Greenwell Funeral Home

The Greenwell Funeral Home was established by Lee S. Greenwell in 1938.

The son of Frank and Jossie Greenwell, Lee was born northwest of Casey, Illinois in Union Township of Cumberland County. After his mother died when he was just 16 years old, he lived with his older sister Katherine and eventually moved to Los Angeles, California.

Lee's mother had hoped for him to become a funeral director, so after high school he enrolled in the California College of Embalming. He graduated in the Class of 1938 and returned to Casey, where he worked for Howard Swinford, a local funeral director. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Martinsville and started his own business. The original establishment was a storefront on the south side of Main Street.

Lee married Joy Clough in 1940. After their marriage, Lee and Joy lived in a small apartment in the back of the funeral parlor, and Joy quickly became an active member of the firm. Two years later, Lee joined the navy and served as an x-ray technician during World War II.

In his absence, Joy carried on admirably, running the funeral and ambulance business alone. "I had one man [Howard Swinford] to go on ambulance calls and funeral calls, and if he wasn't there, I'd go out into the street and ask the first man I saw to help...I never had anyone turn me down," Joy said of that challenging time.

After the war, Lee returned home, and in 1945 Lee & Joy purchased a local residence which is now the Greenwell Funeral Home. As the business grew, so did Lee and Joy's family. Their daughter Patty was born while Lee was still in the service, and their son George was born in 1951. The kids grew up as active members of the funeral home, carrying chairs and flowers and opening doors for people coming to pay their respects to families.

After graduating from Martinsville High School, George went to Mortuary School at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He returned home in 1971 to work with his parents, and George purchased the family business in 1980. George liked to say: "when I was about five years old, it was cheaper than a babysitter – they put a coat and tie on me and I stood and opened the door. Fifty years later, I was still there."

Providing the level of service that a small town funeral home requires is a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year commitment, and in the spring of 2008, George and his wife Rebecca Greenwell decided to retire after his five decades of service. Greenwell Funeral Home was merged with Markwell Funeral Home of Casey, Illinois on April 11, 2008, bringing together the family tradition of these neighboring businesses and their dedication to providing quality services for grieving families at their special time of need.