Carl Jenkins

Owner/ Manager

A graduate of NC Wesleyan College and the department of funeral service education at Fayetteville Community College, Jenkins opened in 2004, with his wife Lori, Jenkins Funeral Home. 
 He is fulfilling his life’s passion of guiding families in their difficult times. He has a lifetime of community service, having been a member of various service clubs. In 1988, he founded The Widowed Persons Organization and helped start similar groups at funeral homes across the region.

Carl’s focus is family. His service to local families proves his compassion for the needs of those suffering a loss.

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Lori Jenkins

Owner

"I am experiencing a reward beyond words by working side-by-side with my husband Carl. We truly have something unique to offer our families: A husband and wife team that care for the community and the families. We value your support and thank you for allowing us the opportunity to show you how we uniquely serve your family."

Lori is a Fred T. Foard graduate and a NC licensed insurance agent. She invites all her friends and classmates to call upon Jenkins Funeral Home for the best in service. 

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Ben Jenkins

Assistant Manager/Funeral Service Licensee

"I have been around funeral service all my life. Since I have been working at our family firm, I am learning so much about how to truly serve families correctly. My dad is a professional and a Christian and I am so fortunate to be learning from the best."

Ben joined the family firm full-time in 2013.  He is a 2006 graduate of Newton-Conover High School and a 2012 graduate from College of Funeral Service. He is a NC Funeral Service Licensee  (funeral director/embalmer). He is proficient in his work and family service skills. He and his wife Meghan (Bush) have a son, Tucker and a daughter Anderson. They make their home in North West Hickory. 

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Aaron Causby

Licensed Funeral Director/ Chaplain

Aaron is serving as a licensed funeral director and chaplain. He is the pastor of the Connelly Springs Freewill Baptist Church. He graduated from Catawba Valley Community College in 2014 with his Associate Degree of Nursing, and he is a recent graduate of the funeral directing program at Fayetteville Technical Community College. He and his wife, Allison reside in Connelly Springs along with their sons Elisha and Graham. Aaron loves to minister to families and will often play the piano and officiate services.

"I am humbled and honored to serve alongside the Jenkins family. The people I work with are genuinely compassionate and serve each family with dignity and respect."

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Amanda Bailey Ward

Funeral Director

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Cassie Setzer

Provisional Funeral Director

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Kim Pugh

Aftercare Coordinator

"It is great to work with a family funeral home where decisions are made quickly in the best interest of the family, I invite anyone wishing to plan ahead and also those that may already have existing plans elsewhere, to give me a call and let us provide tremendous savings to your family."  

She has extensive experience in cemetery and advance funeral funding as well as helping families in follow-up activities and offerings as a way of maintaining complete family satisfaction. Kim joined our staff in 2013 as an Aftercare Coordinator. She and her family are members of Huntington Hills Church of God and they live in Newton.   

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Shelby Wilson

Office Administrator

Shelby Graduated from Draughn High School in 2017 and attended Western Carolina University. She has worked with the public for many years and is a great asset to this company as she brings knowledge of customer service as well as a hard work ethic. Shelby assists pet cremation families as a pet specialist, and is now working towards becoming a Funeral Director. "It is wonderful to be able to come into this funeral home and work with such amazing and compassionate people who truly want to help people through some of the most difficult times they will face. I am very proud to say Jenkins feels like home to me." said Shelby.

Pete Hager

Administrative Assistant / Funeral Assistant

"I am pleased to help families and I derive great joy in doing so. It is a pleasure working at the funeral home with such great staff."

Pete is a lifetime Catawba County resident.  He is a member of Gateway Baptist Church in Newton. He and his wife, Treva (Miss Treva's Dance Studio) live in Conover.

 

Mike Groce

Funeral Assistant

“It is a pleasure being a part of a caring organization. I never realized how much goes into putting together a meaningful ceremony until now. Jenkins Funeral Home goes well beyond what is expected and we are able to do it at a very reasonable cost. Having worked in textile management and sales, I understand the pressures of operating a business and trying to balance the needs of both the public and the company. Our team at Jenkins does a good job with that. Our service reflects it and our costs reflect it.” 

 

 

Jerry Hill

Funeral Assistant

Before joining the staff Jerry served in ministry for over 40 years.  He pastored three churches in Florida and North Carolina.  He is an ordained

minister with  National Association of Christian Ministers.

 

He joined the staff in January, 2020.  Jerry is proud to be a part of a family owned funeral home serving families during their time of sorrow.

 

He and his wife Linda and Benji, their Shi Tzu, reside in Hickory.

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Linda Cooper

Front Desk/ Pet Family Specialist

Linda is the first person one sees when visiting Jenkins Funeral Home and the first voice one hears when calling our office. She offers the soothing voice of compassion that a grieving family expects. In addition, Her love of animals of all sizes provides our pet families the same love. Linda is our pet family Specialist. She makes us all feel comfortable in a sometimes unsettling vocation.

Many remember Linda as the former owner of Dad's Place Restaurant in Hickory, where she is famous for her chicken salad. To no avail, we all try to capture that secret recipe from her. She is now with us at "daughter's place." (Linda is the mother of Lori Cooper Jenkins, co-owner of Jenkins Funeral Home.)

Jeannine Glaze

Receptionist

"Having worked in the funeral profession for many years at another funeral home, I found it the most rewarding work of my career. I feel like I am back home now... working with the Jenkins family."

"Jeannine is one of the most compassionate people I know and we are fortunate to have her be a part of our team."  - Carl Jenkins

 

George Biscos

Funeral Assistant

“I want to invite my Romanian and Slavic friends to visit with us at Jenkins. We are here to help you with services that will accommodate our culture. I am personally aware of the needs to the Romanian and Slavic communities and am here to work with you when you need us.”

Nhia Khang

Hmong liaison/ Funeral Assistant

“The Hmong families appreciate having a Hmong person help them with services. Jenkins Funeral Home is a friend to the Hmong people. No other funeral home caters to our needs as Jenkins. Therefore, for many years, 100% of the traditional and many Christian Hmong families rely on Jenkins Funeral Home." 

 

IN MEMORY Rocky Hager

Funeral Assistant

Rocky was a lifelong resident of Newton-Conover. He had vast service experience working with funeral homes in the area. Rocky is retired owner of 4Speed Auto Parts and has worked with other parts stores in the area. 

 Rocky passed away December 17, 2018 at his residence. He served us and our families well for the past eight years. We will miss him.