When a family in Lincoln County loses someone they love, the first call is often to a familiar place on East Market Street in Fayetteville. For more than 120 years, Higgins Funeral Home has answered that call with patience, kindness, and steady hands.
It all began on Jan. 1, 1903, when brothers Hiram, Eugene, and Owen Higgins opened Higgins Brothers Furniture and Undertaking on the Fayetteville square. Back then, a retired fire horse pulled the hearse, and whenever the fire bell rang, he tried to rush back to his old post at the fire engine. In 1931, the brothers sold the furniture side to focus fully on grieving families.
That care has been handed down through generations. Today, funeral director Chris Ross helps carry on the work the brothers started more than a century ago. The funeral home has faced hard days of its own. In 1986, a fire destroyed most of the building, along with records going back to 1903. A new building opened the next year, and the team kept right on serving.
It’s the small things that set Higgins apart. Two trained attendants always handle a loved one’s transfer out of respect. Staff are at every service, whether at a church, a home, or a graveside, so families can let go of the details. Services can be deeply personal, too. One family even asked staff to trade their suits for khakis and golf shirts to honor a golf lover.
The care doesn’t stop after the funeral. A full-time aftercare team helps families in the months that follow, and monthly Beyond Sorrow grief-support meetings offer comfort and companionship. Each November, a Service of Remembrance honors every family served, with this year’s event taking place on Thursday, Nov. 19th. For generations, Higgins Funeral Home has been a steady light for Fayetteville in its darkest hours, and that promise still holds today.
Contact Higgins Funeral Home
(931) 433-2544
This story is sponsored content.
