“If people need help, I’m here to help them,” says Chris Moultry, the funeral director at Chattahoochee’s Crawford & Moultry Funeral Home.
For Moultry, the decision to get into the funeral business was not one that he had aspired to from a young age – in fact, it took Moultry some time (and some career hopping) before he settled into his role as a small-town funeral director.
In 2003, Moultry became licensed as a funeral director – something he said came about more as an ‘opportunity’ instead of a planned pursuit…but something that has been nonetheless meaningful since then.
“I worked in my godfather’s funeral home when I was younger,” said Moultry – adding that when an opening presented itself, his godfather asked Moultry to come back to the business, this time as a director.
“It wasn’t something I had really thought about before, but it was an opportunity.”
Prior to his certification as a license funeral director, Moultry had tried his hand at a number of other career paths – everything from a nurse to a bail bondsman, with a stint as a city councilman, too.
“I was able to learn skills through those careers,” said Moultry. “Those skills definitely help me be a better funeral director.”
Moultry says his city councilman role gave him leadership, his stint as a LPN nurse gave him the drive to provide quality care, and being a bail bondsman gave him experience in working with people who are undergoing a difficult time in their lives.
“I’m glad for those other jobs,” he says. “I now know people, and how to work with people, on a different level.”
Upon becoming a funeral director, Moultry took leadership of a business practice that has long been in the western portion of Gadsden County; his godfather ran a funeral home that was the conclusion of one of Gadsden County’s oldest funeral service businesses, Simms.
“I think it was one of the first funeral homes in Gadsden County,” Moultry said.
Since taking on the business, Moultry has actively worked to further his business’ reach when it comes to providing stellar service and care – one of the most significant aspects of visible growth was moving his practice into a larger building.
“When I started, we were in a much smaller building,” said Moultry. “Three years ago, I bought a new building to expand.”
Moultry says the new building, located at 25 East Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Chattahoochee, allows more comfort and space for his clients, and is more easily accessible.
Crawford & Moultry Funeral Home’s logo is “Where Service Begins And Never Ends” – and it is a motto Moultry tries to personally uphold.
On top of offering all services for his clients, Moultry also attempts to keep his services in an easily-reached price point.
“I probably don’t make as much, personally, as the other funeral homes,” Moultry admits. “But for me, when a person passes, it is my job to help as much as I can – to do as much as I can and then more.”
“If people need help, I’ll try to help them,” said Moultry, adding that he knows the price tag death and grief can carry, and he tries to never let his services be a burden on his clients.
“At my funeral home, nobody will be mistreated.”
For Moultry, care comes first.
“I know we are a business, but I’ve got to have a heart…and so far, God has blessed me.”
Ashley Hunter – editor@prioritynews.net