History & Staff

At Pierce-Jefferson Funeral & Cremation Services, we have provided customizable memorial services for many years. Personalized service options allow you to honor your loved ones in a way that is both meaningful and healing. We hope to provide support and caring while delivering memorial services that celebrate life and help families find the peace they deserve.
If you’re seeking an honorable celebration of life in Kernersville and the surrounding areas, we invite you to learn more about where we came from and the dedicated people behind our work.

A History of Caring

The historical building on West Mountain Street at Cherry Street occupied today by Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Service has seen many changes over the years.
​(Photos by Adams Lane Photography)

When driving down West Mountain Street, it is difficult not to notice the grandeur and sophistication of the Pierce-Jefferson Funeral & Cremation Service.

Although it is hard to miss the home now, with its bright white columns and large windows, years ago the house was hidden from view with trees and vegetation.

The home first began as a small and narrow two-roomed educational building for the children of Kernersville.

The Masons built what was then known as the Plunket Place in 1856 as a subscription school supported by tuition from each student. According to the Bicentennial Book, students in the 1850s paid between $5 and $10 a month to attend the school.

As the town's population grew though, the need for greater education became apparent for the increasing number of students.

In 1864, Kernersville High School, originally known as the old Kernersville Academy, was opened and the Plunket Place was no longer needed as an educational institution.

The structure was bought, renovated and added on to, in order to become the Henry Shore Home in 1890.

Visible alterations were made to the home including additional rooms and a wrap-around covered porch.

Change would not be a stranger to the structure over the next couple of decades.

In the 1930s the Henry Shore Home became the Linville Funeral Home.

Along with the change in identity came four large white columns to adorn the front of the building.

The columns were brought to Kernersville by train by Ad Linville and attached to the home four years later. The conversion into a funeral home came at a time when columns were revolutionizing the country.

Throughout the Great Depression, many families were left on the streets without a home. When a loved one would pass away, the family was left without a resting place for the family member until the burial.

To alleviate this problem, the families would ask a nearby homeowner to store the body until a grave could be dug - hence the birth of funeral homes.

It was traditional for a family to live in the upstairs of the home and conduct business downstairs. The Linville Funeral Home was bought by the Ragland Funeral Home sometime after 1942, but the Linville's left their legacy by carving their name and the year 1942 on the concrete floor of the embalming room which was located in the basement of the house at the time.

According to old logbooks found in the home, an average service cost in 1964 was about $5.

In 1965, Jack Pierce bought the home from Ragland and moved himself, his wife Martha and their three children, Mike, Pam and Rick into the home.

For five years the family lived in the upstairs apartment of the home while they ran their funeral business on the ground floor. In 1970, the family moved out of the home in order to dedicate the entire structure to funeral services.

A chapel was added to the right wing of the house in 1973. Unfortunately the Pierce family was unaware at the time that one of the first funerals held in the new chapel would be that of their young son Mike. Michael was killed while riding a go-cart in July 1973. The chapel is dedicated in the memory of the Pierce's dear son and brother.

In 1983 a visitation area was also added on the left wing of the home.

Pierce sold the business in 1981 to a regional funeral firm but continued to manage the business until his retirement in 1996. Jack Pierce, in partnership with Danny Jefferson, again purchased the business that is now known as Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Service on Dec. 1, 2004.

Pierce was instrumental in the operations of the business until his death Oct. 30, 2005.

Today, Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Service operates two full service funeral homes, offering traditional burial funerals, traditional cremation services and a complete array of funeral related items.

An authentic stained-glass window from the Plunket Place era still glows in the original exterior wall. And guests are offered a peek into the past by looking at one specific area of the green carpet covering the floor where the original outside wall can be seen where the foundation has settled. 

Lambeth Chapel

Approximately 1950 and after a number of years with the former Hanes Funeral Home in Greensboro, Odell Lambeth decided he wanted to have his own Funeral Establishment. He partnered with Fred Troxler, who owned the land that the new funeral home would occupy, and Ralph Hutton, a funeral director from Topeka, Kansas. Together they formed what was initially known as Lambeth-Hutton-Troxler Funeral Home. Odell handled most of the design work and supervised the construction of the new facility, which opened in 1953. A short time later it was felt that the name Lambeth-Hutton-Troxler was too long and unwieldy, thus the name was changed for a brief time to Lambeth Funeral Home. Ralph Hutton soon left the business, and in recognition of Fred Troxler's contributions and service the name was changed to Lambeth-Troxler Funeral Home.

In 2020, Lambeth-Troxler was was re-branded to Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Service, Lambeth Chapel, to highlight the partnership with it's sister firm, in Kernersville. We are proud to be able to more easily serve families in the Triad under the Pierce-Jefferson flag!

