There is one thing all people have in common. We all will be born and we will die. Death is such a delicate subject that families need someone to help them ease through the process of all the decision making that has to be done to plan out a proper burial. For many families in the Houston area, the ones that they often turn to are the folks at McCoy & Harrison Funeral Home and O.W. Wiley Mortuary.

Image a close family member has died and the only thing your family is interested in is putting them away nicely. Your emotions are all over the place. You reach out to the funeral director for some sympathy and start the process of burying your family member only to be turned away by the proprietor. Although death is universal, burying your loved one was not at funeral homes during the days of segregation due to the color of your skin. It is for reasons like that in how families were mistreated that Homer E. McCoy saw this need to establish the McCoy & Harrison Funeral Home to bring dignity to death for African Americans.

A business that certainly needs a loving touch and a tender hand is the funeral industry. McCoy brought compassion and care to the profession to ensure that families knew that they were more than the color of their skin and their loved one’s life meant something. Always rendering care to the people, he became known as the People’s Pharmacy. From the senior McCoy to his son to the current generation, the family-owned business is the longest tenured family owned and operated black funeral home in Houston and the State of Texas. Over the ninety plus years, the person in the family who manages the business has changed but not much else. Today sisters Helen McCoy Abernathy and Brenda McCoy Lee are at the helm.

“We are certainly grateful to be around as long as we have; our family has been a staple in our community for a very long time,” said Helen McCoy Abernathy, Funeral Director and President for the funeral home. “We believe we have a responsibility to our community to continue providing our services that they have been accustomed to over the past years.”

Workers give a hands-on approach, always remembering years ago when so many families were given less than and treated in such foul ways. They try hard not to get caught up in the big business mind thinking where money is more valued than people. “It is easy to remain complacent with status quo of mom and pop, but stepping out of your comfort zone and attempting to have that Fortune 500 company mentality is daunting and challenging. However, we believe in merging the two. That formula has proved to be a great success as we continue to grow as a company, but also remain a pulse to the community,” said Abernathy.

Competition and technology have tested both companies over the years. Advancements have definitely helped and not hindered. Abernathy believes technology most definitely assists in making the business’s day-to-day operations easier but it has also challenged them in keeping that family touch as families tend to want to do a lot more things digitally instead of in person. In the past, families would come to the facility to make arrangements. Whereas now families want to handle business mainly via email and look on the website to comparison shop. “The key is to incorporate advancing technology into our traditional principles,” said Abernathy. “We always make sure we speak and meet with them personally. Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult times in one's life. Technology cannot replace the emotional support that people need.”

Feeling the push from technical advancement as well is another funeral home that one could call a new kid in comparison to McCoy & Harrison’s longevity. However, Wiley Mortuary is no stranger to the industry as they have almost 20 years under their belt. Wiley Mortuary is a first generation operation that is run by husband and wife team, Otis W. Wiley, Sr. and Jacqueline Jones-Wiley. The pair has really had a lot of positive experiences with technology and has embraced it to expand their care for families beyond the burial with their aftercare resources online through their website. Funerals are big business so any way to stand out amongst the competition is crucial.

Another barrier for funeral homes to stay in business is the rise in price inflation. Just to dig a hole in the ground for a loved one’s final resting place has gone from a mere $90 in the early 1900s to over $1,500 by today’s standards. Abernathy says those rising costs have caused her to an increase in the number of cremations that they do since it by far a more reasonable price option for families. Also, tailored packages of varying prices and services have been created as a way to help families lower the cost of funerals for grieving families at McCoy & Harrison. However, Wiley said that she has found families that come to them still favor more traditional burials versus cremations.

There are so many similar operations out there in the funeral home business but those who don’t know how to work the formula compassion for families and operating in the black have seen their business bought out by bigger corporations. A past Ebony magazine article reported that there were 3,000 black-owned funeral homes in the U.S. Today, there are estimated to be only 1,200. Businesses are being bought out by companies like Service Corporation International, based in Houston, who estimates that they have purchased 50 known funeral homes in the last 20 years. Funeral homes are having to find ways to keep doing what help them start their businesses but also keep ahead of the changing times by expanding their brand and services to meet demand while still giving the personal touch.

