Sixth-generation owner leads Barkdull Funeral Home into 130th year

SHELBY — Carli Bailey never questioned what she wanted to do with her life.

Following the footsteps of five generations, Bailey was determined to someday own the family business — Barkdull Funeral Home in Shelby.

“It was always this,” she said of what she aspired to do professionally.

Inspired by her late mother, Lesli (Barkdull) Neal, a fifth-generation co-owner of the funeral home, Bailey became the business’ sole owner in 2021 — taking over for her uncle Eric Barkdull.

Neal was the first Barkdull woman to become involved in the family funeral business — her daughter now the second.

“My mom was awesome,” Bailey said. “She was the person that I would call four times a day, so we were very close.”

A 2009 graduate of Shelby High School, Bailey graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 2013 and has been a licensed funeral director and embalmer since November 2014. She’s also a certified crematory operator.

Bailey is the first in her family to have a bachelors degree in mortuary science. Ohio is one of two states which requires a bachelor’s degree to become a funeral director or embalmer.

She’s also a member of the 100+ Women for Shelby Steering Committee, United Lions Club of Shelby, National Funeral Directors Association, Ohio Funeral Directors Association and the Ohio Embalmers Association.

“It’s an art form,” Bailey said of funeral directing. “There’s a lot of things that unfortunately in school, you don’t get to learn as much as you want. You get the book side of things but there’s not a whole lot of hands on that you can do.

“I was lucky I had amazing role models for both sides of things,” she said of her teachers and mentors.

Luther Barkdull pioneered funeral home concept in Shelby

Luther W. Barkdull, Bailey’s great-great-great-grandfather, originally lived in Cleveland prior to moving in 1873 to Shelby.

About two decades later, Luther founded the Barkdull Furniture and Undertaking Company — which was originally located at 81 W. Main St. He, along with his son Earl Barkdull and grandson Albert Barkdull, conducted funerals in the family homes of the deceased until they decided a separate facility was needed.

Earl joined the business in 1895, working part time before attending mortuary school in Chicago to become a licensed funeral director and embalmer.

He became owner in 1926 — the same year he purchased the funeral home’s present location at 33 N. Gamble St. and made it suitable to host funerals.

Following Earl, Albert joined the family business in 1929 and was followed in 1954 by his son Dick, who came aboard after graduating with honors from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science.

Dick’s son, Eric Barkdull, graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 1976 and began working at the funeral home. Nine years later, Dick’s daughter, Lesli Neal Barkdull, started working for the family business. In 1987, she passed her state and national board exams to become a licensed funeral director.

That same year, the necessity for expansion sparked Barkdull Funeral Home’s most recent and largest renovation with the addition of a second show room for funeral services.

After 60 years of servicing the Shelby community as a co-owner/operator of Barkdull Funeral Home, Albert decided to officially retire. Then in 1994, after 40 years, Dick retired and passed the torch to his children, Eric and Lesli.

Neal joined the family business because they needed help — so she quit college.

She was attending school in Columbus to become an optometric technician, but ultimately became a licensed funeral director.

The siblings served as co-owners until 2015.

The installation of a crematory in 2014 marked another significant addition. Barkdull Funeral Home is one of the only locations in the area to offer on-site cremation services.

Lesli tragically lost her battle with ovarian cancer in 2015 — before seeing the family business carried on by her daughter.

Eric served as the business’ sole owner until 2018, when he and his niece began a co-ownership. In 2021, Bailey purchased the business from her uncle — marking a new era at Barkdull Funeral Home.

She is the first in her family to purchase the business.

Through the years:

(Below are a few of the key moments from the storied history of Barkdull Funeral Home.)

Guiding Shelby’s oldest family-owned and operated business is no easy task.

Bailey’s staff includes her father, Russ Fichter, a certified crematory operator and funeral assistant, who also helps with maintenance. Alongside Fichter is Reverend Nathan McBeth, a licensed funeral director and ordained minister.

To assist with the difficulties of staffing, Bailey’s husband, Kyle, decided to switch career paths and join the funeral industry alongside his wife. He served previously as the natural resource manager for the Richland County Park District and most recently the Crawford Park District.

Kyle is currently completing a two-year apprenticeship at Barkdull Funeral Home before taking both a state and national licensing exam.

“She (Carli) was having a very difficult work life balance where she was on call literally 365 days out of the year,” he said.

“We decided together that since we’re married and we’re in this until death do us part, that I might as well transition and make it a fully-functional family business.”

(Below is a slideshow of photos and newspaper clippings related to the history of Barkdull Funeral Home. Images courtesy of Kyle Bailey)

Continuing to provide most up-to-date services

Barkdull Funeral Home continues to provide the same level of commitment to families, while also adapting to modern needs.

“People aren’t as comfortable maybe around death as we once were,” he said. “Being more technologically sound for people, I think that can go a long ways.”

The funeral also offers pre-arrangement and advanced planning services entirely online.

Whether over the phone, via email or in-person, Carli said offering a wide range of pre-arrangement options is ultimately about a person’s comfort level.

“I’ve gone to homes and done the pre-arrangements at someone’s house because they don’t want to come here, but I’m more than happy to go there,” she said.

Throughout time, funeral customs have changed in a variety of ways.

But the Barkdull family’s priority is attending to the needs of each family they serve in arranging a meaningful, personalized service.

“It fills us with a great sense of pride to be from this great, supportive town and to be able to continue on providing a service that people appreciate,” Kyle said. “We’re very grateful for the Shelby community.”

Community investment made this reporting happen. Independent, local news in Shelby and Northern Richland County is brought to you in part by the generous support of Phillips Tube Group, R.S. Hanline, ArcelorMittal, Lloyd Rebar, Hess Industries, and Shelby Printing.