Horne Funeral & Cremation Services

Horne Funeral Service is the oldest family owned and operated business in Montgomery County. Our business was established in 1870 as part of the Evans & Flannagan Hardware store located on the square in downtown Christiansburg where the first National Bank now stands.


In 1915, S. C. Richardson, a native of the Riner section of Montgomery County, went to work at the hardware and quickly became involved with the funeral portion of the business. He worked delivering caskets to homes, assisting in preparing bodies for burial and driving the horse-drawn hearse from the residence or church to the cemetery. Mr. Richardson attended the Cincinnati College of Embalming in 1919 and soon purchased the funeral portion of the business and changed the name to "Richardson & Company, Funeral Directors and Undertakers”. The company was operated from a storefront parlor on East Main Street near the current Town Hall.


In 1925 Richardson & Company purchased the first motorized hearse/ambulance vehicle in Montgomery County.

In 1933 Richardson & Company purchased the large Smith residence, built in the 1890s, at 16 East Main Street and performed the first of many renovations and additions. This picture shows the H.P. Smith home as seen in 1907 when Mr. Smith operated a tin shop in the rear. Open House was held on August 18, 1934 and our company operated from that location for the next 53 years. 

This photo shows the 1948 Packard Ambulance/Hearse combination vehicle once operated by the funeral home. This antique vehicle is still proudly owned by Horne Funeral Service.

From 1925 until 1969 our company provided the ambulance service to Christiansburg and surrounding areas. Many funeral homes used their hearse to double as an ambulance, but from 1937 we operated professional “straight ambulances” and maintained separated professional vehicles for our hearses. Through the years our ambulances were all state of the art equipped with the latest in medical and rescue equipment. Many times, during the 1920s and 30s a physician from Christiansburg’s “New Altamont Hospital” would ride along, especially on calls for assistance from the N & W Railway and Merrimac Mines.


In 1942 C. Hubert Horne began working with the firm, graduated from the Cincinnati College of Embalming, and soon became part owner. The name was changed in 1957 to “Richardson Funeral Home, Inc.”.


 In 1962, Hubert’s son, Richard, began working at the funeral home while still in high school. After attending college, “Dick” began to work full-time and became a licensed funeral director in 1969. After 57 years of service, Mr. Richardson retired in 1972 and Hubert and Richard Horne purchased his remaining stock. Soon thereafter the name was changed to “Richardson-Horne Funeral Home.”


1964 Cadillac M&M ambulance/hearse combination vehicle and 1971 Superior three way coach.

 

Edward J. “Eddie” Trump, Jr. came to work at the funeral home in 1970 while still in high school. He graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 1976 and became a Virginia funeral service licensee. He became Vice President of the firm in 1996. In March 2014, Eddie took a medically driven retirement in March of 2014 but continued to serve as a consultant for several more years.


Brian R. H. Horne, the son of Richard Horne, joined the firm in 1993 and earned his license in 1996. A two-story addition and renovation of the existing facilities was completed in 2000 under his leadership. This 2004 photo shows the modern, homelike facility consisting of over 22,000 square feet. In addition, there is a separate 6000 square foot garage and storage area.



In 1997 the name was changed to "Horne Funeral Home”. Brian was responsible for adding a cremation service to the funeral home and the name was changed to Horne Funeral and Cremation Services to better reflect current services.


We at Horne Funeral and Cremation Services look forward to continuing to provide our community with the highest standard of service in you time of need.

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