CELEBRATING LIFE FOR 50 YEARS

Family-owned Haisley Funeral & Cremation Service proud of enhancements to better serve Treasure Coast families

BY JOE DeSALVO

Our family serving your family in your time of need.

It’s not a slogan, but a simple mission statement Haisley Funeral & Cremation Service takes great pride fulfilling by being there for Treasure Coast families … for half a century.

“Fifty years is truly a memorial occasion, to have been blessed to serve the community where I was born and raised, and help so many families during their most difficult time,” Richard F. “Rick’’ Haisley said. “Many of the families we have helped I’ve known from growing up here and so it’s personal to me, to my family, to make sure their family is taken care of and comforted during their loss.”

That commitment was established in 1973 when Haisley and Claude “Buddy” Hobbs Jr. purchased the Fort Pierce Funeral Home on South U.S. 1. Five years later, they moved the business to its current location at 3015 Okeechobee Road, changing the name to Haisley-Hobbs Funeral Home, Inc.

It was also in the late 1970s that they acquired part ownership in Fort Pierce Cemetery, now Riverview Memorial Park on North U.S. 1 in Fort Pierce. Haisley is president and primary owner of the 120-year-old cemetery along with Bill Yates, owner of Yates Funeral Home and Cremation Services.

It was after Hobbs’ retirement in 1998 that Haisley was joined by his wife and fellow Fort Pierce native, Jimmie Anne, in owning and operating the business; it was rebranded Haisley Funeral & Cremation Service. 

There was no looking back. 

“Jimmie Anne and I put our minds and our energy together and took the business to another level,’’ Rick said. The couple, both 72, were married in 1995.

What started with the funeral home has expanded into a five-building campus spread over a city block, including a planning center, reception center, and even a fitness and pilates studio.

FAMILY INVOLVEMENT

Haisley Funeral & Cremation Service is a family enterprise. 

Quinn Haisley-Wheeler is a funeral director and director of funeral service operations, while older sister Lee Anne Haisley-Bolonka is an office manager. She’s been with the funeral home a little more than 20 years.

“I think I can speak for my sister, too — we were never pushed to be in this business by any means,’’ Quinn said. “That was something both of them [Rick and Jimmie Anne] gave us — the choice of whatever we wanted to do.

“But this career is a calling,’’ added Quinn, who joined the business in 2006 after getting her bachelor’s degree in social sciences from Florida State University, and then receiving an associate degree in funeral and mortuary science at St. Petersburg College. 

“It’s one of those things where, yes, my family means a bunch to me; I would do anything for my family,’’ said Quinn, a mother of two sons. “But sometimes this family, my funeral home family, the families I serve take precedence.’’

That was especially the case during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the summer of 2020.

“We were never busier in our career,’’ Rick said.

PET DIVISION EXPANDS

Never shying away from innovation and entrepreneurship, the Haisleys opened Haisley Pet Loss Services in 2012, converting an old garage adjacent to their Fort Pierce location and transforming it into the pet facility at 1602 S. 30th St.

The Haisleys plan to double the facility’s size to more than 2,000 square feet.

“It was a natural extension of our brand,” Rick said. “Since opening Pet Loss Services, we have handled many pets of families we have served in the past. Many of our pet families were so pleased with the service they received for their pet that they decided to pre-arrange their own personal funeral services with us.”

TRIBUTE CENTER IN PSL

The Haisleys also extended their brand into the ever-growing Port St. Lucie area nearly 10 years ago. The Haisley Tribute Center, located at 2041 SW Bayshore Blvd., was built with the idea of going back to a time when wakes were held in the family’s home. 

“It’s not institutional, and is instead very warm and comforting,’’ Rick said. 

Besides a small chapel, visitation room and offices, the Tribute Center has a large, state-of-the-art kitchen, the heart of every home. 

Priscilla Johnson is a funeral director and operations manager at the Port St. Lucie Tribute Center.

“It’s very rewarding for me,’’ said Johnson, who has been with the Haisleys for 20 years. “I love being here for the families in their time of need.’’ 

Both the Port St. Lucie Tribute Center and the Haisley Reception Center, located at 1614 S. 31st St., are offered free to nonprofit groups to hold meetings and volunteer appreciation events — just one of many community service and philanthropic activities the Haisleys have aligned with their operations.

Another venture Jimmie Anne undertook was the use of certified therapy mini ponies — Calvin and Banks — to further aid the grieving process. In 2017, Healing Hoofs Therapy Horses was established with the goal to bring joy and comfort to those facing medical, cognitive, emotional or end-of-life difficulties. The nonprofit is managed by Barbara Neumann.

The Haisleys are committed to caring for and helping the families they serve. They offer each family they serve the ability to plan a funeral that will meet their specific needs, while keeping their traditional commitment to funeral service unchanged. 

Information on the following services can be found at haisleyfuneralhome.com:

• Traditional services

• Cremation services

• Veteran services

• Scattering at sea

• Green burial

• Personalization

Families have been choosing cremation for their loved ones in increasing numbers over traditional burials as final disposition. Nationally, it’s 56% and climbing, according to industry officials. In Florida, it’s 72% and at Haisley, it’s 68%.

STAYING LOCALLY OWNED

The Haisleys, meanwhile, have no desire to partner with a large corporation, a growing trend in the U.S. funeral market that is estimated to be worth around $20 billion annually. Approximately 2.4 million funerals take place each year, according to us-funerals.com.

Having Quinn and Lee Anne involved will keep it a family-owned business — with a staff of nearly 40 full- and part-time employees, say Rick and Jimmie Anne. 

“It was very important to both of us to have a succession plan because there are funeral homes now that are corporate [owned], and we’re natives and we care about our community,’’ Jimmie Anne said.

“The industry is still dominated by family-owned companies,’’ Rick said, adding, “It’s not the case here: we’re dominated in this region with large corporate funeral homes.’’

Rick says he’s been approached “many times’’ by larger companies, but the answer has always been, “No.’’

The Haisley family is equally proud to be active in a variety of community organizations, including Treasure Coast Hospice, Rotary, Kiwanis and the Busch Family Foundation.

Community involvement and support has been a win-win for the family.

“It’s allowed us to excel in everything we’ve done,’’ Rick said.

See the original article in print publication

Nov. 15, 2023