HISTORY OF BECKLEY FUNERAL HOME

Curtright & Ricketts Funeral Directors

The funeral home is believed to have been the first and now the only funeral home in Pleasureville, however, it was not the first funeral service. Prior to funeral homes, most funerals were conducted in the family’s home. Following the great depression in the 1920s, many families in America lost their homes, and it became necessary for the town to have a home for funerals. Curtright and Ricketts Funeral Directors operated in Pleasureville, on the north side of town, not far from the present-day stoplight. The company sold caskets out of a storefront building and according to a bill dated June 10, 1931, the total service was $281.00, which included $225 for the casket, $25 for a dress, and $31 for the remaining flowers and miscellaneous items.

The owner, Hezekiah K. “H. K.” Curtright, was a partner in the business, which began as a hardware and furniture business. He was married to Sarah D. “Sally” Herndon Curtright, and they had two children, Evalina and Henry. Their son Henry would graduate from Pleasureville High School and the Kentucky School of Mortuary Science before moving to Louisa, Kentucky, to open the first funeral home there. Evalina married E.C. “Estill” C. Thomas, and together they would continue the family business in Pleasureville when her father became ill. Mr. Curtright died on February 4, 1936, at the age of 65. Estill expanded upon his father-in-law's business, and thus the history of the funeral home began. 

The Original

Thomas Funeral Home

This picture and information were provided in 2001 by Lawrence A. Long, Great Grandson of Thomas and Amanda.

The original Thomas Funeral Home was opened on April 9, 1938, by Mr. E.C. “Estill” Thomas as owner and operator. The announcement in the Henry County Local reads, “We have remodeled the Hower property into a modern, up-to-date funeral home.” Also mentioning that souvenirs were offered to every visitor on opening day. Prior to the remodel, it was the home of Dr. Thomas Jefferson Hower and his wife, Mrs. Amanda Stivers Hower, and was used as a doctor’s office. Ironically enough, the home no longer sought to heal the living but to bring comfort to those of the deceased.

Thomas Funeral Home quickly became a well-known and well-respected business in North Pleasureville. Local advertisements encouraged people to stop by and see the beautifully remodeled home, the first of its kind in the area. Mr. Thomas often boasted of their modern funeral home and up-to-date ambulance service, with advertisements reading “We have spared no expense in securing the most efficient and luxurious equipment on the market and are at great pains to keep the service up to the highest standards in every respect.” With the help of B.S. Owen, Jr., as an embalmer, and later, with the help of his son, Charles Henry, the funeral home would flourish so much so that a second location was opened in Eminence in 1940 with the partnership of Mr. Gerald Eckler. The venture did not last long, as Mr. Eckler was called into military service, and they were unable to secure a qualified replacement.

Once Mr. Eckler returned home from the war in 1944, he purchased the Kipping Funeral Home located in Carrollton. As Estill’s son Charles Henry grew older and more experienced, he would slowly take over more and more responsibilities, becoming the face of the funeral home and a well-known individual throughout the community. He married Mrs. Mary Ann (Heaton) Thomas, who was a schoolteacher in the community for nearly 30 years. In 1975, at the young age of 45, Charles Henry suffered a severe heart attack that would cause him to slow down, but his service to his families never wavered. He would, however, discontinue the ambulance service and focus solely on the funeral home. Charles Henry and Mary Ann continued to live in the funeral home until the late 1970s, when they built a lovely brick home on the property adjacent to the funeral home. Together they ran the funeral home until Charles Henry’s health declined, and the couple decided it was time to end the decades-long history of Thomas Funeral Home.

Sholar Funeral Home

In 1989 on Thanksgiving Day, Clyde Jefferson Sholar came to Pleasureville to visit and inquire about the purchase of the funeral home. Discussions were successful and by January of 1990, Charles Henry and Mary Ann had moved to Sebring, Florida to retire, While Mr. Clyde and Mrs. Brenda (Moody) Sholar became the second family to own the funeral home, continuing the legacy of the Thomas’ many years of service to the community. Although the Sholars were not natives of the Pleasureville area, they were quickly accepted by the community and became fast friends with many. The couple operated under the name of Thomas Funeral Home for a couple of years until the name was changed to Sholar-Thomas Funeral Home. Two years later, in 1994, the Thomas era came to an end when the name was changed once again to Sholar Funeral Home. Clyde was a bivocational funeral director and embalmer, working over 30 years for the United States Department of the Interior, while assisting with embalming and work at the funeral home. Brenda, on the other hand, dedicated her life to the funeral home and most importantly to the people she served. Her sweet spirit and generous heart touched the lives of many. Just prior to her passing in 2020, Brenda received the 50-Year Golden Certificate from the Kentucky Funeral Directors Association in recognition for her half a century of service to the industry. Together Clyde and Brenda gave decades of dedication and compassion to the families they served until their respective passings. One dedicated employee worthy of mention, Mr. Danny Ray Ellis of Pleasureville, worked for the majority of the Sholar family’s ownership and continues his decades-long service to the funeral home to this day. 

Sholar-Riley Funeral Home

Following Brenda's death, Clyde, with the help of their daughter, Jessi (Sholar) Drawbaugh, and dedicated employees, continued to operate the funeral home. As Clyde's health declined, a dear friend of the family and funeral director, Mr. Robert V. Riley II, of Carrollton, assisted with the day-to-day operations. After Clyde passed away in May of 2022, the funeral home was sold to Mr. Riley, and the name was changed to Sholar-Riley Funeral Home on September 19, 2022. This change brought in a new name and the 3rd family who held the honor and privilege of serving in this historic home. Robert “Rob,” along with his wife, Rhonda, a licensed funeral director, operated two funeral homes simultaneously, as they already owned Tandy-Eckler-Riley Funeral Home in Carrollton. Ironically enough, the Eckler name appears once again in the home’s history, as Mr. Gerald Eckler was a former business partner of Mr. Thomas’ back in 1940. With their years of experience and a deep understanding of the funeral industry, the Riley family continued service to families seamlessly. Even though the family only owned the funeral home for 3 years in the long history of the home, they made a lasting impact, improving the service provided to families and ensuring the funeral home remained open during times of uncertainty.

Beckley Funeral Home

On July 7, 2025, Mr. Jakob T. Beckley, a Pleasureville native and active community member purchased the funeral home. This purchase fulfilled a lifelong dream of his and was a culmination of his determination and ambition. Ever since Beckley’s mother’s passing in 2010, when he was just 12 years old, he aspired to be a funeral homeowner and to serve families with the utmost professionalism and compassion. The new ownership also accompanied a new name, Beckley Funeral Home, ushering in a new family with generational ties and a new era in the rich history of the Ole Hower home. He makes the fourth family in a more than eight-decade-long history of funeral service at the current location of 5710 Castle Highway in Pleasureville, Kentucky.