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Lady's Funeral Home & Crematory is the oldest funeral home in Kannapolis, with its roots dating back to the incorporation of Lowe Brothers and Company on February 20, 1912. There were two brothers, C.E. and J.G. Lowe, along with a third partner that started the business. It was a general store that also sold caskets and other funeral supplies. That business was located at the corner of Main and 1st streets in Kannapolis.
C.E. Lowe and J.G. Lowe along with R.Q. Lowe, W.L. Yost, and A.J. DeMarcus created and incorporated a new undertaking business by the name of DeMarcus Undertaking Company on May 11, 1918. The business was named after Mr. DeMarcus because he was already associated with the undertaking business. Mr. DeMarcus along with Mr. Yost were part owners of the H.B. Wilkinson Undertaking Company in Concord along with the 2nd location in Kannapolis. This new business was located in the same building as the Lowe Brothers and Company. A year after incorporation, the business along with the physical building was relocated to an area that would be located behind what is now the Gem Theatre.
In 1924, the business changed hands and became a second location for Bell & Harris Funeral Home out of Concord. Soon after, the business was relocated to South Main Street as a storefront building. Nine years later, in 1933, the business was bought by J.C. Taylor, former manager for Bell & Harris for 15 years, A.Z. Price and J.N. Ritchie, a local funeral director. The business was renamed Ritchie-Taylor Funeral Home. The business remained at its South Main Street location.
Less than a year later on  March 8, 1934, Mr. Edgar Elwood Lady along with a group of investors that included C.D. Alexander, O.E. Scarboro, W.H. Brown and D.A. Jolley purchased the Ritchie-Taylor Funeral Home, to incorporate what is now Lady's Funeral Home & Crematory. Mr. Ritchie was retained as the funeral homes embalmer.
Mr. Lady, whose name would be taken, and who would operate the funeral home for several years, was the postmaster in Kannapolis and was losing his job. At that time, each postmaster was a direct appointment of the President and with each change of political parties in the White House, the appointments of postmaster changed.
 One of the investors with Mr. Lady was Mr. W. H. Brown, a local oil company distributor who had a younger brother with an interest in the funeral business. That young man was Clifford H. Brown. After completing his funeral service education at the McAllister Institute in New York, he returned to Kannapolis and Lady's Funeral Home. Upon his return, his brother gave him his interest in the funeral home to help give him a start in what turned out to be a career of over forty years in the funeral business. During his years in funeral service, he served as President and Executive member of the North Carolina Board of Embalmers & Funeral Directors and also was the coroner of Cabarrus County for sixteen years. During the early years with the business, Mr. Brown obtained the majority ownership of Lady's Funeral Home which he operated until his death in August of 1980.
At his death, Mr. Brown passed on his holdings in the funeral home to four employees who had been with him for a number of years. Two of the four died within a few years leaving the current owners, Michael L. Reavis, who first came to work for the firm in 1966 and graduated from Gupton-Jones College of Mortuary Science, and Daniel C. Carroll, who graduated from the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science in 1975.
The business is now in its fourth location since 1934, at which time it was located in a storefront on South Main Street. The second location was on West Avenue in the downtown district of Kannapolis, which was also a small storefront facility.
In October of 1950, the business moved several blocks to a large home on South Ridge Avenue which provided more space and included our first opportunity to offer a chapel. Eighteen years later the funeral home relocated to what was the edge of town at that time, to our current location on North Cannon Boulevard. This facility was a very large colonial home which was originally built as a residence by a local physician. The home was purchased in late 1966 and took until the fall of 1968 for all remodeling and additions to be completed.
Lady's Funeral Home & Crematory from 1968 to Present.
Our most recent additions to the funeral home have allowed add a crematory to our facility. Now we can offer to the families that we serve the peace of mind knowing that every service that we provide is taken care of on site. On July 20, 2006, the NC Board of Funeral Service officially licensed Lady's Funeral Home as a Cremation provider using our own on-site crematory. We are the first funeral home in Kannapolis, Concord and southern Rowan County area to have an on-site crematory.
Our Tradition Of Helping
Sometimes, it seems that the timeless tradition of neighbor helping neighbor becomes lost in daily life. At Lady's Funeral Home & Crematory, that philosophy serves as the basis for everything we do.
Our business was founded in 1934, when Kannapolis was in its infancy. From the very first day, we have been as close and as ready to help as a good neighbor.
Since the day our founder, Ed Ladys, first offered his services to Cabarrus and and Rowan counties, the concept of "our family helping your family" has been reflected in the services we offer, in our professional, capable staff, and comfortable surroundings.
Throughout the years, the families of Cabarrus and Rowan counties have found our efforts to be of great value in helping them to arrange funeral services that are most meaningful and appropriate for those who remain, while incorporating the wishes of the person who has died.
Even though our funeral home has not been passed down from generation to generation, our roots are just as strong. At Lady's Funeral Home & Crematory, all decisions regarding day to day operations, as well as all concerns for you and your family are made locally. They are not made at a corporate office by people who have never set foot on our property, much less do they know about our day to day operation of our funeral home.
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