About Us • Meet Our Staff

About Us

With more than 28 years of serving the Twin Lakes area, Kirby & Family Funeral & Cremation Services demonstrates a strong commitment to local ownership and service to our communities.

Today's staff provides the same personal service that Elton Kirby promised when he established the company in 1976. Those we serve say there is a difference in what we do and how we care for all families. Perhaps that is because we are family-owned and family-operated, working to serve our neighbors and friends as we would serve our own family.

Kirby & Family serves the Mountain Home area from its facility on Hospital Drive and serves the Bull Shoals/Lakeview area from its Bull Shoals facility, established in 1979. Since 1980, Kirby & Family Funeral & Cremation Services has operated and expanded its serene countryside cemetery and mausoleum complex, Kirby's Tucker Memorial Cemetery.

Overseen by Superintendent Donald Gray since 1981, Kirby's Tucker Memorial Cemetery features special gardens and accepts granite upright monuments in its Granite Garden section. Families choose from burial sites in the Veterans Garden, the Catholic Garden, or the Masonic Garden. A row of large American flags form an Avenue of Flags, catching the wind beautifully on patriotic occasions.

If you already own cemetery property such as lots, mausoleum crypts or niches, you may exchange it for property within Kirby's Tucker Memorial Cemetery through the International Cemetery and Funeral Association's (formerly American Cemetery Association) Lot Exchange Program.

The largest mausoleum complex in north central Arkansas is at Kirby's Tucker Memorial Cemetery. When expansions are made to the mausoleum, pre-construction contracts at reduced fees are available.

Reaching out to those who grieve with compassion is indispensable when a loved one is gone. Even after the funeral is over, Kirby & Family Funeral & Cremation Services continues its care with resources for those difficult times. Kirby & Family Funeral & Cremation Services has distributed books, videos, and cassette tapes for managing grief to local libraries, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and human services offices. All of these materials are also available at the Kirby & Family Funeral & Cremation Services facilities. These are available to all at no charge. Our staff is also well informed about local support groups for grief and healing.

Kirby & Family Funeral & Cremation Services has led community efforts to honor World War II veterans. Kirby & Family personnel have led the region in providing educational opportunities for future funeral directors. Kirby & Family has led the state in the quality of documentation supplied to government agencies on behalf of our families. Kirby & Family has brought the nation's leading grief management experts to Mountain Home for outstanding workshops and seminars open to the public and especially for care givers.

It is not surprising to learn that Kirby & Family has been honored to receive the national "Pursuit of Excellence" award from the National Funeral Directors Association every year since 2001.

Meet Our Staff
Our people make a difference in our service. We understand that each family will have personal requests and traditions. The wishes of each family are of the utmost importance to our licensed funeral directors. Below is a listing of our staff. To find out more about our licensed funeral directors and managers, click on their names.

Owners/Managers and Licensed Staff Members Elton Kirby, Owner, Founder, Funeral Director Mary Kirby, Owner, Funeral Director Jason Kirby, General Manager - Funeral Director Donald Gray, Cemetery Superintendent Bill Mackey, Senior Funeral Director Bill Wiles, Pre-arrangement Manager Heather Marsalis, Bull Shoals Facility Manager Judy Lewis, Office Manager Travis Kowalczyk, Funeral Director Gary Quinney, Funeral Director Josh Taylor, Funeral Director Supporting Staff Wade Britt, Cemetery Maintenance Christi West, Receptionist Jean Gordon, Public Relations Larry Cassidy, Assistant Funeral Director Rita Watts, Funeral Director George Kemper, Grounds and Maintenance Louis Stephens, Assistant Funeral Director Jerry Lennard, Assistant Funeral Director Jerry Burrow, Assistant Funeral Director Karen McElwain, Assistant Funeral Director Buddy Bradshaw, Jr., Cemetery Maintenance