J. L. Woods' Undertaking Company

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about J. L. Woods' Undertaking Company in Burleson County.

Now settle in, because this is a story about a man who started with coffins on a shelf and built something that outlasted him. Jebb Lee Woods came to Somerville in 1900. He came to work for his uncle at the Cowboy Merchant Store, and among the goods that store carried, there were coffins.

Most men sell dry goods or hardware and call it a career. Jebb Lee Woods was already thinking a little further down the road. By 1911, he made his move.

He became the town undertaker and opened the first funeral parlor in all of Burleson County. First one. Nobody else had done it.

Now, the practice of embalming didn't even begin there until 1914, and when coffins were needed, they came from traveling salesmen who rolled through with their wares. And when a family needed that final ride, there was a horse-drawn hearse to carry them, right up until 1929. After Jebb Lee Woods passed in 1932, the family didn't close up shop.

His descendants kept right on running the business, the way you do when something means more than just a livelihood. In time, the operation became known as Strickland Funeral Home, Inc., and to this day it remains a family business. Jebb Lee Woods showed up in Somerville in 1900 selling coffins for somebody else.

He left behind something that's still standing.

What the marker says

Jebb Lee Woods (1872-1932) came to Somerville in 1900. He began working for his uncle at the Cowboy Merchant Store, where he sold coffins. In 1911 he became the town undertaker and started the first funeral parlor in the county. The practice of embalming first began in 1914 and coffins were purchased from traveling salesmen. A horse-drawn hearse was used until 1929. Woods family descendants continued to operate the business after his death. Later known as Strickland Funeral Home, Inc., it remains a family business.