Thacker Caskets Expands with Acquisition of Southern Legacy Casket and New Warehouse in Bowling Green, Kentucky

MONROVIA, MD – Thacker Caskets, the leading family-owned funeral supply company, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Southern Legacy Casket Company. This strategic acquisition reinforces Thacker’s commitment to delivering exceptional service and products to our valued customers.

Thacker Caskets is excited to share the opening of a second Kentucky warehouse, located in Bowling Green. This new facility will enhance our logistics capabilities, allowing us to better serve customers in the region with faster delivery times and an expanded product inventory.

“We are thrilled to welcome the talented team at Southern Legacy Casket to the Thacker family,” said Danielle Thacker of Thacker Caskets. “Their dedication to providing high-quality, affordable caskets perfectly aligns with our mission, and we are excited to work alongside them to ensure that our customers’ expectations are not only met but exceeded.”

The integration of Southern Legacy’s products with Thacker’s experience is designed to maintain the high standards of quality and affordability that both companies’ customers have come to expect. Together, the combined team will continue to prioritize customer satisfaction while leveraging Thacker’s resources to bring innovative solutions and expanded offerings to funeral homes throughout the region.

Duey Eversole, owner of Southern Legacy, says, “I’ve been working in the industry since 1988 and I am thrilled to continue serving funeral homes with the utmost care and compassion as we join forces with Thacker. This partnership marks an exciting chapter moving forward and we are proud to align with a company that shares our commitment to excellence.”

The new Bowling Green warehouse is set to open January 20, 2025, providing a convenient location to better meet the needs of our customers in Kentucky and surrounding states. This addition reflects Thacker’s ongoing commitment to investing in infrastructure that supports efficient distribution and superior service.

For over 85 years, Thacker Caskets has been a trusted partner for funeral homes, offering a diverse range of caskets crafted with care and precision. With the acquisition of Southern Legacy Casket and the expansion into Bowling Green, Thacker is poised to continue its legacy of excellence while embracing new opportunities for growth and collaboration.

About Thacker Caskets:

Founded in 1939, Thacker Caskets is the largest family-owned funeral supply company in the United States. With a focus on quality, affordability, and exceptional customer service, Thacker’s mission is to be the most trust funeral supplier by providing honest products, at an honest price, with honest service. To learn more, please visit thackercaskets.com

The month of May is one that signals many holidays, one of which relates to how we care for the cemetery plots of our family and friends. Particularly in the south it seems that family cemetery plots are cared for by relatives for generations by tradition. That is, of course, as opposed to “perpetual care” cemeteries that are owned by private entities and the cost to bury your loved ones there assures the lawn will always be mowed and debris removed from wind, rain, and other unpleasant weather conditions. Very often the final Saturday of the month, coinciding with Memorial Day weekend, is called

for cemeteries in the southern United States.

It’s a family custom as to how often people visit cemeteries and the gravesides of their predecessors. Some families have benches placed nearby for sitting, and others go maybe once or twice a year. It is a personal choice and experience for each of us.

Taking young children along with you on visits to graveyards is an excellent teaching opportunity for them to learn the names and relationships of their ancestors. Seeing the names and dates of people, some of whose names they share, is a great teaching experience.

Also, they learn pride in caring for a site that is constructed with a headstone commemorating a life. It is something that we as adults take for granted, but in reality, it’s the first lesson in genealogy that we can share.

Children can be encouraged to bring a small rock from home to place on or near a gravesite to mark that they have visited. There are also traditions of placing coins on a gravestone; “leaving a penny means you visited the grave, leaving a nickel means you went to basic training together, leaving a dime means you served together, and leaving a quarter means you were there when a service person was killed,” according to

. There is something special and solemn about paying respects to a loved one’s graveside.

Depending on the rules of the particular cemetery or mausoleum, fresh or silk flowers can be placed with reminders to replace and refresh them when weather changes. Perpetual care cemeteries do this for your loved ones as part of their service, or they offer that for a small additional annual fee.

Small standing flags are often placed on the ground near graves for military veterans by local veterans organizations and groups. The group “Wreaths Across America” coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at graves in various cities, including Bryan-College Station, to honor those who have served. You can sponsor wreaths by visiting their

. The next National Wreaths Across America Day is December 16, 2023.

Traditionally in the south, one Saturday in May is set aside for Decoration Day and cemetery cleanup. The day varies, depending on weather, but it often coincides with Memorial Day weekend, always the last weekend in May. Typically, families will visit their family plots on this weekend, whether or not they had loved ones in military service.

Locally you can check the city websites to see if a cleanup day is set. It would be a good occasion to begin the silk flower program, which directs placement of flowers for single occasions, or special occasions, twice per year, or seasonal placement four times a year. At

, you can begin this service by calling Stacy at (979) 778-7878.

In College Station, the

“conducts a general grounds clean-up of the College Station Cemetery, the Memorial Cemetery of College Station, and the Aggie Field of Honor on the last week of each month.” There are specific rules that specify what kind of flowers can be placed near monuments and the period of time they can remain.

In Bryan there are

. In addition to the

and Oakwood Cemetery, there is the newly restored Grandview Cemetery (thanks to efforts led by Bryan City Councilman Prentiss Madison), Mount Calvary Cemetery and Boonville Cemetery, in addition to numerous smaller private cemeteries.

Throughout the month, weather depending, you’ll find people gathered to update and improve the gravesites with pride for the final resting places of loved ones. Many times family reunions are set when schools are out for the summer and it’s part of reunion to put new flowers out, whether fresh or silk, and to remember the family members who were once such an active part of reunions.

After the headstones and surrounding areas are exactly as you want them, you might consider taking a photograph or two and adding them to the website

. It is known as the world’s largest gravesite collection and it is free to join and search. No fees are required. You can search for your ancestors’ gravesites here. People from all over the country may reach out to you as well, distant relatives, and they will often leave a flower and a message in the guest book to let you know they visited.

Whatever your tradition, any time spent at the gravesides of your forefathers and loved ones is time well spent. Sharing your history and the rich stories that bring it to life is one of the best gifts you can leave for future generations to follow. Happy Decoration Day!