ABOUT US
Trust is earned one family at a time.
Our Story
The story of Davidson Funeral Home begins shortly after the Civil War.
In 1865, cabinet maker John W. McCrary opened a furniture business in Lexington, North Carolina. Like many furniture makers of that era, he also built and sold coffins for local families. What began as a cabinet shop eventually became a place where grieving families found care, guidance, and compassion during life's hardest moments.
In 1908, a young man named R. O. Kirkman, Sr. joined Mr. McCrary's business. Two years later, after graduating from the Cincinnati College of Embalming, he returned as Lexington's first licensed embalmer.
Over the following decades, the business evolved through several names before officially becoming Davidson Funeral Home, Inc. in 1940.
Mr. Kirkman's sons, A. Victor Kirkman and R. O. Kirkman, Jr., assumed leadership in 1948.
For nearly half a century, the Kirkman family became synonymous with funeral service in Davidson County.
Even after retirement, both men remained licensed funeral directors until their deaths, continuing to serve families as their health allowed. Together, the Kirkman family's influence on funeral service in Davidson County spanned nearly one hundred years.
In 1989, stewardship of Davidson Funeral Home passed to Jack and Joan Briggs, owners of Briggs Funeral Home, along with Larry D. Morrison, who had faithfully served Davidson Funeral Home since 1983.
That transition preserved the values that had made Davidson respected while preparing the funeral home for a new generation of leadership.
Today, Davidson Funeral Home is owned by Dan Briggs, son of the late Jack D. Briggs; Joan Briggs; and Matthew R. Jernigan, grandson of the late Larry D. Morrison.
Together they represent more than ownership.
They represent continuity.
Dan began serving families at sixteen years old and is now in his thirty-sixth year of funeral service.
Matthew also began at sixteen and is now in his twentieth year.
Their stories mirror those of the generations before them—learning from mentors, honoring those who came before, and accepting the responsibility of leading those who will come after.
Since opening its second location on Hickory Tree Road in 1999, Davidson Funeral Home has continued to grow without losing the character that has defined it for generations.
Our facilities have changed.
Technology has changed.
Families have changed.
But our purpose has not.
