Fred Hunter Memorial Services is continuing the family-run tradition that was introduced in Hollywood more than a half-century ago while updating its facilities and enhancing its services to meet the changing needs of today’s clientele.
The only full-service, family-owned and operated funeral home, cemetery and crematory business in Broward County was originally established in Detroit in the 1890s by Fred Hunter and his family. They relocated their business to South Florida in the early 1950s, opening the first Fred Hunters Funeral Home on State Road 7 in Hollywood.
Meanwhile, another notable name in the industry, the Quinn family, had owned and operated funeral homes in New Jersey since around 1915. Third-generation businessmen and brothers John and Kevin Quinn sold their nine locations in 1997 and moved to Florida. An opportunity to get back into the funeral business presented itself a few years later when Fred Hunters three Broward locations, which had since been taken over by a Cincinnati-based company, became available.
The sale of the Hollywood, Davie and Fort Lauderdale facilities to the Quinn family in 2004 marked the beginning of a new era in Fred Hunter Memorial Services history that balances the family-run tradition with modernized facilities and updated services that include an E-Aftercare online program.
The funeral home at the current Hollywood location, which opened at 6301 Taft St. in 1962, recently underwent extensive renovations, including improvements to the lobby and the consolidation of personnel and offices from three different sites into a single building.
“Really very little had been done structurally for 25 or 30 years,” John Quinn said. “It was time to move the business into a more modern era.”
This movement into the future started to take shape in 2006 when the roadways through the cemetery, Hollywood Memorial Gardens, were repaved and new water-conservation irrigations systems were installed.
Another new feature is the recent installation of two generators that will provide the Hollywood facilities with electricity in the event of a power outage, a potential concern that the Quinn’s recognized in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma in October 2005.
“This is the only funeral home that we know of with full generator backup so that we could provide for our families under any circumstances,” John Quinn said.
Another innovative feature recently introduced at the Hollywood location is the Community Center, a renovated, standalone building that’s available for families for a reception following funeral services or for groups seeking a venue for holding meetings or events. Fred Hunters provides the space, which can accommodate about 125 people, to nonprofit and community-based organizations at no charge. The Community Center features a small kitchen, and full catering services are available.
The Community Center also is the site of a free monthly grief therapy program and community-oriented seminars on topics ranging from grief and grieving to living wills and estate planning.
There will also be a 2,000-square-foot space dedicated as a Community Center at the funeral home in Davie, which opened at 2401 S. University Drive in 1975. That location closed Aug. 1 for renovations that include a new roof with solar energy panels and will reopen by December.
The Downtown Fort Lauderdale location, the former Blackburn Funeral Home at 718 S. Federal Highway that was purchased by the Hunter family in 1989, underwent cosmetic renovations about a year ago and additional upgrades have been planned.
Quinn said improvements at the Fred Hunters facilities have taken a lot of work and time.
“We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished,” he said.
The owners, management and staff at Fred Hunter Memorial Services are also proud of the emphasis the company places on family, the families the business serves as well as the family environment of the workplace. John Quinn’s son Ryan and Kevin Quinn’s son Kevin Jr. are involved in the business, as are facilities and grounds director Ruben Lariz and his son Michael, a foreman.
“Some of the administrative staff has been here over 30 years,” John Quinn said. “It really is a family over here.”
He said when the Quinns took over Fred Hunters, they combined existing staff with recruited industry professionals in assembling a top-rate, first-class group of people dedicated to the families they serve. This includes General Manager Jeff Casey, a funeral service professional for more than 30 years.
“People really do trust us at a very difficult time in their lives, and we work hard to keep that trust,” John Quinn said.
For more information on Fred Hunter Memorial Services, call 954-989-1550 or visit www.fredhunters.com.
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