“Change is inevitable, progress is not. Therefore, as a funeral director, it’s important to understand how to embrace change, while still maintaining important traditions,” said Wiley.

Founded in 2000, the Wileys co-own O. W. Wiley Mortuary, Incorporated. They are a full service independently owned and operated firm. Mr. Wiley is a Licensed Funeral Director In Charge and Licensed Embalmer. Mrs. Wiley is a Licensed Funeral Director. The Wileys have demonstrated their commitment to the future and have improved the standards and expectations for funeral service in the greater Houston area. Their motto is, “Another Signature Service,” because each family is treated with compassion and respect.

Maintaining respect in this highly competitive field has kept both family businesses operational. Chipping at that success has been an unlikely source, diversity. Abernathy points out that diversity is good for the growth of a city but the problem that she has noticed is how diversity has changed the makeup of neighborhoods. “Houston is becoming a more diverse city by the day; as a result what was once a predominantly African-American community has shifted more towards a multicultural community. It is our duty to remain active in our community as well as remain active through technology to let our families know we are not going anywhere and we will continue to serve them.”

They are not going anywhere because they are keeping things in the family by ensuring the next generation has that sense of duty to want to do the business. This lack of younger family involvement from the millennial generation has become a thorn in the side of a lot of black-owned funeral homes. There is no one to past the business on to that can preserve and protect the legacy of the business. “The importance of this lesson has not been lost on our 4th generation which is precisely why our children, Homer J. Jordan, Carl E. Lee II, Jerrod C. Abernathy, Brandon J. Lee, & Jonathan M. Lee take pride in continuing this tradition and are an active part of the corporation,” said Abernathy. Wiley Mortuary does not foresee that hurting their future either as the couple’s three children are all heavily involved in all business operations so when the time comes for them to take over it will be a smooth transition and they will be ready.

The McCoy rely on name recognition to keep business coming in. With a rich history like theirs, it is easy to see how that is their number one draw. Falling close second or in a tie is their level of customer service. Growing in that same light are the Wileys who know referrals are king in this business.

Yesterday, the business was more than just burying your dead but for events. Since black literally had no place to hold their weddings and other festive occasions they turned to funeral homes. Today, that is not so much the case with the passing of time. However that bond and connection to the community as a resource beyond death still exist. “Serving the community that my husband and I grew up in and giving back through scholarships, sponsorships, mentoring and providing employment in the greater Houston area has truly bought joy to us and our firm,” said Wiley.

A lot of have changes have occurred in the funeral industry from the expansion of services, embracing new technologies, and other facets however one of the biggest changes has been the inclusion of women. It is easy to see how this could be a male-dominated industry.

When Homer McCoy started his company in 1926 he was the main employee doing a lot of the heavy lifting. He was the one answering the call to handle bodies and not sound insensitive or be cruel people are far heavier when dead. Hence, the term dead weight. And when chemicals are added in the embalming process to preserve bodies they become even heavier. In general women usually, don’t have the strength to be able to handle that kind of load. Plus the closed-mindedness of some men just blocked women trying to enter the industry.

Abernathy, Lee, and Wiley are some women who have broken that ceiling. Abernathy and Lee were in a way birthed into the business whereas her husband introduced Wiley to it. Following in the steps of his dream, Wiley said she took on his vision as her own. “ I decided to go to the Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service to become a Licensed Funeral Director after my children graduated from high school.” Wiley continued, “Ironically the majority of my classmates were women. Our professor told us that more families preferred a female Funeral Director because we were more nurturing than our male colleagues.” Now she considers being in the industry her true calling.

Man or woman, it takes a certain type of individual with a specific personality to successfully navigate in this field. The McCoys and the Wileys have that right combination in professionalism, customer service, and in their individual personalities which makes all the easier for them to be able to dignity to death.