Pines Funerals – Where hometown means Moore

Pines Funerals brings faith to its families with a focus on offering individualized services while preserving community heritage.

Owner Robert Nunnaley worked with Mr. Prickett at the Carthage location, Fry & Prickett Funeral Home, from 1990 until Prickett’s death in 2017 when Nunnaley purchased the company.

“He was a tremendous mentor,” Nunnaley said.

The Victorian-era Fry & Prickett Funeral Home radiates warmth from its heart pine interior to its caring Christian staff.

Pines Funerals have the Carthage location and a Robbins location with Kennedy Funeral Home on Middleton Street. Pinelawn Funeral and Cremation Center in Southern Pines will be the home of the newest addition, a state-of-the-art facility to reflect the town’s upscale architecture, Powell Funeral Home.

Pines Funerals owner, Robert Nunnaley, welcomes families Aug. 1, 2022, from the Fry & Prickett Funeral Home in Carthage.

There are three qualities that make Pines Funerals stand out. They are family owned. They serve Moore County from three locations. And the company is the longest-operating business in the county, dating back to 1895.

The most significant change is the cremation rate, with 40% requesting cremation in Moore County and 50% nationwide.

“Cremation offers flexibility, especially during COVID,” said Nunnaley. “Families could have the memorial services later, even up to six months later, instead of three days trying to get families together.”

“But I do struggle when families do not have a memorial service. They do not have closure, and people suffer from that. We have staff, Pat Brown, to counsel families for up to a year after death,” Nunnaley said about Pines Cares grief services

“We are a faith-based business, and when families do not want clergy, we offer celebrants to memorialize loved ones with life sketches,” Nunnaley said about offering individualized services.

Another significant change in Pines Funerals is the increase of women employees. They employ a total of seven women, with three in administration and one apprentice, two directors, and another on staff.

Pines Funerals – Where hometown means more

 Funeral Director, Ashlee Matthews (left), Pine Funerals owner, Robert Nunnaley, and his daughter, Lilly Nunnaley, welcome families Aug. 1, 2022, at Fry & Prickett Funeral Home in Carthage.

“When I came into the business, there were no women on the staff. My boss always said, ‘If you hire a woman, your wife wouldn’t like it.’ He let me hire one before he retired, and she is still with us. She’s amazing,” Nunnaley said about office manager Marie Thomas.

“There’s a real need for women in funeral service,” Nunnaley said about women offering deep empathy for grieving mothers.

When Nunnaley began 32 years ago, there were no women in mortuary classes and now over half the class is women.

“My wife, Kerry, works at Pinelawn Memorial Park, and my daughter, Lilly, works at the front desk part-time,” Nunnaley said.

“I’m passionate about funeral service, and over the years, I feel like I’ve really ingrained myself into the community. We are a strong, faith-based company, and most everyone here goes to church, and we have weekly Bible study here,” Nunnaley said about his motto — keeping Christ in the marketplace.

Pines Funerals welcome families to contact them at 910-947-2224 or online.

Feature photo: Pines Funerals owner, Robert Nunnaley, welcomes families on Aug. 1, 2022, at Fry & Prickett Funeral Home at 402 Saunders Street in Carthage.

~Article, photos, and video by Sandhills Sentinel Journalist Stephanie M. Sellers. Contact her at [email protected].

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