About Us

In the early 1930's, Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home, Alleghany County's first funeral home, was opened in the home of Mr. Dewey Sturdivant on Main Street in Sparta, North Carolina. At one time, Reins-Sturdivant had funeral homes in West Jefferson, Sparta, Newland, and North Wilkesboro in North Carolina, and in Independence, Virginia. Sometime later, Mr. Sturdivant built a new funeral home across Main Street from the original building. The name was changed to Sturdivant Funeral Home in the early 1960's.

Alleghany County native Harold Church joined Sturdivant on a part-time basis in 1963. He began full-time employment with the firm in 1965, and graduated with honors from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in March of 1968. He remained with Sturdivant until 1970, when he joined Hayworth-Miller Funeral Home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

In 1973, a group of local investors built a building on a large piece of property on Grandview Drive, hired Mr. Frank Jones, a Mount Airy, North Carolina funeral director, and opened Jones Funeral Home. Because the expectations of the investors were not met, Harold Church was contacted by the group and was persuaded to return to Sparta in 1974. The name of the firm was changed to Church Funeral Service. With the help of Harold's brother, Pete Church, friends, Don Richardson and Ray Blevins, the financial backing of Mr. Cecil Murray, and the guidance of a board of directors composed of residents from the major communities served by the firm, Church Funeral Service continued to grow.

By 1980, Church Funeral Service was serving over 60% of the families in the area. Sturdivant Funeral Home merged with Church Funeral Service, and the name became Grandview Memorial Funeral Home. Harold Church and Cecil Murray purchased the stock of the other investors, and in 1986, Harold Church bought Murray's stock and became the sole owner of Grandview. During 1994, Grandview was completely remodeled with new furnishings, carpet, paint and wallpaper, pew padding, and landscaping.