Walking up to Pollock-Best Funerals & Cremations the first sign that things were amiss was the notice on the door stating they were closed due to COVID. According to an inside source, “Nobody had COVID.”
They shuttered their doors on October 12, 2021. To be sure, I walked around the business today, October 15. The doors were locked and newspapers were stuck in the front door and in the newspaper box. I called the Funeral Home’s number, 252-637-5111 and Omni Enterprises answered the phone. They told me I had the wrong number. Omni is a virtual assistant business located in Carrollton, GA.
I asked Manager and Funeral Director, Bob Burns what happened. He told me he wasn’t at liberty to discuss it and referred me to StoneMor, Inc.’s Media Relations.
In full transparency, I’ve worked closely with Bob when I was the Decedent Affairs Officer at Naval Hospital Cherry Point (2005 – 2007). At the time, he worked at Cotten Funeral Home in New Bern. He cared for the deceased military member from the time of death to final disposition — burial, or cremation. When I retired, I worked as a funeral attendant at Cotten. Bob taught me the ins and outs of the funeral business. Back then, I was interested in becoming a funeral director. I can attest to his work ethic, dedication, compassion for families, and caring for the deceased were beyond reproach.
I’ve reached out to StoneMor, Inc and I’m waiting for a response. As of today, there were no press releases about the closure of Pollock-Best. Someone posted content on their Facebook page at 4 p.m. this afternoon.
There are so many questions that remain. What will happen to records dating back to the late 1800’s? What about the preneed contracts? Why did they close?
If and when I hear back from StoneMor, I will let you know what happened. In the meantime, if you made preneed funeral arrangements with Pollock-Best, I encourage you to contact StoneMor, Inc. at 215-826-2800.
By Wendy Card