(Batesville, IN) – Meyers Funeral Home in Batesville celebrated its 100th anniversary with an open house Thursday.
The Meyers family became involved in the funeral business in the early 1900s.
Ed Zierer ran a funeral home in Batesville from his residence on North Park Street. He called upon Walter Meyers, current co-owner Rodger Meyers’ grandfather, for the use of his horses and wagon to carry the caskets for funerals.
Walter Meyers, who was a farmer at the time, decided to attend mortuary school to earn his license in 1923.
In 1924 the name changed to Zierer & Meyers Funeral Home. Walter and his wife Lillie then moved the funeral business to their home on Columbus Avenue.
Over time, funeral customs began to change. Families preferred to have the services and visitation at the local funeral home, rather than at their personal residences. In the late 1930s, to make more room to accommodate these changes, Walter Meyers moved the business to his mother’s house at 500 West Pearl Street.
Walter and Lillie’s son, Nelson G. Meyers, graduated from mortuary school in 1949. Nelson and his wife, Margaret, continued to operate the funeral home while living upstairs and raising their family.
After a tour of duty in the U.S. Navy from 1977 to 1980, Rodger Meyers graduated from Mid America College of Funeral Service in Louisville, Kentucky in 1984 and joined his father in the family business. When Nelson Meyer retired in the early 1990s, Rodger took over the funeral business.
When the Batesville Community School Corporation decided to purchase the funeral home on West Pearl Street, Rodger and his wife Taaron decided they would build a new facility on State Road 46 in Batesville, which opened on September 3, 2014.
Both Rodger and Taaron Meyers are actively involved in the business, making sure to provide quality service to bereaved families.
WRBI broadcast from the 100th anniversary celebration, which doubled as a Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce After-Hours event.
