SIKESTON — Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapels and Ponder Funeral Home have come together to offer a low-cost cremation service for the community during this time of inflation.
“Sadly, the price of everything is rising: gas prices, food prices and even casket prices,” said Carl Rose, co-owner of Ponder Funeral Home in Sikeston and Shelby Funeral Home in East Prairie. “Batesville Casket Co. started a temporary surcharge on caskets over a year ago, and it has not only stayed in place, but it has doubled. We have decided to do everything we can to help everyone in their time of need. No one should have to worry about going into a financial hardship to celebrate the life of a loved one lost.”
Rose and John “Cody” Caudle took over ownership of Ponder and Shelby funeral homes in September 2020.
“We want to advance into the future. The funeral industry is rapidly changing, cremation is rising and traditional burial funerals are slowly going away,” Rose said.
Rose said he, Caudle and Kenny Pope, owner of Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapels and the Scott County Crematory, sat down and decided they should work together to help the surrounding area.
“We don’t see it as a competition,” Pope said. “Families should use services and locations they are comfortable with. We want to simply make a cost affordable cremation available for them in a time of need, and in doing so, will be offering direct cremation services at least through the end of this year for $1,295.”
Just about all funeral homes offer cremation these days, Rose said. With more than 35% of people now choosing to be cremated rather than buried at the time of their death, funeral homes must at least provide people with cremation as an option.
“One thing that people don’t always realize, though, is that not all funeral homes have their own crematories. Some of them outsource their cremation services to third-party companies that take care of cremations for them.”
According to Rose, Southern Funeral Services Inc. strives to ensure their families and their loved ones are cared for — from the time they come into their care until they get them to their final resting place.
“While we do use a third-party crematory, there is not a crematory in Mississippi County near our Shelby Funeral Home and only one crematory in Scott County near our Ponder Funeral Home location; it is the closest crematory to each of our locations to ensure your loved one is not traveling any farther away from our facility than necessary,” Rose said.
Established in 2020, the Scott County Crematory, which is owned and operated by Pope, is located near the Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City, Missouri. Pope, a licensed funeral director, embalmer and certified crematory operator with over 25 years of experience in the business, said he’s focused on ensuring everyone is cared for with dignity and integrity.
Southern Funeral Services has a strict policy and process it uses, Rose said.
“From the moment your loved one enters our care, they are respected and there are lots of checks and balances in place to make sure that they are identified properly to ensure the families we serve rest easy knowing their loved one is being cared for with the respect and care they deserve,” Rose said.
Southern Funeral Services’ staff communicates closely with crematory staff and are updated on the process daily to ensure loved ones are cared for, just as they would at Southern’s facility, Rose said.
“Although we do not have a crematory on site, you can rest assured knowing our staff along with the staff of the Scott County Crematory are working together to ensure your loved ones are cared for in the most respectful and dignified way we can, while still being able to keep cremation costs low and affordable,” Rose said.