Historic Landmark Future Assured as Bell Funeral Home Gets Its Third Owner

 

Few of Pacific’s historic homes – constructed during the heyday of railroading here – have had more loving care than the two story landmark Bell Funeral Home building at 709 West Union Street.

The actual building date is uncertain. Photographs in 1890 of the Everett house under construction two doors east show this lot was empty but the original home appears in a 1910 photo. Little is known about the Hill family that built the house and lived there. By the time the late Byron Bell bought it in 1957 the original owner was no longer present and the house – at least 50 years old and in need of repair – was much smaller than the structure we see now. It was not grand, but it was spacious and was definitely Victorian, defined by its three roof gables and three covered porches.

Like many of the large frame houses – Queen Anne, Arts and Crafts and Victorian styles – built in Pacific around the turn of the last century, the Hill house was later adapted as rental quarters, utilizing its four rooms on each floor, if you counted the two foyers and kitchens on each floor.

Bell looked at the the aging Victorian structure with its wood showing through the pealing paint and saw huge possibilities. He bought it, renovated the first floor living room and dining room for funeral services and opened Bell Funeral Home there in 1958. He established a thriving funeral service that would still be going and growing six decades later.

Five months ago, Dave Myers, a ten-year Bell employee, and his son Jamie bought the funeral home from its second owner Jeffrey Palmore with the intention of operating it as a family business.

“We will keep the name Bell Funeral Home because it is so well established,” Dave Myers said. “But the business will be Myers Funeral Services LLC.”

Myers, a City of Pacific employee for 23 years, including ten years as city building commissioner, went to work at Bell Funeral Home in 1991. He served the required one-year apprenticeship under Palmore and took the test to became a licensed funeral director. His son Jamie, a carpenter, also joined the firm, completed an apprenticeship and became a licensed funeral director. 

As Palmore began to talk of retiring from the business he suggested that Myers consider taking ownership of the business.

“About five years ago Jeff began to talk about retiring and urged me to consider taking ownership,” Myers said. “I talked with Jamie and we decided to make a family business of it.”

The father and son are joined in the operation of the business by Melissa and Kimberly. Myers said his daughters were “recruited,” to join the venture to make it a true family business.

“One of the girls is here for every funeral,” Myers said. “Funeral service is a profession, but it is also a family business.”

During his ten-year employment under Palmore’s direction, Myers said focus on family was the driving force of the business.

“The center of activity was on the family of the deceased,” Myers said. “Every family undergoes the loss of a loved one in its own way and Jeff (Palmore) always focused on the needs and wishes of each individual family and that is our motto. A funeral business is a family business.”

Like the constant building up and tearing out of national treasures such as Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, this building has seen continued upgrades and additions under its two former funeral home operators.

For forty years, Byron Bell nurtured the beautiful structure. Within three years of opening the building as a funeral home he added a 50 foot x 25 foot foot chapel on the west and expanded the front porch to the new end of the building. The two-story addition created the bold facade that survives. In 1974 Bell added the back lounge and office, creating the large square profile of the structure, always maintaining the architectural integrity of the original home.

A consummate caretaker, Bell painted the exterior of the building every other year until a savvy siding salesman sold him on the idea of vinyl siding.

“Vinyl siding was brand new at that time,” said Jeff Palmore, who later became Bell’s partner and eventual owner/operator of the business. “It was so thick it seemed like aluminum and it looked good until I resided it in 2006.”

Palmore joined Bell as a partner in 1997, working two jobs during weekdays and working at the funeral home evenings. He bought the business outright in 1999. Palmore talked with neighbors about the history of the building and uncovered the photographs that confirmed its age. The second owner was also a stellar caretaker of the landmark structure. When he put on new vinyl siding in 2006, he installed 30 new windows and added a new roof including the flat roof over the expanded section and the three gables.

Dave and Jamie Myers, continue the hands on care of the iconic building. Jamie, who continues to work as a partner, is currently rebuilding a portion of the first floor as a new lounge. This upgrade will include adding an antique fireplace mantel that Palmore bought before selling the business.

When the new lounge is finished Jamie will remodel the lounge at the rear of the building as a conference room for making arrangements and a room for clergy to meet with families. 

“The business continues to grow and change,” Dave Myers said. “In past years about half of all funeral services took place in area churches with preparation and visitations taking place here. But in recent years 90 percent of families choose to hold funeral services here in this building. We will keep maintaining the building to serve those families.”