In 1951, on Evansville 's west side, James L. and Marirose (Funke) Pierre founded the Pierre Funeral Home. It was their heartfelt desire to serve the families of the community during the very difficult time after the death of a loved one. They worked side-by-side for 25 years, reaching out to neighbors, friends and family when they were most needed.
Mr. Pierre passed away in 1986, but Mrs. Pierre still makes her home on the west side, and continues to be of service to the people of the community by staying actively involved in many civic organizations.
Their son, Gary, and his wife, Susan (Koressel) Pierre, purchased the funeral home from his parents in 1976. Gary and Susan have worked hard in the past 29 years to carry on the family tradition of compassionate service to the families of this community; by ensuring they receive the best in services and facilities when they face the loss of a loved one.
Gary and Susan's sons, John and Jim Pierre joined the business in 1994, making it three generations of the Pierre family to commit their familial labors to the caring service of the community. In 2003 the Pierre family business was expanded when, Gary's sister, Carol (Pierre) Chambers joined the firm to assist families with advanced planning arrangements.
As an interesting aside, the Pierre family operated an ambulance service for the Evansville community, from 1951 to 1984. This is just one more example of their personal commitment to caring for the families of our area.
In 1989 an extensive remodeling project was undertaken. A second story was added and their visitation chapels, as well as the lounge, were enlarged. All interior rooms were completely renovated, and an elevator was installed for the convenience of the families they serve. The parking lot has also been expanded to provide well-lighted, off-street parking for visitors.
Sensing the needs of the community were changing, in 2001 the Pierre Funeral Home became the first funeral home in Evansville to offer an on-site crematory. Now, in addition to offering traditional burial arrangements, they also offer a full complement of cremation arrangements, from the simplest direct cremation, to those including visitation and funeral services. Together with these cremation services, they also proudly offer a large selection of urns, keepsake urns and cremation jewelry.
The past decade has seen the rise of the major funeral corporations, who actively purchase family-owned funeral homes to increase their market share. The Pierre family members are quite proud that their funeral home has remained independent for 54 years, and will they are planning to stay independently owned and operated.
It is their belief that this allows them to be flexible in working with the unique arrangement needs of each family they serve. In so doing, they continue to serve Evansville area families with the dignity and respect they so deserve.
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Gary Pierre,
Owner, Funeral Director
Gary and his wife, Susie, have owned and operated the funeral home since purchasing it from Jim and Marirose Pierre in 1976. Having worked at the funeral home since his high school years, Gary became a licensed funeral director in 1964. Gary is a member of the Westside Nut Club and the Westside Optimist Club. He and Susie are also parishioners of St. Philip Catholic Church. |
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Susie Pierre,
Owner, Secretary
Susie, wife and Co-owner of the funeral home joined Gary after their marriage in 1964. Together they have two sons, John and Jim, who have also joined them in the family business. Susie and Gary reside on Evansville’s Westside. |
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John Pierre,
Funeral Director
John has been a licensed funeral director since 1995 and has worked at the funeral home since that time. He is an active member of the Westside Nut Club serving as Chairperson of the Photo Committee in 2007. He also served as chairperson of the 2004 Lighthouse Parade at the Nut Club Fall Festival and has served on various other committees. John enjoys boating and participating in car shows. He is a 1994 graduate of Mid-America College of Mortuary Science. John is a member of St. Philip Catholic Church and makes his home on Evansville's Westside.
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Jim Pierre,
Funeral Director, Advanced Planning Coordinator
Jim and his wife, Lori, are the parents of four children, Josh, Ashley, Jacob and Joey. Jim has been a licensed funeral director since 1995 and also serves as an advanced funeral planner. Jim is a 1993 graduate of Indiana University and 1994 graduate of Mid-America College of Mortuary Science. Jim and his family are members of St. Agnes Catholic Church and are actively involved at the church and school. Jim is also involved in his children's lives coaching football at Evansville Junior Football League at Howell Park, youth basketball and baseball. Jim and Lori live on Evansville's Westside.
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Glendal R. Stork,
Funeral Director
Glendal R. Stork was born in Huntingburg, IN and has lived in Southern Indiana nearly his entire life. He attended Reitz High School and graduated from Indiana College of Mortuary Science in 1958. Glendal has been a licensed funeral director and embalmer for 47 years and was a funeral home owner for 20 years. He was a member and past president of Aurora Rotary Club, SPEBSQSA, secretary of Aurora Lodge #51 F&AM, and served on the Library Board for many years. He was also a Lay Member to the Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Glendal has four daughters and three stepchildren, nine grandchildren and eight step grandchildren. He is married to Nancy Heinlin Stork and resides on the Westside of Evansville. |
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Joe McConnell,
Funeral Director
Joe McConnell, a native of Gibson County, IN is a graduate of Princeton Community High School, Vincennes University and the University of Evansville. Joe is a licensed funeral director in both Indiana and Kentucky and has over twenty years of experience in the funeral profession. Joe joined the staff at Pierre Funeral Home in 2000. He is the youngest of five children and has one daughter Diana Kay. Joe and his family are members of St. Mary's Catholic Church. He enjoys word puzzles, travel, family activities, and his involvement at the church and in Diana's activities and can't resist a project. |
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Carol Chambers,
Family Services Coordinator
Since 2003, Carol Pierre Chambers has been with Pierre Funeral Home, helping individuals and family members achieve Advance Planning Arrangements to fit their specific needs. In addition she provides survivors of the families we serve with After Care resources to help them transition through the difficult period following the loss of their loved ones. Previous to returning to her “roots” and the family business Carol was actively involved in the interior design industry. She has over 20 years experience in Commercial Interior Design and Contract Furniture Sales in the Evansville area. She currently is an Allied Member, American Society Interior Designers (ASID). A registered nurse she received her BSNursing from Catherine Spalding College in Louisville KY. She was employed at Deaconess Hospital (Evansville,) in Surgical ICU & PARR Units; and with a geriatric Nursing Facility in Cambridge, OH before returning to Evansville in 1973. An Evansville native Carol graduated from Mater Dei High School. She lives on Evansville's west side with her husband and fellow Evansville native, Michael G. Chambers who is a graduate of the University of Evansville, Reitz High School and Cynthia Heights Grade School. Carol and Mike attend Resurrection Church on New Harmony Road, Evansville.
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