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Cheney Witt staff plan March show as part of funeral home's 150th anniversary
A local funeral home is celebrating 150 years in business this year and plans to give back to the community to mark the occasion.
To show their appreciation for the community's continued support over the past 150 years, staff at Cheney Witt Funeral Chapel are bringing in popular entertainment from Branson, Mo., for a March 16 show at Memorial Hall.
Funeral home staff researched quality family shows in Branson and decided to bring to Fort Scott one of the top shows in the Branson area - the Rankin Brothers Classic Music Revue, which was voted Branson's best show in 2009 and 2010.
"We wanted to honor the town and thank them," owner Jerry Witt said. "We thought this was the best way that seniors as well as youth could enjoy a show they wouldn't normally get to see unless they traveled quite a ways. We went to Branson and saw several shows and thought this was the best fit for the Fort Scott audience."
Many changes have taken place at the funeral home in its current location at 201 S. Main St., where the business has been since 1942, including a redecorating project that included new lighting and the addition of new carpet.
The Carriage House was added in 1999, a facility that includes tables and chairs for dining, as well as a mini-kitchen, and serves as a gathering place for friends and loved ones prior to or after the funeral service. The Cheney Witt Bronson Chapel was added in 1993-94 to serve the western part of Bourbon County, Witt said.
Witt said some changes in the funeral business over the years include an increase in the use of cremation services - which have risen from about 5 percent to about 25 percent. Most families that use cremation "still see a need for a service to celebrate the life of the person," Witt said.
"Every life is important," he said. "It helps the healing of the survivors. You need to acknowledge death to begin the healing process. Also, it lets friends and other acquaintances share in the grief process."
Witt said there have also been some changes in funeral traditions over the years.
"A traditional service use to be strictly religious and not too much on the deceased," he said. "Now they bring in more on the deceased and share their life history, with the faith part of the sermon in at the end. It's now a combination of a celebration of life and religion."
How has the business lasted for a century and a half? Witt said the longevity can be attributed to a couple of facts; that it has always been a family-owned business, and that the funeral business is always there.
"It's been a family business over the years," he said. "It's passed on to other generations; there's a need for it. And whether it's an economic boom or a depression, the funeral business goes on."
Witt and his wife, Judy, have owned the funeral chapel since 1989, and the business has been family owned and operated since the mid-1800s. It is the second oldest funeral home in Kansas. The Witts have given back to the community in several ways over the years, and were honored in 2007 with the prestigious Keystone Award for their longtime involvement in the business world and community.
According to a news release, the Rankin Brothers show will keep the audience captivated from beginning to end with impersonations, tributes and comedy. The show features timeless classics - rock and roll, country, folk and gospel - from the 1950s to present day, authentically reproduced to sound like the original artist.
Seating is limited to 1,300 tickets, and tickets are free but each will have an assigned seat to eliminate the need for seniors to stand in long lines. Ticket will become available starting Friday at the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, 231 E. Wall St., Country Cupboard, 12 N. Main St., and at the funeral chapel on a first come, first served basis.
The Sharing Bucket, a local cancer support group, will handle concessions with proceeds from sales of food and beverages going toward the organization, the release said.
Chapel History
In the early part of 1863, Samuel Osburn Goodlander and his wife, Sarah, arrived in Fort Scott.
Goodlander and his brother, Charles Goodlander, started making plans for a furniture factory. Since Samuel was an undertaker and embalmer, this would be included in his part of the business. This was the beginning of the S.O. Goodlander Funeral Company located on Scott Ave. On June 18, 1906, Orlando Cheney, an employee of the funeral home, received his embalmer license.
The first rubber-tired funeral car was purchased by the Goodlanders in December 1906.
On May 9, 1908, the Goodlander family sold the business to Orlando Cheney. This was one of the more important business changes that had occurred in Fort Scott for some time. In December 1917, the Cheney Undertaking Parlor was moved from 14 Scott Ave., to 119 S. Main St.
In August 1942, the three-story Lakin-McKey Overall Factory, built in 1914, was purchased by the Cheney family. It became the home of the funeral business to present day. At the opening of this building as a funeral home, records state that people from seven states and a crowd estimated at more than 3,000 attended the grand opening.
In 1966, the business was sold to Lela Williams from Louise K. Cheney. Williams continued the business with Norbert "Bud" Beeler as embalmer and manager. Beeler and his wife, Pauline, purchased the business from Williams on Nov. 1, 1981. Bud Beeler continued the funeral business until his health, due to Parkinson's disease, forced his retirement.
Jerry and Judy Witt purchased the business in 1989 and added their name to the Cheney name, making it Cheney Witt Chapel. Following graduation from Fort Scott Community College in 1962, Jerry and Judy were married and moved to Dallas, Texas, where Jerry completed his mortuary education upon graduating from the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science.
In the beginning years, the business was operated by Jerry and Judy with part-time help. The business has grown over the years to employ five funeral directors and four embalmers. In addition to Jerry and Judy, officers of the corporation and employees include Brad Blubaugh, Matt Witt, Curt McCullough and Adam Lancaster.