Honaker Funeral Home
Introduction
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Harris Funeral Home 1955
Honaker Funeral Home
Backstory and Context
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Bruce Harris was the undertaker of Logan County for over 40 years. Before the Harris Funeral Home was built he would ride a horse to the homes of the deceased to prepare their bodies for burial. The caskets would be made by family or friends and the last rights given before he left the body and returned to Logan. Eventually after some time the railroad came through town and the official stationary funeral business began. The addition of the railroads meant that he could now complete funerary services quicker than ever before. People could now bring their loved ones to the undertaker for services. The third floor of the Logan Mercantile was converted into funeral parlors, and the first semblance of present day funeral service was started.
The funeral operation was founded by B.C. Harris. B.C. Harris was Bruce Harris' brother, they were business partners. Together they were able to create and maintain the funeral business that has served Logan County for decades. The most famous client of the Harris Funeral Home was Mamie Thurman. Mamie was murdered and her body was found and brought to the Harris Funeral Home for preparation in June 1932. The body was prepared and moved to Nighbert Methodist Memorial Church for the funeral.
Mamie Thurman’s death certificate filed at the courthouse states that she was buried at Logan Memorial Park in McConnell. Harris Funeral Home records show a charge for thirty-five dollars for moving Mrs. Thurman’s body to Bradfordsville, Kentucky. However, the cemetery in Kentucky has no record of the interment of Mamie’s body. It remains a mystery to this day as to where Mamie Thuman’s body was buried.
The Harris Funeral Home served Logan County from 1908-1966. Before being used as a funeral home, it was the home of John B. and Rebecca Chafin Wilkinson. In 1895 during the home’s construction, eleven Native American skeletons were exhumed. John B. Wilkinson died Aug. 12, 1919 and was buried in the Straton Cemetery. In 1966 Joe and Dolores Honaker purchased the business and the name was changed to Honaker-Harris Funeral Home. In 1973 after the passing of Greta Harris, the name was changed to Sadly, Joe D. Honaker died in 2006. His wife and son, Michael now run the family business.