H arrell’s Funeral Home was founded in 1913 by William Ross Harrell and has remained family owned and operated ever since. For three generations our commitment to the people of Pender and surrounding counties has stayed constant.
In the late 1930’s Harrell’s Funeral Home opened two more locations in Wilmington and Southport NC, and expanded its Burgaw location. With the outbreak of World War II labor became scarce and the Southport location was sold. A partner was brought into our Wilmington location which became Harrell-Coble Funeral Home. Eventually full interest in the Wilmington location was sold to Lad Coble and it became the present day Coble-Ward- Smith Funeral Home.
In 1945 W.R.’s son Charles, a Navy Corpsman, returned from World War II and started managing the funeral business. Charles ran Pender County’s first ambulance service along with the funeral home. Harrell’s Funeral Home continued to grow and expand, and in 1992 Charles’ wife Jan and son Herbert Harrell became licensed funeral directors and joined the business.
For three generations the Harrell family has offered exceptional care for the bereaved at a reasonable price. The people of our area have shown their trust in us by allowing us to provide for the final needs of generations of their loved ones. This is why we are the oldest and most respected funeral home in Pender County.