We learned last week that Georgia based Rollings Funeral Service completed the acquisition of a New York state firm that does close to 1,000 services annually and also serves the needs of pet owners by completing the cremation of about 600 pets annually.    Following is the press release from Rollings Funeral Service that announced this acquisition.

PEACHTREE CITY, GA — Rollings Funeral Service is proud to announce their recent addition of Brown Funeral Home with three locations in New York’s North Country, Adirondack Pet Cremation, Mountain View Crematory, and Adirondack Memorials & Granite Works. The funeral home, which has been serving its communities for over 130 years, was formerly owned by Warren Bennett. The crematory, pet crematory, and monument company were formerly owned by Bennett’s wife Kathy and their two sons Ryan and Michael Bennett.

Greg Rollings, President & CEO of Rollings Funeral Service, commented “I have high standards when it comes to funeral homes that I bring into our company. With Brown Funeral Home, the Bennett family has exceeded those standards. Since the 1890s, the funeral home has been the North Country’s premier funeral home when it comes to quality and care. In the years that the Bennett family has been involved, that quality and care has been strengthened and I look forward to continuing that tradition.” Rollings also added that this marks his fifth addition in New York.

The funeral home was founded in 1892 by Eugene J. Brown. Brown’s two sons later joined the business and ownership was eventually passed from the Brown family to two employees in the 1960s. Over the years, Warren Bennett, a funeral director with Brown Funeral Home since 1980, worked his way to becoming president and owner. Bennett’s two sons Ryan and Michael became licensed funeral directors with the funeral home in 2008 and 2012 respectively. In 2008, Ryan started the monument company, in 2013, the separate crematory business was started by Ryan and Michael, and then in 2019, the pet crematory was founded.

Speaking with Warren Bennett and his sons Ryan and Michael, Warren mentioned that with over 40 years in funeral service, it was time to start looking at the next chapter of ownership for the funeral home. For Ryan and Michael, both with new families, they wanted to continue serving but without the stresses of owning a funeral businesses. When asked why they decided for their firms to join Rollings Funeral Service, they said “Greg and his demeanor. The sale made far too much sense for everyone involved,” also noting that they’ll still be able to manage and make decisions at the local level. In addition to having support from the entire Rollings organization, the Bennetts also mentioned that the fact that Rollings Funeral Service is continuing grow in the right direction is another piece that made them feel they were making the right decision. Lastly, regarding joining Rollings Funeral Service, they noted “Much of our town has now heard the news but we never anticipated how positive the response would be when we confirm it.”

Annually, Brown Funeral Home and Mountain View Crematory combined serve close to 1000 families while the pet crematory is on track to serve around 600 in 2022.

With 90 locations, Rollings Funeral Service is one of the largest private funeral home owners in the eastern United States.

• You can access the Rollings Funeral Service website here.
• You can access the Brown Funeral Home website here.