Even though he tried other jobs briefly, Justin Kirby appears to have been destined for a career in the funeral services field.
Kirby and his wife Rebecca are owners of the new Kirby Funeral Services in East Russellville at the intersection of the Bowling Green and Franklin roads. They will host Open Houses this Friday and Saturday afternoons with a Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting set at noon next Wednesday.
Justin is the third of four generations of Kirbys in the funeral home business. His grandfather was J.C. Kirby, who opened his funeral home in Bowling Green 60 years ago. Justin’s dad, Kevin Kirby, later joined him in J.C. Kirby & Son Funeral Home, which he now owns. The fourth generation is represented by Clayton Kirby—Justin and Rebecca’s son, who is a graduate of Logan County High School. He is working with his granddad in Bowling Green.
Justin says it wasn’t preordained that he would become a professional mortician. His parents gave him the option of studying whatever he wanted when he started college, and he went to WKU as an accounting major. It wasn’t long, however, until he transferred to John A. Gupton School of Mortuary Science. He is a graduate of the Nashville school.
He tried other jobs, including selling pre-need plans for funeral services. Justin and Rebecca lived in Philadelphia and West Virginia early in their marriage.
Rebecca had grown up in the East in a New Jersey family. She came to Bowling Green to major in criminology at WKU and worked for the Kirbys as a student. Dealing with death had been part of her studies in crime.
They returned to Bowling Green and went to work in the family business. Kevin Kirby has been Warren County Coroner for decades, and Justin worked with his dad in that role, too, as deputy coroner for eight years.
Justin and Rebecca were looking for the right place to raise their growing family. They found it on a Logan County farm home at Dot near the Kentucky-Tennessee state line and have lived there for nine years. “God gave him that house,” Rebecca says, referring to Justin’s repeated prayers for guidance in finding the place for them to make their home.
Their children have been a part of Logan County Schools ever since. In addition to Clayton, the other three are students at Olmstead School. Caiden is a seventh grader, Gibson a fourth grader and Addison a preschooler.
For eight years, they owned Jones & Kirby Funeral Home in Providence. Justin made the trip almost daily to Webster County near the Illinois state line. They have now sold that business to a Madisonville company.
The Kirbys had considered opening a funeral home in Logan County for decades. Justin says his dad owned land along the North Bypass even before Walmart opened its megastore nearby.
Justin and Rebecca have found the site they wanted in the 16,000-square foot former home of Sav-A-Lot with a large, blacktopped parking lot. They reached an agreement with owner Houchens Industries, first leasing the building and then buying it in 2020.
The building has been beautifully remodeled inside and out. “We used as many local subcontractors as we could and all the work was done by Kentucky businesses,” Justin says.
Upon entering the building, one finds a modern lobby with comfortable seating in its 2,600 square feet space. A four-sided fireplace is the centerpiece. The seats are spaced to allow six different areas for private conversations.
On the left is the main 3,600-square foot Celebration of Life Chapel with seating for 300 people.
A 1,600-square foot room is on the right. It can be used as a second chapel if needed or is available for families to use as a breakroom or as a gathering place after funerals. The Kirbys have entered into agreements with Roy’s Barbecue and Colonial Inn to cater such meals if their services are needed.
Kirby Funeral Services can also arrange for outdoor funeral services if that is what the family desires.
The Kirbys want the four acres that came with the building to be used for special community activities. A Cruise-in was held in the parking lot in April. They also envision lantern releases to honor the dead.
Justin Kirby is a member of Russellville Rotary Club, and he is a Chamber of Commerce Ambassador.
Working with the Kirbys are former Clothes Tree owner Michael Simmons and Angie Holloway Robertson.
Open House hours are from 4-8 p.m. Friday and noon-5 p.m. Saturday. Private tours can be arranged by calling 270-946-1550.