History & Staff

Our History

David R. Calvert (often referred to as Mr. Dave) quit school in the eighth grade and took over Calvert Furniture and Funeral Home, that was established by his father James V. Calvert in 1906 in the Abbott community of North Western Clay County Mississippi.  He later moved the business to West Point, to the first location where the furniture and funeral home evolved.  Brothers, Gates, Douglas and Jimmy worked in the business. Gates was the bookkeeper, Douglas was the mortician and Jimmy was the salesman and David was the funeral director. While Calvert Furniture and Funeral Home was located in the building on Main Street in downtown West Point, the embalming room was on the ground floor, in the back of the building. The casket “show room” was located on the second floor. Funeral services were usually held in the church where the family might attend. Often the body was taken to the family residence where a service might also occur.  Other times there was a room in the back of the store where the casket was placed until it was taken to the church for services. In younger years David would journey with his father to the county churches, beginning early in the morning hours traveling by horse drawn hearse. Following the funeral they would begin the journey back to West Point. David recalled one distant church location in the McCondy Community required that David and his father James V. having to camp the night on the banks of the chattahouchie creek before reaching West Point and finishing the trip the next morning.

In 1945 the furniture portion of the business was sold to the Johnson family of Columbus and later becoming Doughty Furniture Store, David concentrated his time on the funeral home business. Gates, Douglas and Jimmy went on to other positions and jobs. With the sale of the furniture store, David sought to move the funeral home when he bought a two story boarding house from the Deanes family located at 113 East Broad Street (where the business operated until May 31, 1996) and converted the house to accommodate the funeral home-this took about six months while the house was being transformed into the new funeral home location. Mr. Dave’s family residence was often used as a place for a body to lie until the funeral might be held. Inez, Mr. Dave’s wife, and daughters Anne and Ginger worked in the business whenever needed. Mr. Dave looked to Pem Martin (of Martin Brothers Hardware and Funeral Home in Starkville) who he hired to work as the embalmer/mortician. Working along with David as a funeral director assistant was Ralph Harper.  Jimmie Hicks and Willie Walker worked as porters for the funeral home, handling the cemetery set-ups and general maintenance for the business as well as handling the delivery of funeral flowers to the cemetery for our families.  Later daughter Anne would fill in for her father, Mr. Dave if he could not be there, when she was on duty, she was very capable.

Mr. Dave also operated a funeral home for the Black community on Cottrell Street; this business was sold to Ernest Westbrook of Aberdeen.  Mr. Dave owned and operated the only ambulance service in West Point and Clay County. The ambulance was mainly used to transport people from hospital to home for the sum of $2.50. The ambulance also traveled trips to other towns and states such as Memphis, Jackson and Birmingham for a fee of $35.00. Ready 24 hours a day for any emergency such as a wreck or a sudden illness, many came to know to “just call Calvert’s” . Back in the day, firemen would come and help Mr. Dave and Miss Anne as the diligently worked to save lives.  Later Calvert’s Ambulances were equipped with “oxygen” and other equipment as it continued to up date and move forward for the times and needs of their clients and families. It was a great service to Clay County, the surrounding counties and states.

In November, 1955 Lacy E. Allen was hired to work for Mr. Dave. His daughter Anne moved on to continue her education at Mississippi State College.  Mr. Dave soon found Lacy Allen to be the capable person to carry on the business. Through his promise to Lacy, David said, ‘you work with me for five years and show me you can learn the business, and I will make it worth your while.”  And Mr. Dave did just that in late 1962 he began his transition to sell the business to Lacy and wife Bonnie B. Allen and incorporated the business on February 1, 1963 into the organization that continued under the Allen family management until December 27, 2013.  Mr. Dave continued on with the firm until his health failed and he passed away on November 22, 1964.

After Lacy and Bonnie took the reigns of the business, they made great improvements to the 113 East Broad Street home. Moving walls and facilitating more downstairs rooms for visitation and expanding the chapel area.  Moving the “show room” downstairs to the unused upstairs to a larger up dated to spacious selection rooms.  Later, a two-ton lift elevator was installed in the North West corner of the structure servicing the caskets from floor to floor for our families.  Over the years while family members would select from the rooms upstairs; often one would recall living in one of the rooms when the building served as a boarding house during the 30’s and 40’s long before the funeral home came to locate there.

Calvert’s business was blessed with a number of dedicated employees over the years. Among those in addition to Ralph Harper were Samuel L. “Red” Millsaps, Ralph Griffin, Frank Wilson, Alva Blake, Jr. (1967-2001), Andrew Nelson Hughes (1994-2012), Edwin Dale Randle (2000-2013), 1994-Lula Young Crowder (1972-1988), Hazel Armstrong Thomas (1990-1996), and Sara Jordan“Bitsy” Weaver from 1996 until present. In addition to Pem Martin, trade embalmers included Bo Norman, Charles “Chuck” Weldon, Tommy Wells.  Equally important to the business were porters, John Blackmon and Ernest Crumble keeping the custodial, cemetery set-ups.

Working and maintaining the business under the handicap of not having a full time licensed embalmer/mortician, Lacy Allen looked to his own family and youngest child for help.  Scotty Allen was sent to Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science enrolling in the August 15, 1972 Delta Tau Class graduating with honors August 17, 1973.  Beginning his tenure August 18, 1973, helping his Mother and Father. Shortly following his graduation, the Mississippi State Board of Embalmers, under special provisions licensed him.  An accomplished restorative artist, Scotty soon garnered the respect of the public and extended the goodwill so recognized by his predecessors.