About Us

About Us

While much has changed over the years, some values remain constant: quality, compassion, and friendly service. Luther Rice “L.R.” Jacobs understood those principles in 1893 when he opened a furniture and undertaking business on Garrison Fork in Beech Grove, Tennessee.

Jacobs later passed those values on to his son-in-law, John T. Woodfin, Sr., who moved the business from Beech Grove to the north side of Murfreesboro’s public square in 1900 following a devastating flood. Ten years later, Woodfin and H.C. Moore, Jr., purchased the company from Jacobs.

The partnership continued at that location until 1913, when a tornado devastated much of Murfreesboro. The firm then purchased the former Murfreesboro Elks Club building on College Street and operated there until Mr. Woodfin’s death in 1949.

In 1929, John T. Woodfin, Jr. entered the partnership of Woodfin and Moore Funeral Directors. In 1949, he and his wife, Virginia Black Woodfin, built Woodfin Memorial Chapel on the corner of Tennessee Boulevard and Greenland Drive as a memorial to the late Mr. Woodfin. It was the first chapel in Tennessee built solely for the purpose of holding funeral services.

During this time, John T. Woodfin, Jr. and Virginia Woodfin began teaching their son, John “Bubba” Woodfin, the traditions and values established by L.R. Jacobs. Those lessons endured, and following the death of John T. Woodfin, Jr. in 1973, his widow and son continued the family business.

John B. “Bubba” Woodfin graduated from Murfreesboro Central High School in 1953 and attended Middle Tennessee State University from 1953 to 1954 before serving two years in the military in Germany. He returned to Murfreesboro in 1956 to continue his education at MTSU and graduated from the John A. Gupton School of Mortuary Science in 1958.

The following year, he married Kay Shannon of Greenbrier, Tennessee. Together they raised four daughters: Shannon Parsons and Katherine Ramsay, both of Murfreesboro; Melissa Combs of Brentwood; and Ashley Backer of Lexington, Kentucky.

Jerry Lowery began his career at Woodfin Chapel in 1969 while attending college. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 1971 and completed his mortuary training at the John A. Gupton School of Mortuary Science in 1972. He later graduated from the Nashville School of Law in 1978 and became a partner in the business the following year. Jerry Lowery passed away in August 2009.

In 1999, the chapel located at Tennessee Boulevard and Greenland Drive was destroyed by fire. Woodfin and Lowery immediately began plans for a new facility. Upon completion, Woodfin Funeral Chapels relocated to 1488 Lascassas Pike, where an open house was held on Easter Sunday in 2001.

In the mid-1950s, the Woodfin Chapel location in Smyrna, Tennessee was established to better serve the residents of Rutherford County and Smyrna. Mr. Ben Barnett served as resident manager for more than 46 years.

Bubba Woodfin passed away on July 4, 2020, and Kay Woodfin passed away on August 15, 2025.

Following Bubba’s passing, his daughter, Shannon Woodfin Parsons, became president, and the business remains family-owned to this day.

Shannon graduated from Oakland High School in 1979 and Auburn University in 1983. After briefly working outside Murfreesboro following college, she returned home to join the family business in 2000, becoming the fifth generation of funeral directors in the Woodfin family.

Jack Backer, grandson of Bubba and Kay Woodfin, began working at the funeral homes during high school summers. Following his graduation from the University of Kentucky, he will join the staff full-time and represent the sixth generation of the Woodfin family to serve in funeral service.

Today, the Woodfin family has the distinction of being continuously involved in the same business longer than any other family in Murfreesboro, with more than 130 years of service spanning six generations. Although many aspects of funeral service have changed over the years, one important element remains constant: the quality, compassion, and friendly service extended by the staff of Woodfin Funeral Chapels to the families they serve.