The current property at 1510 Fayetteville is the Burthey Funeral Home, in business since 1946. Before the funeral home, there was a residential property located at 1510 Fayetteville. The original building, likely to have been built ca. 1916, is no longer there and was replaced by the funeral home.
Susie Kirkland Burthey Smith, mother of Claudie C. Burthey Sr., Grover C. Burthey Sr., and Rev. Rember O. Burthey Sr., first purchased the property in 1943. The funeral home began operation in 1946, run by the three sons. Claudie C. Burthey also ran a photography laboratory upstairs after a major renovation in the late 1950s.
Claudie C. Burthey was born in 1917 in Salisbury, North Carolina. He was multitalented, working as a business owner, photographer, and salesman. He was well known for his photography, and his photographic laboratory was located on the second floor of the funeral home. One of the most notable photographs Claudie took was of Revs. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy, as they visited the Durham Woolworth’s in 1960. King and Abernathy were visiting Durham in support of the 40 North Carolina College and 4 Duke students who protested segregation by sitting at the Woolworth’s lunch counter. During King and Abernathy’s visit to Woolworth’s, Claudie captured a photograph of the men. His camera was then confiscated by the Durham police, as requested by Woolworth’s. It was eventually returned to him, and the photograph and accompanying story were published in the Carolina Times.
Grover C. Burthey was born in 1920 in Cheraw, South Carolina. He was a long-time scholar, earning a Bachelor’s Degree from West Virginia State College, a mortuary license from the Eckels College of Mortuary Science of Philadelphia, Pa., and a Bachelor of Laws from North Carolina Central University. Grover had a multifaceted career history, originally teaching art at Hillside High School, where he attended when he was younger. He would then go on to earn his mortuary license in 1945 and open Burthey Funeral Home the next year. His background in art was an asset for the embalming process, and he was praised for his ability to make deceased individuals look at peace.
The Burthey Funeral Home has been well-equipped to handle the many needs of grieving families since the early years of its establishment. In an article celebrating their 13th anniversary, their lineup of Cadillacs, including a Cadillac flower car, an ambulance, and family cars, was noted as a significant tool for Durham citizens. Throughout the years, they have also offered numerous services beyond the funeral. These services include arranging, “...security benefits, Veterans Administration allotments, estate, and other problems of the deceased.” Many of these services were possible because of the family’s education and other careers. Grover Burthey emphasized the quality of the funeral home's services through “day formal” dress codes for funeral services. The dress code included cut-away tuxedo tails, hickory stripe pants, formal shirts, and ascots. This dedication to service has made the Burthey Funeral Home a beloved institution in Durham. This can be seen only 13 years after the establishment of the funeral home, where it was valued at $120,000, or $1.3 million adjusted for inflation. The funeral home also supported the community through employment opportunities, notably through driving and embalming positions.
Grover was also the co-owner of Furniture Moods, a furniture store, with Owen Williams. The store was located at 213 East Chapel Hill Street, in the heart of Downtown Durham. He and Claudie also ran Burthey Clothiers. Both these stores were targets of city “revitalization” efforts, in which they were threatened with being bought out. Burthey Clothiers was at risk during the Five Points Revitalisation Project in 1974, but the business remained open for numerous years afterwards. The City of Durham made an offer to buy the Furniture Moods property to build a new civic center. Williams and Burthey denied the offer, which was $600,000 less than what they sought. After more negotiations, in which the City of Durham increased their offer, and Burthey and Williams lowered their asking price to $520,000, the two men turned down the offer to buy. Even more significant is that, at the time, Furniture Moods was one of the only Black Businesses left in Downtown Durham. The City did eventually buy the property from Burthey and Williams in 1983, for $335,000.
Both Claudie and Grover also supported innovative projects, lending their ideas and resources to help create new inventions. In 1960, Grover helped Rev. Fred J. Hunter produce a ride called the “Rota-bar.” Rev. Hunter invented the machine, a two-seat vertical apparatus that swung kids around on axles. Claudie also created a product called “The Pocket,” a holder to make extra space for multiple items. Claudie passed before the product moved to production, but his son, Claudie C. Burthey Jr., went on to continue to work on producing the product.
Grover married Thomasine K. Burthey, an elementary school teacher from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Together, they had one son, Grover Burthey Jr. Following in his father’s footsteps, Grover Jr. has an extensive history with education, attending Howard University, Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina School of Law, Chapel Hill. Grover began to run the Burthey Funeral Home with his father and uncle after he received his mortuary license in the 1970s. He continues to run the funeral home with his wife, Pamela Monk Burthey, whom he married in 1982. When they were married, Pamela was working as a field representative for State Farm Insurance. She had previously graduated from Spelman College. She eventually earned her mortuary license and began to work at the funeral home as well.
Together, Grover Jr. and Pamela have utilized their numerous degrees and professional experience to continue to operate the Burthey Funeral Home, while also offering legal and insurance services throughout their tenure at the funeral home. The second floor of the building is home to Grover Jr.’s law office and also acts as a play area for when their grandchildren come to visit.
In the 80 years of the funeral home, the Burtheys have been awarded and lauded for their dedication to the Durham community. The funeral home has a long legacy that continues with their work to this day, a vital business in the Fayetteville Street Corridor with no end in sight.
Sources:
The Carolina Times
http://burtheyfuneralservice.com/about
Museum of Durham History
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