Parthemore's History

The History of Parthemore Funeral Home

A Family Tradition of Caring

The funeral home founders, Gil and Sondra Parthemore, have fond memories of growing up in small town New Cumberland. Gil’s introduction to funeral service began at age 15 when he started working at the cemetery cutting grass and digging graves. The couple opened their funeral home in 1969, after they purchased the home of Dr. Carl and Mrs. Marjorie Ervin.

During the early years, Gil and Sondra were the sole employees and worked together to provide services. They met with the families to make arrangements, wrote obituaries, managed viewings and services, parked cars and tended to details, all the while raising three young sons.

Three Generations

The Parthemore’s oldest son, Gib, was nine-years-old when they opened for business. He immediately became interested in the business, as did his younger brothers, Bruce and Steve. After attending college and graduating from mortuary school, Gib and Bruce joined the staff of the funeral home in 1984. Later in 1989, Steve joined his brothers and became a funeral director with the home. In 1998, Gil passed the torch to sons, Gib and Steve, who were named Supervisor and president, respectively.

“In the beginning, when the boys first began working at the funeral home, people would call and always wanted to speak to the ‘old man,’ recalls Sondra. “Now they ask for one of the boys. It feels good to know that our community has confidence in the next generation.” That confidence also extends to the third generation of Parthemores. Grandson, Gibby Parthemore became the third generation licensed funeral director to join the home in 2018.

Dedicated to Serving

Over the past five decades the Parthemores have held the firm belief that dignity, compassion and professionalism are of utmost importance to the families they serve. This dedication to helping people who have suffered a loss is shared by all of the staff members who have been a part of the funeral home. Many dedicated employees have worked alongside the family for decades. We owe much of our success to all of our staff.

Parthemore Funeral Home is a longstanding member of the National Funeral Directors Association, the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association and the International Order of the Golden Rule (IOGR). IOGR, an invitation-only professional organization, includes 1,200 independent funeral homes that are guided in their business practices by the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Changes Over the Years

Originally built in 1928, the funeral home remains a landmark in New Cumberland. Throughout the last five decades, the facility has been expanded and improved. In 1986, the building was expanded to include a spacious chapel for services, handicap ramp, merchandise selection areas and a private arrangement room. More recently in 2017, the chapel and foyer were redecorated to make the rooms more comfortable and spacious. In keeping with their commitment to provide full-service, state-of-the-art, professional offerings to the community, the Parthemores will be adding their very own Tribute Center and Crematory in the very near future.

In addition to physical changes at the funeral home, the Parthemores have also continually expanded and updated the types of services that they offer to families. The funeral service is an important first step in the healing process. Some families prefer more traditional services, while others opt for more personalized, contemporary options. Whether you choose a cemetery burial, cremation or green burial, the funeral home is able to plan a service that honors the family’s loved one.

Even though commemorating the life of a loved one is a very intimate event, Parthemore Funeral Home is able to blend in the latest technology to help tell the story of the person’s life and share memories with family and friends. Social media and the funeral home’s website play a big part in sharing memories. Parthemore also offers the ability for families to webcast services, so that those who are not able to attend can do so remotely.

The one thing that hasn’t changed in the past 50 years is Parthemore’s commitment to being a part of the fabric of the community that it serves by providing a family tradition of caring.