Schoppenhorst Underwood & Brooks Funeral Homes

With locations in Mt. Washington and Shepherdsville, Schoppenhorst Underwood & Brooks Funeral Home provides traditional funeral services, cremation memorials and celebrations of life. Historic Brookland Cemetery shares the grounds in Shepherdsville. The city is also home to Hardy-Close Funeral Home, which has provided affordable, compassionate care to families since 1929.

Memorable, meaningful funerals, cremations and cemetery memorials

The experienced and caring teams at Schoppenhorst Underwood & Brooks Funeral Home, Hardy-Close Funeral Home and Brookland Cemetery know just how to meet the needs and wishes of families from all walks of life. With decades of knowledge, our staff blends traditional values with contemporary products and services to memorialize every loved one in a unique way, respecting faith, culture and budget.

Whether funeral or cremation, simple memorial or upbeat celebration of life, cemetery burial or mausoleum niche, there are choices that reflect your personal preferences and family traditions. With patience and care, we listen to what is important to you before creating a beautiful remembrance that truly reflects the memory of your loved one and helps your family begin to heal.

We’re here for you

If you expect a loved one to pass away soon or are in need at this time, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Someone is available to answer your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We’re also experts in arranging funeral and cremation services in advance. Planning ahead is a responsible, caring act that can reduce stress for your grieving loved ones. It’s easy to understand how making decisions about final arrangements now can help ensure that those left behind are assured your wishes are recognized.

Schoppenhorst Underwood & Brooks Funeral Home: generations of service excellence

In 1892, three industrious brothers ran Schoppenhorst Bros. Laundry and Linen Service in Louisville’s West End. The youngest, Edward Schoppenhorst, had a different calling. The son of Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Schoppenhorst, a German immigrant from Ladbergen, Westfalen, Edward was drawn to the growing field of “undertaking.” With quiet determination, he branched out to open a funeral home, while his brothers continued in the laundry trade.

Edward chose a remarkable setting for his new business: the stately 1865 home built by Captain Kawein, an Ohio River boat captain. The residence at 1832 West Market Street was both elegant and enduring, and it stands today. Its most striking feature—an 11-foot glass front door crafted in France and shipped to Louisville in the 1860s—still welcomes visitors. That one-of-a-kind door holds a piece of glass from every country in Europe at the time of its manufacture.

For nearly half a century, Edward and his wife, Flora, cared for families from their West Market location. Known for their compassion and attention to detail, they built a reputation for exceptional service and a facility that was always spotless and dignified.

New growth, new faces

In 1925, Campbellsville funeral director A.R. McFarland joined the staff, followed soon after by Edward’s nephew, Charles Schoppenhorst. Around that same time, the funeral home added a large chapel with a covered carport—the first of its kind in Louisville. In 1934, Martin Jackson, a South Louisville native and graduate of an Indianapolis embalming school, joined the team.

Edward’s lifelong dedication to his profession continued until his passing in 1941. Flora, along with their trusted associates, carried on the work they had begun together.

By 1960, Flora had expanded her vision even further. She joined Robert Bosse, Lee Cralle Jr., James Daugherty, Alton Neurath and Elbird Owen in establishing Highlands Funeral Home at 3331 Taylorsville Road. Vernon Emerson would later join the partnership.

Flora remained at the helm of Schoppenhorst Bros. Funeral Home until she died in 1965. Before her death, she transferred two-thirds of the business to A.R. and Martin, with the remaining third going to Charles and his wife, May Bert.

Edward and Flora were both deeply rooted in their faith and community. Active members of their Masonic Lodge, Edward served as past master of Shawnee Masonic Lodge, while Flora was past worthy matron of Electa Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. The couple now rests together at Cave Hill Cemetery.

The next chapter

In 1976, Ben Underwood purchased the funeral home on West Market Street for $64,000. At the time, the business had $15,000 in the bank and averaged 55 funeral calls a year. Over the next two decades, Ben and funeral director Herb Morgan grew that number to 130, reflecting their dedication to service and the community's trust.

In 1991, Ben and his mother, Hallie Kruse, partnered with Neill Brooks to build a new facility—Schoppenhorst Underwood & Brooks Funeral Home—at 4895 North Preston Highway in Shepherdsville, on the grounds of Brookland Cemetery. Hallie, who earned her funeral director’s license in 1994, oversaw the finances; Alvin Jessie served as director until 1997. A chapel was added to the Shepherdsville location in 2003, followed by two visitation rooms with space for food service in 2008.

In the spring of 2015, Schoppenhorst Underwood & Brooks Funeral Home opened a second location in Mt. Washington.

Brookland Cemetery: a legacy rooted in Kentucky soil

Long before Kentucky became a state—before Bullitt County even existed—a young family made their way down the Ohio River in search of a new beginning. In 1779, Joseph Brooks and his family settled in the wild frontier that would one day bear their name: Brooks, Kentucky.

At the time, life west of the Alleghenies was rugged and uncertain. Just a year earlier, George Rogers Clark and a small band of settlers had camped on Corn Island, laying the foundation for what would become Louisville. Conflict between settlers and Native Americans was common, and the wilderness held both promise and peril. Nearby, surveyor John Floyd died crossing Brooks Run, and Kentucky’s first attorney general, Walker Daniel, was killed near Brooks Station, a fortification built and operated by the Brooks family themselves.

The first families of the Wilderness Trail

Brooks Station, located along the old Wilderness Trail (now Blue Lick Road), was more than a homestead. It was a haven for weary pioneers traveling west from Virginia. It became the final stop before reaching Louisville, a place of safety and rest carved out by grit, faith and determination.

Like many early settlers, the Brooks family established a small family cemetery near the station. Across Kentucky today, more than 35,000 such burial grounds remain—humble, sacred places where the state’s first families laid their loved ones to rest. Though the original Brooks family cemetery has since been relocated, its spirit lives on in the community’s burial traditions.

From family cemetery to community landmark

As Kentucky’s towns and neighborhoods grew in the 1800s, many private family cemeteries gave way to community burial grounds. The Brooks family helped lead that change, founding Hebron Cemetery in 1894 to serve the surrounding area. Solomon Neill Brooks II designed the first section of Hebron and dedicated his life to its care, serving as volunteer superintendent until his death. For the next century, successive generations of the Brooks family—alongside a board of directors—lovingly maintained Hebron Cemetery, ensuring it remained a place of peace, memory and connection for their neighbors.

Continuing a 200-year tradition

By 1986, Hebron Cemetery was nearing capacity. To meet the needs of a growing community, the Brooks family set aside more of their historic property to create Brookland Cemetery. Rolling hills and graceful monuments give the land a timeless beauty, reflecting both the history and the heart of those who rest there.

Many of the same families with loved ones buried in Hebron Cemetery have continued their stories at Brookland, where newer generations now lie beside their ancestors. In just a few decades, Brookland has served almost as many families as Hebron did in the hundred years before it.