KELSEY FUNERAL HOME
has served North Carolina for 73 years
K
elsey Funeral Home of Albemarle, NC is
celebrating 73 years of service as Noble and
Kelsey Funeral Home.
“Our motto has always been to support families,
not only in their hours of need, but whenever
they need us. We live by that,” Murvyn Kelsey,
president and financial officer of Kelsey Funeral
Home of Albemarle said.
In 1902, Stephen Noble and William F. Kelsey established
Noble and Kelsey Funeral Home. Kelsey’s wife, Lula Spaulding
Kelsey, also became an integral part of the business.
“Lula was the first female licensed funeral director and embalmer in the state of North Carolina,” Murvyn Kelsey said.
After 30 years of serving Rowan County, the Kelseys branched
out and oversaw their sons opening businesses first in Concord, and later in Albemarle in 1943.
William Francis Kelsey and his wife, Margaret, operated the
family business together until William’s death in 1974. Following his death, Margaret and M. Garland Kelsey continued to
manage the funeral home until Margaret’s death in 1992.
After that, M. Garland Kelsey Sr., and Timmie E. White Sr., a licensed
funeral director and embalmer, continued to operate the business until
Garland’s death in 1993. Fannye W. Kelsey, M. Garland Kelsey’s widow and
T. E. White Sr., managed the family business until White’s death in 2008.
Mrs. F. W. Kelsey retired in 2009.
Garland and Fannye’s son, Monroe G. Kelsey Jr., and his wife, Murvyn
Baker Kelsey, took over the reign in 2009.
“We look at ourselves as a family. We are very family-oriented.”
Employees at Kelsey Funeral Home are actively involved in the
community. Among other things, employees have delivered meals during
the holiday season, assisted with voter registration drives, served as
coaches for Little League teams and supported the Little Black Dress
Scholarship Award and Back to School supply drive for the E.E. Waddell
Center and other organizations in the surrounding counties.
“You feel a sense of service and that you are giving back,” Kelsey said.
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