From the Fall 2024 issue of The Independent magazine. 

OGR recently caught up with Jason Horn from Horn-Nail-Haggard Funeral Home in Daingerfield, Texas about the history of their funeral home, their recent renovation process, and running a farm. Read this excerpt below, or OGR members can check out the Independent magazine archive to read the full article!

Tell us a little bit about how your funeral home was founded and how it operates today. 

Our building is a Historic Victorian Home that was constructed in 1899 and was converted to a funeral home in 1949. It was owned and operated by the Nail Family and partner, George Haggard. The Nails had three generations working at the funeral home up until our purchase of it in 2021. 

We also have three generations here. My dad, Harold, worked for many years at OGR member firm, Rader Funeral Home, in Longview, TX. He is now working with me alongside my son, Carson, who is in mortuary school. Our other son, Colby, has worked at the funeral home since he was 16 years old, as a funeral director assistant, but is not sure yet what his career will be. While our daughter, Carly, does not work here yet, my wife, Genia, oversees all the administrative activities. It truly is a family business. 

Fun fact: I met my wife through Rader Funeral Home. Her mom worked there for more than 30 years. I was working at the funeral home for a summer job during college break as a "Funeral Assistant" and met her at the funeral home while she was visiting her mother in the office. 

Why do you believe funeral service is important? 

I believe that memorialization, be it through traditional burial service or modern celebration methods, is the most important step to beginning the process of healing and closure. 

Daingerfield is a small town. How has being born and raised there influenced the way you run your business? 

Being from Daingerfield and once being a kid here, I often times will think back to how things were when I was a student in the schools and riding my bike and playing in the neighborhoods. That along with remembering the people that came before me and helped raise me in this community helps me stay grounded and often reminds me of how important it is to preserve history and what built this community. It also allows me to see how the community has progressed and helps me be creative when it comes to memorialization. 

What is the most rewarding part of working in the funeral service industry? 

The most rewarding part is having a family that placed all of their trust in your family during the most difficult time in their lives come to you at the conclusion of the service and tell you how thankful they are that your creativeness helped them begin the process of healing. 

You recently underwent a renovation project at the funeral home. What were the reasons for this and how did it go? 

We saw a need to update the facility in order to make it more suitable for personalized services that are offered today, but still maintain the integrity of the original funeral home. It was a challenge to marry a new structure with all of the modern conveniences to the 125-year-old structure, but we managed to pull it off and the reviews from the community have been so confirming. 

The new chapel does have some Victorian feel on the inside and it's hard to tell where the old building stopped, and the new one began. 

The existing chapel that seated roughly 60 was converted to a hospitality/reception room and our new chapel seats around 170. In the middle of all of that we have restored the interior to reflect the Victorian era as well. 

 To read the full interview with Jason Horn, check out the latest issue of The Independent in our digital magazine archive.