Our Staff’s Dedication to Respectful Care

A funeral, or memorial service, should provide family members and loved ones with the chance to reflect, remember, and celebrate a life well-lived. At Pierce-Jefferson, our goal is to create exceptional services and experiences that fulfill the wishes of your loved one. Our experienced Funeral Directors provide guidance on the crucial first steps toward healing.



Kirk R. Bivins
Manager/Location Leader
Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Services
Kernersville and Lambeth Chapels

Kirk is the Location Leader/Manager of the Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Services Kernersville and Lambeth Chapels. He began his funeral career on May 1, 1991. After more than twenty-seven years of service at Rich & Thompson Funeral Service, Graham, NC, Kirk was offered a position on February 5, 2019, at Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Services in Kernersville, NC. Kirk recently celebrated 32 years of service in the funeral industry.

Kirk is married to Laura Canady Bivins. They have four children Joshua, Nate, Caroline, and Christian. He is a graduate of the Funeral Service Education Program at Fayetteville Technical Community College. He is a North Carolina Funeral Director Licensee, a licensed preneed counselor, a CANA Certified Crematory Operator, and a Certified Veteran’s Funeral Specialist. Kirk is a retired Firefighter/EMT from the Swepsonville Volunteer Fire Department in Alamance County, NC with more than 21 years of service. He is a graduate of the 2020 Class of Leadership Kernersville. Kirk was recently awarded the 2022 Businessperson of the Year with 11 to 99 employees by the Kernersville Chamber of Commerce. He is the 2023 Chairperson of the Kernersville Christmas Parade. Kirk was recently nominated to serve on the 2024-2025 Kernersville Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.



Samuel Robertson
Funeral Director/Embalmer
Pierce-Jefferson Lambeth Chapel


Samuel found a passion for death care at a young age. With over 15 years of experience in the funeral service industry he is currently licensed in the state of North Carolina as well as the Commonwealth of Virginia. Samuel currently holds the title of Assistant Sergeant at Arms for the Funeral Directors and Morticians Association of North Carolina (FD&MA of NC) and sits on the Board of Directors for Children of Deaf Adults (CODA). He is a pioneer of change and takes his work seriously, striving to provide his families with the best care possible. His focus has always been to show compassion, leave his families with a beautiful lasting moment and be a positive impact on his community.



Katherine Knowles
Funeral Director/Embalmer
Pierce-Jefferson Lambeth Chapel

Born and raised in sunny Southern California, Katherine knew at a young age from her time volunteering at her local funeral home that she had found her calling. Graduating with honors at the age of 22 from the Funeral Institute of the North East in Massachusetts, she finally found her forever home in beautiful North Carolina. She began her apprenticeship at Pierce-Jefferson Funeral & Cremation Services February of 2021 where she could further her passion for serving families in their time of need. In her spare time, she practices her creative writing with the dreams of one day writing a novel of her own like her mentor, Danny Jefferson. She has played the viola for fourteen years with her favored pieces to play being her favorite musical, The Phantom of the Opera. Her goals for the future is to start a small family of her own in the Guilford County.



Elaine Casey Tipton
Advanced Planning Funeral Director
Kernersville and Lambeth Chapels

Elaine always had a strong interest in the funeral profession. She is a licensed Funeral Director, Embalmer, and Crematory Operator. A Texas native who grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, she moved to North Carolina in 2001. Elaine is a 2013 Funeral Service Education Program graduate from Fayetteville Technical Community College. Advanced funeral planning is her passion. She also holds several community events throughout the year for both Kernersville/Greensboro locations to educate the public about preplanning and veterans' funeral benefits. Elaine and her husband of over 34 years have a daughter who attends NC State, as well as several dogs, cats, and chickens. In her free time, she enjoys skiing, concerts, and gardening.



Kelly Butler
Lead Administrator
Lambeth Chapel

Kelly was born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina. She, along with husband Darin, are proud to be raising their five children; Lucas, Reese, Emma, Daniel, and Marley, in this city that they love so much.

Although new to the Pierce-Jefferson family, Kelly comes to us with over 10 years of administrative and financial experience.

Kelly believes that her purpose in life is to bring glory and honor to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and she seeks to show His love to those around her. She is a volunteer at the Pregnancy Network of Greensboro, where she serves as a mentor to women experiencing unplanned pregnancies. She is also a living kidney donor.

Kelly and her family are active members of Cornerstone Baptist Church, where she serves on both the prayer ministry team as well as the women’s ministry team. Kelly is passionate about music, painting and crafting, and she’s a big fan of WWII documentaries.



