Berry and Gardner Funeral Home, Inc.

“We Don’t Promise; We Deliver”

In the mid-1800’s, Frank Berry was a skilled and capable bricklayer.  He helped build the Meridian City Hall, Lauderdale County Courthouse, the old city and county jails and many other local businesses. Unfortunately, while Berry was working on a three-story building, the scaffolds collapsed and he fell to the ground sustaining a crippling injury to his right leg.

His injury, however, didn’t stop Berry, and in 1882 he saw a need for a funeral home to give full-service to the black community.  Prior to that time, black citizens had to go in and out of the back doors of white funeral homes with their loved ones.  Berry, Henry Strayhorn, and George Gardner established Strayhorn, Berry and Gardner Funeral Home at 2513, Fifth Street in downtown Meridian.  Thanks to these three men, blacks could proudly use the front doors and get proper service.  After Mississippi required a license to embalm, Berry became the first licensed black embalmer (license #64).

During the “Great Depression”, Frank Berry served many families for little or no compensation.  He provided many with money, food and rent-free housing.  He also provided a means for many students to attend school to further their education.  In an era when racial harassment was prevalent, Berry also posted bond for many blacks who had been jailed. 

After Berry’s death in 1940, his wife Lula Cotton Berry, daughter Naomi Louise Berry Sims and Gardner’s widow, Kate, ran the business.  This became a very tough endeavor for the two older ladies to manage.  Upon his mother’s request, George Frank Sims, grandson of Frank Berry, and wife Ulpiana, returned to Meridian to assist in running the business. He was a shrewd businessman and moved the funeral home into a new building on 34^th Avenue.  In 1959, Kate Gardner sold her interest to George Frank Sims and the funeral home became a one-family-owned business.

After George Franks’s death in 1986, stepson Robert Kennedy moved back to Meridian and took over operations with his mother, Ulpiana P. Sims, sole owner.  Esperanza Kennedy Sullins, step-daughter of George Frank, earned a Funeral Service Degree and was licensed in Mortuary Science in 1991, and now runs the business with her brother, Robert Kennedy.

In 2010, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, the Hundred Black Women of Funeral Service inducted Berry and Gardner Funeral Home into the African American Funeral Home Hall of Fame.  They were awarded an induction trophy as well as a letter of recognition from the Congress of the United States.  Berry and Gardner was also recognized as being the oldest black funeral home in MS and one of the oldest in the nation.  Other awards include MS Funeral Directors and Morticians Association Osborne Bell Award, Meridian Star Reader’s Choice Award, the Family Life Insurance Agency Top 5 Producers Award, and other prestigious awards.

Berry and Gardner has served Meridian and surrounding areas with three locations for 138 years and has established an impeccable reputation for first class service.  They have six licensed funeral directors on their staff, three of whom are also licensed morticians.  For this kind of success, Esperanza Sullins and Robert Kennedy, owners, offer this advice, “The customer is always right.  Honesty and transparency are essential features your customers deserve.  We are happy that we have been blessed to serve our community.  We are also proud to support our community through membership with the Chamber.” 

Berry and Gardner Funeral Home, Inc.  Professional Specialized Funeral Services

Berry and Gardner Funeral Home, Inc.
1300 34th Ave., Meridian, MS