This article originally appeared in the Spring 2026 issue of The Independent magazine. OGR members can read full versions of previous magazine editions in the OGR Digital Magazine Archive.
OGR recently caught up with Jay, Mary, Jason, and Margaret Steele, owners of Arnett & Steele Funeral Home in Pineville, Kentucky to chat about their funeral home, the importance of independent funeral service, the latest trends in the profession, and much more.
Tell us a little about how your funeral home got started and how it has evolved over the years.
In 1867, just after the Civil War, Thomas Jefferson "Unce Jeff" Hoskins opened the TJ Hoskins General Merchandise and Undertaking Store on Main Street in Cumberland Ford, Kentucky, where he sold everything early settlers needed except tobacco and firearms, these he wouldn't tolerate. On April 16, 1890, Cumberland Ford, Kentucky, was incorporated as the City of Pineville, and Uncle Jeff was the first mayor. In 1900, Uncle Jeff built a new store in Pineville, and he operated his store until his retirement in 1915. At that time, Mr. N.T. Arnett from the Balken Community purchased Mr. Hoskins' store and changed the name to N.T. Arnett & Son Department Store, Funeral Directors, & Ambulance Service.
Mr. Arnett had graduated from the Cincinnati School of Mortuary Science and was the first person to have his funeral directors and embalmers license in Bell County. As the business expanded, N.T. built a new three-story building on Pine Street. This building had the first elevator in Bell County. Mr. Arnett also purchased the first motorized funeral coach and had it sent in by rail from Cincinnati. As time progressed, Mr. Arnett and his son closed the department store and focused on the funeral profession. When N.T. retired, his son, Asher, changed the name to Arnett Funeral Home and permanently closed the furniture company. Asher died in 1974, and Bob Walden and Miss Effie Arnett took over the operation of the funeral home.
In 1987, Julius M. "Jay" Steele, Jr. and wife, Mary Flynn Steele moved to Pineville and began working for Arnett Funeral Home. On January 1, 1988, as Bob and Miss Effie retired, Jay and Mary completed the purchase of the funeral home, which was the realization of a dream that Jay had since he was a small child growing up in and around the funeral profession in Hazard, Kentucky.
In 1989, Jay and Mary began improving the funeral home when they merged the funeral home with the neighboring building to open the first ground floor funeral chapel in the history of the funeral home. In 1991, Jay and Mary Steele were fortunate enough to be able to purchase the Abe Euster home located on the corner of Cherry Street and Virginia Avenue in Pineville. The old home, which had fallen into such disrepair, had to be demolished, thus beginning the plans to complete their desire to build a funeral home being built within a three-hundred-mile radius, and consulted with local ministers, families served, and friends about what they wanted in a new funeral home. After almost two and a half years, construction began on the first building built in Bell County, designed for the sole use as a funeral home. It is difficult to say who was more excited, the Steeles or the community. This also closed one of the last storefront funeral homes in Kentucky. Jay and Mary were pleased in June 1997 to assist their son, Jason Steele, with the registration of his apprenticeship for funeral director and embalmer. He attended embalming school in the following year and returned home in the fall of 1999, serving the families of Bell County, and becoming active with many organizations, just like his parents were. With a focus on continuing education now being at the forefront for funeral service providers, in September 1997, both Mary and Jay Steele were thrilled to earnt eh final credits to be Certified Funeral Service Practitioners. Jason Steele followed suit, soon earning the distinction in 2000. This designation is given to individuals that are willing to exceed their state requirements for continued education, in their pursuit for funeral service excellence.
The twenty-first century was here, and the Arnett & Steele Funeral Home had been experiencing growth once again, for which the Steele family was honored to be called on y families, friends, and neighbors from across the entire country in times of need. The growth also meant the funeral home itself was ready to expand again. It was around this time that the former Foley Motor Company building located directly across the street from the funeral home, became available. Teh Steele family acquired the historic building, allowing the funeral home to consolidate its garages and storage needs under one roof now. The building seemed a perfect addition, also allowing the current casket selection area in the funeral home to now become a dedicated chapel, while renovations to the Foley building provided the funeral home the ability to add the area's first Memorial Planning Center. With this addition, the families the funeral home was serving had many more options in memorialization of their loved ones, offering the newest state of the art casket selection area providing more casket options, a new completely separate cremation selection area was also part of this addition, as families in the region were beginning to explore new options offered by this type of services as well, and a complete grief support lending library all paired with a relaxed, home-like atmosphere.
The World Wibe Web was rapidly taking shape and the funeral home was exploring this fascinating tide by starting its first website, which has seen many, many changes in a short period of time, just like the internet has! Jason Steele, while watching the trends and traditions his parents taught him changing in big was a swell noticed the rise in the number of families across the region choosing cremations over more traditional burials that the funeral home had provided for so many decades. Jason presented the observations to his parents, and they all began talking with other funeral homes in the region about what they were experiencing in traditions changing, and found that they were seeing the same trends, also.
