Published: October 10, 2009 10:48 pm      

Durgan Funeral Service

Funeral service shows families compassion in time of need

For nearly 50 years, Durgan Funeral Service has been assisting families in their darkest hours.

When the Rev. Andrew J. Durgan Sr. was a young man serving his country in World War II, he was grieved by the lack of opportunity to show proper respect to his fallen brothers who had to wait for burial.

The former coal miner and native of Selma, Ala., had moved to Lillybrook with his family when the mines were booming in the early 1940s.

A return to the mining life was not in Durgan’s plans following his time in the Army, as, according to his son Andrew Jr., the experience of witnessing so much death without proper ceremony shaped what he would do with the rest of his life.

“He wanted to stop and bury them, but they couldn’t,” he explained. “So, while waiting to return home, the idea for his future came to him and he decided to work for and one day own his own funeral home.

“He thought the dead should be buried.”

Upon his return home, the elder Durgan trained under the late C.D. Trent, at Trent Funeral Home on South Kanawha Street.

In 1960, he purchased the business, creating Durgan Funeral Service.

Because Durgan Jr. said his father knew that the future of his business rested with the next generation, he said he began training at a very young age.

“I was the oldest so I stayed with my dad all the time,” he said, explaining he was present for everything from emergency ambulance calls to autopsies that used to occur in the funeral home. “I was right there with him.”

After the younger Durgan graduated from Beckley College, he traveled to Chicago, where he went to mortuary school.

Durgan assisted his father and eventually took over operations as licensee in charge.

He is assisted by his brothers Victor, a licensed mortician, and Carl, a funeral assistant.

Additionally, Durgan says his sisters, Berthelia McCormick and Debra Coleman, as well as Michael Durgan, an assistant pathologist at CAMC, are also involved.

The future of the business will lie in the hands of Durgan’s daughter Michelle Rash, a graduate of the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science.

“I’m going to go as long as I can but she’s the next generation,” he said. “It’s the legacy he started and we just want to continue and carry it on down as far as we can take it.”



Durgan says he believes that it is his father’s vision that has enabled the business to be successful and remain open for 49 years.

“When someone dies, their loved ones are distraught, obviously,” he said. “Their families need help and they need to be consoled. It’s our job to try to help them in their hours of need.

“His dream was for us to keep the legacy going.”

The services, he says are available day and night and from one end of the state to the next.

“We’ll go anywhere we’re needed, any time,” he said. “We’re here to serve you on a 24-hour basis.”

Durgan says he encourages people to come in and talk to him about the different services offered, such as pre-planning, though uncomfortable, is helpful.

Pre-planning, according to Durgan, helps control costs, avoid emotional overspending and, most importantly, provides “peace of mind” for everyone involved.

Funeral home staff is also available to answer any questions that might arise.

“We’re here to help,” he said, adding numerous services at affordable prices are available.



For more information, contact Durgan Funeral Services at 1501 S. Kanawha St., call 304-253-8881 or e-mail ajdurganfh6@verizon.net

— E-mail: mjames@register-herald.com