Spotlight Whitfield’s Funeral Home – More than Just a Business By Gary S. Hatrick Gene and Ernestine Whitfield have been serving the Zephyrhills community through Whitfield’s Funeral Home since 1988 when they opened the business at its current location at 5008 Gall Blvd. in Zephyrhills. Whitfield, who also serves as the mayor of Zephyrhills was born in Douglas, Ga., but his family moved to Florida when he was about six finally coming to live in Dade City where he grew up and met and married Ernestine. Like many, Whitfield got into the funeral business as a result of family influence. “My dad worked in a funeral home when he was in high school and college,” Whitfield said. “He used to tell us stories about it and so my brother and I both go interested in it as we got older. He his brother got in it first because he was a good bit older than me. He went to work for a funeral home and I spent a couple summer with him working with him in the summertime when I was a kid. He later gave it up but I stayed with it. I worked for Coleman and Ferguson where I trained.” Now the Whitfield children are involved in the business. Daughter Amy works full-time at the home and, like her father is a trained funeral director and embalmer. Son Tim runs a charter fishing boat but helps in the business part-time. Grandchildren Jake and Kylie work at the funeral home also as well as Delanie, a high school sophomore, who works part-time. Our little great granddaughter Sadie Grace she comes up here and sits on our lap and look at the typewriter.” The couple believes that their profession is a calling. “It seems like that’s our talent - to deal with people and be patient and understanding and compassionate,” Whitfield said. It can be difficult because it is a business as well, Whitfield admits. “There is a business side to it and that’s sometime difficult to balance. It’s difficult to talk to folks about finances at a difficult and grieving time. We struggle with this every day.” Whitfield admits that it is a different kind of job and not everyone can do it, but he hasn’t been afraid since his younger training days at Coleman and Ferguson when the old building would creak and crack in the night and his youthful imagination would become active. After 51 years, it doesn’t bother him anymore. Unless you were to go into his office, you may never know that it houses a cane collection of about 64 canes that he has been he has been collecting since about 1973. “The first one was when my best man’s father passed away. I went into his house to help him clean out his father’s stuff and he his friend said, “if there anything here that you want of dad to remember him - take it.” I took his cane that was my first cane.” At a later date, a lady who saw the cane in the corner of his office and heard the story, asked if he wanted her husband’s cane and the collection began. Most of the canes have been given to him, although he has bought some more unique ones in his collection. Three years ago, Whitfield decided to run for mayor of Zephyrhills and won, recently he was re-elected unopposed. It was something I had always been interested in I enjoy it a lot its interesting I learn something new all the time. It’s some kind of a little challenge with a business like this to juggle it all, but I like the nature of municipal government.” Whitfield is the oldest family-owned funeral home in Zephyrhills. We have a lot of experience. I’ve been in funeral service for 51 years and my wife has worked beside me in one capacity or another. She has a vast knowledge, she’s a licensed insurance person so she has a lot of experience answering questions about insurance and helping families with that. We have a heart for it we were always meant to do this. That’s why we do it and that’s a good reason for people to call us if they need us. Whitfield’ Funeral Home can be reached at (813) 783-9900. April 2017 Community Magazine 21
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