In the spring of 2005, the funeral home opened the first crematory in the region, assuring the Bell County families that were now choosing cremation services, that their loved ones would never leave the direct care of the now names, Arnett & Steele Funeral Home and Cremation Center. The Steeles also opened their cremation services to the other funeral homes across the region, giving their colleagues and the families they serve a centrally located place for cremations without having to leave the area.
In 2006, the Arnett & Steele Funeral Home and Cremation Center became the first and only funeral home in Kentucky to have the distinction of induction to the National Funeral Directors Association's Hall of Excellence. Mary Steele had also become very active in the Funeral Directors Association of Kentucky and had started to work towards becoming a member of that board. Jay, always active, was serving on many local boards concentrating on building a better Bell County, and Jason was staying close to the funeral home and raising his daughter Vian, who was born in 2004, had begun working with a newly formed Main Street Pineville, whose focus is to revitalize a waning downtown Pineville. In 2012, Mary served as the first woman president of the Kentucky Funeral Directors Association. In 2020, Jay and Mary's daughter Margaret retired from her career as a Forensic Analyst and moved home to join the family and work in the funeral home. That same year, Mary also became the President of the International Order of the Golden Rule. As the Arnett & Steele Funeral Home and Cremation Center, Bell County Memorial Chapel celebrates 150 years of service to the Bell County community and approaches its second century of service to the families of Bell County, it promises it will continue to set trends in the funeral service industry in our area by innovatively and professionally serving and caring for the families they serve.
Why was it important for you to keep your funeral home independently owned and operated?
It is important for us to remain an independently owned and operated funeral home so that we can continue to care for our families the way they have always been. As an independent funeral home, we can go above and beyond to assist our families and make things happen the way they want them to. We can cater our services for each family's individual needs and think outside the box.
What do you find most meaningful or rewarding about working in funeral service?
For us, the most rewarding part of being in funeral service is knowing that we have helped a family during some of their darker days and have helped them see beyond the darkness and to continue living in a different way while still remembering their loved ones.
What do you believe distinguishes your funeral home from other funeral homes?
What truly distinguishes our funeral home is the intention behind everything we do, beginning with the space itself. We regularly hear families comment on how beautiful, warm, and inviting our home feels. Recently, a woman drove nearly 45 minutes to meet with us for preplanning because as she said, "If you've put this much thought into your space, you must really care about your families." She was right - we do.
That care extends far beyond aesthetics. As a team, we go above and beyond each day to support families through some of the hardest moments of their lives. We are also intentionally working to change how people experience death, dying, and funerals.
Funerals do not need to be a terrible or impersonal experience. Funeral directors have a responsibility to create meaningful, deeply personal, and sacred events; to host gatherings that truly reflect the life being remembered. When done thoughtfully, a funeral can feel grounding rather than overwhelming, comforting rather than frightening. It becomes a space where grief is honored, love is visible, and families are given a strong foundation from which to move forward. Creating that kind of experience is central to our mission, and it is what truly sets us apart.
What does your funeral home do in order to create a strong community presence?
Our family is very active in our community. Jay, Mary, Jason, and Margaret have been active in local organizations and serving on the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival Board for over 20 years. Mary was on the Pineville School Board of Education for 16 years, the Kiwanis Club, and active in the Woman's Club. Jay has served on the Board of Health, the Bell County Economic Development Foundation, the Library Board, the Hospital Board, and the Lions Club. Jason served on the Board for Main Street Pineville before passing the reins onto Margaret.
What growing trends have you noticed in the funeral service industry?
The biggest growing trend now is the increase in cremation services in our area followed by a celebration of life later.
What do you value most about OGR? Why did you become a member?
Being a member of OGR has given us a place and a resource to reach out to other funeral homes when in a difficult situation or simply run something by them and helping members who call us an ask for advice. The connections you make with other independent funeral directors is special because we all have the desire to help not only our families but each other.
How was your experience serving OGR during the COVID-19 pandemic? How did that shape how you approached families during that difficult time?
Mary was installed as the 2020 President for OGR at the beginning of COVID and found it somewhat challenging to serve with all of the communications over Zoom and the phone. However, we worked through it and became more knowledgeable in the advances of modern technology.
With our families it was the most difficult, being a small community and usually having large traditional funerals with the community coming together and bringing food and comfort to the home being stopped so suddenly was a shock. It was hard on the families to choose which 10-15 people could come to a service, not being able to grieve as a community or even as a family. We learned the importance of finding ways to help our families grieve together even if it was over a Zoom or a video recording, they shared. Setting up their phones on a tripod to "FaceTime" a funeral with their loved ones. We learned that with each day we stepped outside of the traditional funeral box and found a way to help make the connection even if it could not be within the same space and we continue to do that today.
What's something people might be surprised to learn about you or your funeral home?
We kind of fall back to that old saying "Be seen and not heard." We basically stand in the background quietly waiting for the time that someone reaches out for our help or the care that we can offer them. We truly enjoy serving our community, which has become not only our friends but a part of our family. What we contribute and what we do for our community and our families, comes from our hearts and treating people the way we would want to be treated. Our daughter, Margaret, would say the easiest way to sum it up is this quote from Audrey Hepburn, "As you grow older, you will discover you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others."