Today we’d like to introduce you to Brad and Lisa Conley.
After graduating from Mortuary College in the late 1990s, Brad and Lisa met while both were employed by the same mortuary service. They remained good friends over the years and eventually began working together at their own business, Houston Mortuary Transport, which they owned and operated for 10 years. In 2013, they were presented the opportunity to purchase a funeral home from a client who was planning retirement. Going on their 5th year of owning and operating Carter~Conley Funeral Home, Brad and Lisa continue to strive to provide the best service possible for their families.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Nothing worthwhile is easy. While taking over the business was challenging, we managed, having experience at operating our previous business. The most challenging aspect has been finding the right employees. We are a small business and only have a handful of employees, including the previous owner, who is due to retire in mid-2018. Let’s just say, we haven’t seen eye to eye on a lot of issues and this alone made the transition very trying at times.
Carter~Conley Funeral Home – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Carter~Conley Funeral Home is one of probably close to 100 funeral homes in the greater Houston area. We all basically provide the same service, but how you provide it is what can differentiate you from others. We strive to put our families at ease and provide a comfortable environment for them to celebrate the lives of their loved ones. Nothing has been a greater help at doing this than the decision we made in 2016.
We stumbled across an article in a trade magazine about a funeral home in another state who was using a therapy dog at their funeral home, and what a huge help he had been with the families. After discussing the pros and cons and liabilities of doing this, we began our search. In doing so, we found that Golden doodles, the result of breeding a Golden Retriever and a Poodle, were increasing in popularity for the purpose of therapy dogs, due to the poodle trait of no/little shedding and being hypo-allergenic. This, plus their adorable, teddy-bear looks, makes them perfect for the job! Enter Axl!
Axl, an F1-b Goldendoodle, was born in September 2016 and joined our family (and our funeral home family!) in November and comes to work with us every day. He immediately began obedience training and after a couple months, he was out in the public meeting the families. After 20 years of being in this business, I’ve never witnessed anything that has had such a profound effect on families, especially children. Axl absolutely loves children and shows it at a time when many children need it the most. We’ve had countless families tell what a blessing it was to have Axl present and many stop by after the service just to see him. He’s becoming a neighborhood celebrity and you too, can follow him on Facebook and Instagram! @GriefTherapyDood
Aside from our service, which is second to none, Axl is a distinguishing factor at our funeral home. To the best of our knowledge, there are no other funeral homes in the area who employ a full-time therapy dog as a benefit to their families. However, with the success we’ve experienced in doing this, we would recommend it to all funeral homes.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Personally, success is doing what you love to do and making a difference in doing it. You can ask any death care provider and the majority will tell you they do it because of their love to help people. Contrary to the cost of funerals, you will not become rich as a funeral director, so it is certainly not the love of money. That being said, we do consider ourselves a success.
Contact Info:
- Address: Carter~Conley Funeral Home
13701 Corpus Christi St.
Houston, TX 77015 - Website: CarterFuneral-Houston.com
- Phone: (713) 455-5100
- Email: CarterFuneral@hotmail.com
- Instagram: @GriefTherapyDood
- Facebook: @BradConleyCFH
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