From the Fall 2024 issue of The Independent magazine.
OGR recently caught up with Jason Horn from Horn-Nail-Haggard Funeral Home in Daingerfield, Texas about the history of their funeral home, their recent renovation process, and running a farm. Read this article below, and OGR members can check out the Independent magazine archive to read the full magazine!
Tell us a little bit about how your funeral home was founded and how it operates today.
Our building is a Historic Victorian Home that was constructed in 1899 and was converted to a funeral home in 1949. It was owned and operated by the Nail Family and partner, George Haggard. The Nails had three generations working at the funeral home up until our purchase of it in 2021.
We also have three generations here. My dad, Harold, worked for many years at OGR member firm, Rader Funeral Home, in Longview, TX. He is now working with me alongside my son, Carson, who is in mortuary school. Our other son, Colby, has worked at the funeral home since he was 16 years old, as a funeral director assistant, but is not sure yet what his career will be. While our daughter, Carly, does not work here yet, my wife, Genia, oversees all the administrative activities. It truly is a family business.
Fun fact: I met my wife through Rader Funeral Home. Her mom worked there for more than 30 years. I was working at the funeral home for a summer job during college break as a "Funeral Assistant" and met her at the funeral home while she was visiting her mother in the office.
Why do you believe funeral service is important?
I believe that memorialization, be it through traditional burial service or modern celebration methods, is the most important step to beginning the process of healing and closure.
Daingerfield is a small town. How has being born and raised there influenced the way you run your business?
Being from Daingerfield and once being a kid here, I often times will think back to how things were when I was a student in the schools and riding my bike and playing in the neighborhoods. That along with remembering the people that came before me and helped raise me in this community helps me stay grounded and often reminds me of how important it is to preserve history and what built this community. It also allows me to see how the community has progressed and helps me be creative when it comes to memorialization.
What is the most rewarding part of working in the funeral service industry?
The most rewarding part is having a family that placed all of their trust in your family during the most difficult time in their lives come to you at the conclusion of the service and tell you how thankful they are that your creativeness helped them begin the process of healing.
You recently underwent a renovation project at the funeral home. What were the reasons for this and how did it go?
We saw a need to update the facility in order to make it more suitable for personalized services that are offered today, but still maintain the integrity of the original funeral home. It was a challenge to marry a new structure with all of the modern conveniences to the 125-year-old structure, but we managed to pull it off and the reviews from the community have been so confirming.
The new chapel does have some Victorian feel on the inside and it's hard to tell where the old building stopped, and the new one began.
The existing chapel that seated roughly 60 was converted to a hospitality/reception room and our new chapel seats around 170. In the middle of all of that we have restored the interior to reflect the Victorian era as well.
What do you believe distinguishes your funeral home from other funeral homes?
I believe our attention to the tiniest of details and carefully tailoring every service through personalization, along with the personal care that our families receive from the Horn Family is what sets us apart. Most of our staff is made up of non "work family," but the Horn family. We love one another and love to serve. That coupled with creative thinking and currently three generations with a genuine heart for service is hard to duplicate. A lot of funeral homes identify themselves as "Family Owned and Operated." We truly are. In addition, we have staff that work with us on the front lines to oftentimes make their own connections with the families that entrust us.
What does your funeral home do to create a strong community presence? Do you believe that this is important?
I would dare say that our funeral home is one of the most active businesses in our community. Not just with advertising, but with services unrelated to our daily service. We try to help where help is needed but often not easily given. It's easy for a business to write a check to get their name on a banner, but rolling your sleeves up is far more rewarding.
In what ways do you use technology to further the services you offer?
We use technology to reach audiences that were not easy to reach in the years past. Our funeral home is a combination of a beautifully preserved time capsule coupled with the most modern form of technology.
What growing trends have you noticed in the funeral service industry? In what ways have you tried to keep up with these changes?
We have noticed a trend of Traditional viewing with casketed visitations followed by cremation. We have an array of options when it comes to personalized memorialization.
What do you value most about OGR? Why did you become a member?
The thing we value most about OGR is the ethical standard it holds us to. It often reminds us of what we stand for in family-owned funeral service. This firm was a member long before we joined.
Is there anything in particular that you do at work to keep your spirits high or the spirits of your staff high?
We try to just be real people serving real people. We remind ourselves often that we are the ones our families are counting on to be strong and walk alongside them. Even at that, we have our emotional moments when we will cry and even laugh with the families that entrust us. We listen to stories, share memories, laugh and cry. That's being real people.
What are three future goals that you have in mind for your funeral home?
- To maintain this as a Family Owned and Family Operated Firm.
- To grow and progress at the pace of our community.
- To broaden our service.
Personal question: Besides running the funeral home, you also have a farm. You mention in your bio that you enjoy spending time on your tractor and tending to your cows. Have you found this to be helpful in relieving the stress you experience as a funeral director?
That's a great question. The short answer is yes. Honestly the "farming" part of our lives is a relatively newer venture for us, so there is a lot of learning that goes along with it. I would not call myself a farmer. I have a HUGE amount of respect for the long time and REAL farmers of our community. Other things that help us with relieving stress are spending time with our now grown boys and watching our daughter cheer in High Schoo. I also like to tinker on anything that has a motor.
Anything else you would like to share about your funeral home?
Our funeral home received the Daingerfield Chamber of Commerce "Business of the Year" award during our first year of ownership. Since then, I have served on the Daingerfield Chamber of Commerce Board and the Daingerfield Economic Development Corporation Board. In 2022, I was named the East Texas Funeral Directors Association Embalmer of the Year and the Texas Funeral Directors Association Embalmer of the Year.
Fun Fact: Probably one of the fondest memories I have from my early years as a young funeral director was in 2006 when on Season 5 of American Idol I was featured as the funeral director. I ended up making it through to Hollywood before being cut around the last group in the last 50. It was a fun experience, and I did some promotional things with NFDA in the years following. I'm a bit older now so it's a bit easier to get by without talking about it as much.