Kathy Prescott
Administrative Assistant
Pierce-Jefferson Kernersville Chapel

A native of North Carolina, Kathy has lived in Kernersville for 14 years. She has two children, Clint and Jessica and a handsome grandson Christian, and beautiful granddaughter Lillian!

Kathy is retired from North Carolina Baptist Hospital after 33 years of service in Administration.

Kathy is very active in community service, volunteering with the Kernersville Shepherd Center, volunteer for Junior Achievement of the Triad, she serves on the Board of the Community Appearance Commission of Kernersville. Kathy graduated Leadership Kernersville 2021 with the award of Most Unforgettable. She is also very involved with the Kernersville Chamber of Commerce.

Kathy feels that working at Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Services allows her to use her God -given gifts of mercy and compassion in the lives of the families we serve. She has a heart and passion to help those in need and those that are hurting. Her genuine spirit of love and concern are apparent to the families that are served here at Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Services.



Marnie Buchanan
Lead Crematory Operator
Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Services
​Kernersville Chapel

Marnie is a lifelong resident of High Point/Davidson County, NC. After graduating from High Point Central High school, she went on to obtain a degree from Leon’s Beauty school and has been a licensed cosmetologist for over thirty years. She also served as a certified fitness instructor for over twenty years.

Marnie spent several years as a hairstylist for several local funeral homes, one of which was Pierce-Jefferson. It was during this time that she realized her passion for serving families during their time of need. So, in 2022 she also became a certified crematory operator and joined the Pierce-Jefferson family full-time.

Marnie is the mother of three sons, Carter, Cael, and Emory and she believes that being their mom is the greatest achievement of her life.



Ron Beeson
Funeral Attendant
Pierce-Jefferson Kernersville Chapel

Ron has been a part-time Funeral Attendant with Pierce-Jefferson since 2010.

Ron retired from Piedmont Airlines after a 35-year career. He began his airline career in Greensboro, N.C., in the Customer Services Department. As time went on Ron held management positions in New York, Texas and Florida.

Ron was raised in the Colfax, N.C., community. He attended Colfax School and graduated in the first graduating class of Northwest Guilford High School in 1963.

Ron is married to his wife Jo, and they have two sons, Bryan (B.J.) and Randy (Belinda).

Ron and Jo now reside in Oak Ridge, N.C. Both are members of Shady Grove Wesleyan Church in Colfax, N.C. Ron enjoys golfing with his many friends.

Ron has brought to Pierce-Jefferson his many years of Customer Service because both jobs are about taking care of customer/family needs.



Phil Hulen
Funeral Attendant
Pierce-Jefferson Kernersville Chapel

Phil has been a resident of Kernersville for more than 33 years. He is married to Cheryl; his high school sweetheart and they have been happily married for 53 years. They have three handsome sons who have blessed them with three beautiful daughters-in-law and seven precious grandchildren whom they enjoy spending time with.

Phil is an ordained minister pastoring in Indiana and North Carolina. He served as the lead pastor at Kernersville Wesleyan Church for 26 years before retiring in 2016.

Since his retirement, Phil has been a part-time funeral attendant at Pierce-Jefferson. Because of his love and compassion for people he is honored to continue serving the Kernersville community and the staff here at PJ.



Roger Frazier
Funeral Attendant
Pierce-Jefferson Kernersville Chapel

Roger is married to Kay M. Frazier and resides in Colfax. They are the proud parents of Mitchell and Kaylee and grandparents “Grammy” and “Pops”to Maddux and Charlotte. Roger retired from Colfax Volunteer Fire Department after 30 years of service as an Assistant Chief. He continues to serve the department and community as a Chief Officer and member of the Board of Directors. Roger also serves as Chairman of the department’s Local Firefighter Relief Fund and Vice Chairman of the Guilford County Fire Protective Association Benevolent Brotherhood.

In his spare time he enjoys playing golf, watching the Andy Griffith Show, and sporting events especially baseball. Roger also enjoys spending time with his family and friends.



Don Martin
Funeral Attendant
Pierce-Jefferson Kernersville Chapel

Don is a retired ordained minister in The Wesleyan Church. Don was raised in Virginia where he met the love of his life, Sandy, and was married in 1974. They have two children, Philip and Derek, and five grandchildren, Avery, Jaxson, Sophia, Isaiah, and Fiona who they love and adore and enjoy spending time with, especially their ball games.

Don graduated from Waynesboro High School in 1969, and attended Kernersville Wesleyan College in Kernersville, North Carolina.

Don loves playing the piano and gospel music as well as traveling all around God's beautiful world.

Don joined the Pierce-Jefferson team in 2019.