Phinazee named 2015 Mortician of the Year






Kelsey Marleau Phinazee, left is honored at the Georgia Funeral Service Practitioners Association convention.

Kelsey Marleau Phinazee, left is honored at the Georgia Funeral Service Practitioners Association convention.

Kelsey Marleau Phinazee believes his profession is built on personal relationships which are built over many years. He ought to know.

The 56-year-old funeral director is the third generation owner of Phinazee and Son Funeral Home in Waynesboro. The business was started by his grandfather, Edward David Phinazee in 1919 and has been in the family ever since.

Phinazee was recently named “2015 Mortician of the Year” by the Georgia Funeral Service Practitioners Association. He’s the first in his family to receive the honor, though his father, the late Albert Kelsey Phinazee, was recognized in 1985 for “outstanding service” to the association. Albert Phinazee had joined the firm right after World War II and was involved up until his death in 1988. Marleau’s mother, Mary Phinazee was also instrumental in the business until her death in 2014.

A 1981 graduate of Morehouse College, Marleau was accepted to the law school at New York University. His plans changed when his father’s health suddenly declined. He immediately attended Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service, graduating in 1982, and returned home to take over the family business.

Though he knows his life would have been different as a lawyer, he has no regrets. He’s been married to his wife Janette,for 21 years and says, “I’ve had a good life here in Waynesboro. I have two children who may want to continue the business, but I expect to keep working for many years to come.”

Marleau says the biggest change he’s seen in the funeral business is the takeover of local funeral homes by large national chains. “There aren’t a lot of locally owned funeral homes anymore. They might keep the same name, but they’re owned by big corporations.”

Another thing he’s proud of is the increased professionalism in the industry, with more rigorous training and governmental oversight.

“In the old days an undertaker could get a few months’ experience under his belt and then go out on his own,” he explained. “That hasn’t been true for a long time now. Training and licensing are taken very seriously in this profession.”

Phinazee and Son Funeral Home, approaching its centennial year, is a respected and iconic name in Waynesboro and Burke County. Marleau Phinazee plans to keep it that way.


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