-square-foot structure that opened March 3. Allen Simpson, a North County native, runs it in partnership with Skip Tharp, who has other funeral-home partnerships in Bedford, Lynchburg and Rocky Mount.
New businesses open all the time in these parts, but a new funeral service is something else - especially one owned independently and built from the ground up.
For years, the valley has been served by Oakey Funeral Service's four chapels; Lotz's chapels; the Hamlar-Curtis' chapel; John M. Oakey & Son's chapel; and Fizer and Serenity's, owned by Dwight and Connie Steele, which supplanted the old Williams service a year ago.
It was unusual for a place the size of Roanoke to go for so many years without new competition.
"I like to think it was because we've been here so long and have a very good reputation and have served the families that have called on us in a dignified and proper manner," said Sammy Oakey, senior vice president of Oakey in Roanoke, which started in 1866.
Another deterrent is the cost of getting under way. Simpson says his new building and equipment cost nearly $2 million. The former Oakey vice president uses words such as "scary" and "frightening" when he contemplates his half of the debt.
But he says residents "want something different," and he's counting on his North County ties to get his business rolling. Simpson-Tharp was the first funeral home to advertise its own crematorium. Up the road, Oakey's North Chapel, which he managed, has put one in.
Oakey's averages 1,000 calls per year. Lotz, owned by Texas-based Service Corp. International, handles about 700. Simpson-Tharp did four in its first three weeks - a decent start, Simpson says.
Simpson, 42, grew up on Dexter Road. His father was a mechanic, his mother a machine operator for Halmode Apparel Corp.
He first expressed interest in the funeral business as a joke. Filling out a student interest card for the Explorer Club at Northside High, he put down data processing and insurance, then checked mortuary science for fun.
Rick Pollard, then with John M. Oakey, invited him to join other students in monthly meetings to learn about the subject. Simpson liked it, apprenticed with Oakey in Roanoke and graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. He spent 23 years with Oakey's Funeral Service of Roanoke.
Now he is the little guy, with one location, two full-time employees, 13 part-timers and one hearse. Oakey of Roanoke has four locations, 50 full-time and 50 part-time workers and 21 vehicles, including six hearses. Lotz, now managed by Pollard, has 50 staffers, 16 vehicles and five locations, including two Rader homes in Botetourt County.
Simpson sees two encouraging trends: The valley's population is older than many, and the baby boomers are just beginning to show interest in funeral planning.
With all its shiny newness, his business is a bit of a mom-and-pop affair. Simpson carries a cell phone to his twin sons' ball games, so as not to miss a call.
His competitors are well aware of his enterprise.
"We're watching it with interested eyes," Sammy Oakey says, "and we would make any move we had to to make sure we stay No.1 in the marketplace."
What's your story? Call me at 981-3256, send e-mail to joek@roanoke.com or write to P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010.
LENGTH: Medium: 71 linesby CNB