Associates

Managing Director

A native of Arkansas, Lee moved to the Memphis area in 1998 to attend mortuary school at Northwest Mississippi Community College. He began his funeral service career that same year and has served as an embalmer, funeral director, operations manager, location manager, and general manager. He is now director for the Memphis market.

Invested in the future of funeral service, Lee sits on the funeral service program advisory committee at his alma mater and is our company’s scholarship ambassador at the school. He is part of the annual ICCFA University Cremation College held in Memphis each summer.

Lee is an active member of Minor Memorial United Methodist Church, where he sings in the choir and serves on several committees. Lee and his wife live in Desoto County, Mississippi. They have 2 children.

Manager

Christopher has been serving families in the Memphis area for more than a decade. Raised just a short drive from Memphis in the town of Covington, he began serving families in the local funeral home at the age of 16. Chris received his associate degree in mortuary science from Northwest Mississippi Community College.

He currently resides in a small community in North Mississippi where he enjoys restoring classic cars.

General Manager

Paul "Chad" Smith has been serving families in the Bartlett and Memphis areas since the 1990s. Originally from Lepanto, a small farming town in the northeast part of Arkansas, Chad started his career in the funeral industry at the young age of 16, hanging around the local funeral home cutting the grass, washing cars and whatever jobs needed tending to at the time. He earned his degree in mortuary science at Northwest Mississippi College in Southaven.

Chad began working with Memphis Funeral Homes in 1997 and was honored to accept a position of managing funeral director in 2013.

Chad and his lovely wife have 3 children and they all love spending time with their 4 dogs: Beamer, Kermit, Max and Henry.

Funeral Director

Born and raised in Ripley, Tennessee, Amber has been in funeral service since 2012. She has an associate degree in mortuary science that she received from Northwest Mississippi Community College. She is a licensed funeral director in both Tennessee and Mississippi and a licensed embalmer in Tennessee. She is dedicated to providing the highest level of service to every family she serves. Amber lives in Ripley, Tennessee, with her husband and their fur-baby, Roscoe.

Funeral Director

Emily has worked as a funeral director in the Shelby County area in 2017, caring for families with the utmost professionalism and compassion. She began working in funeral service in 2012 and graduated from Arkansas State University – Mountain Home in 2014 with an associate’s degree in mortuary science. When she is not at the funeral home, you can likely find Emily spending time with her fiancé, playing outdoors with her Belgian Malinois or experimenting in the kitchen.

Funeral Director

Since 2013 Daniel has provided compassionate care to families in the Mid-South area. Daniel earned his degree in mortuary science from Northwest Mississippi Community College in 2016, where he won an international scholarship, named Mr. Northwest and elected vice president of Sigma Phi Sigma, the national fraternal society for funeral professionals. Daniel earned a master’s degree in counseling in 2003 and published the book "Fear Not! Courage for Every Challenge" in 2013. He is proud to be a part of the Dignity Memorial® team, guiding you through one of the most personal times in life.

Originally from the Chattanooga area, Daniel now resides in Lakeland. When he is not serving families, Daniel enjoys spending time with his wife and 2 sons, watching movies and taking the occasional trip to the beach.

Community Development

A native of Batesville, Mississippi, Everette, known by most as E.C., moved to Dallas in 1969 to attend the Dallas Institute of Funeral Services, where he met his wife. Following his graduation, the two moved to the Memphis area where E.C. began serving families. A licensed funeral director and embalmer in both Tennessee and Mississippi, he currently serves as a senior funeral director on our team and was instrumental, as past president, in the growth of our group from 2 funeral homes to our current 5 funeral homes and 2 cemeteries. Currently residing in Germantown, E.C. is a longtime member of Central Church in Collierville and is active in several local chambers of commerce.

Community Development

As a funeral celebrant Jonathan helps families design and host personalized tributes and celebrations of life. He believes every life has a story and strives to make every service meaningful and memorable.

Jonathan is a licensed funeral director in Tennessee and Mississippi. He first entered funeral service in 1986. He received his mortuary science degree from John A. Gupton College in Nashville and also holds a bachelor’s in communications from Freed-Hardeman University, a master’s in Biblical studies from Lipscomb University, and a juris doctorate from the University of Dayton School of Law.

In addition to his work at the funeral home, Jonathan serves as minister of music and worship of Redeemer Evangelical Church in Collierville. In his spare time, he enjoys singing in a gospel quartet and providing musical programs to churches, senior citizen gatherings and nursing homes. A native of Ripley, Tennessee, Jonathan now lives in East Memphis.

Funeral Director

At the early age of 15, Paul began helping the owner of a funeral home in Ecru, Mississippi. It was there he realized his calling in life was to be a funeral director and embalmer. Since joining Memphis Funeral Home in 1959, Paul has faithfully served the Memphis and Mid-South communities. He has been pivotal in the development and growth of Memphis Funeral Home, with his main focus on providing unsurpassed service to our client families. To this day, Paul continues to maintain the same steadfast desire to care for others in their time of need. (Paul is not currently licensed to make funeral arrangements, do embalming or conduct funerals in Tennessee.)