In the early 1900s, R.J. McEwen, a carpenter and cabinet maker, started making coffins by hand for friends and neighbors as a simple, neighborly act without any thought of pay. The south was in the middle of a deadly flu epidemic and Mr. McEwen tried to fill a desperate need. Throughout rural areas in those days, neighbors served in the capacity of funeral directors as best they could. In 1915 his
son, Carl J. McEwen, began following in his father's footsteps. Father and son even stocked a few manufactured caskets for sale in their Mint Hill, North Carolina hardware store. This continued until 1921, when they purchased their first hearse and began servicing funerals. Bettie McEwen, Carl's sister, joined the company after serving in the armed forces. Business continued to increase and in 1926, McEwen Funeral Home of Mint Hill, North Carolina was formed. The McEwen family also recognized the need for the community to have an inexpensive burial park, so Evergreen Burial Park was developed in Mint Hill. In 1935, McEwen opened in Monroe, North Carolina, and built the current Mint Hill location in 1936. The people of Charlotte began calling on McEwen Funeral Services more and more as word spread. In 1947, the demand from Charlotte became so great that the family opened McEwen Funeral Service, Inc. at 727 E. Morehead St. With growing demand, McEwen Funeral Services opened in Derita in 1972 and the Pineville chapel was added in 1993. In 2007, McEwen's Morehead location moved to a new location adjacent to Sharon Memorial Park, which was established in 1939 and is now known as McEwen Funeral Service at Sharon Memorial Park. The McEwen family and their funeral homes and cemeteries have been providing funeral, cemetery and cremation services for Charlotte and surrounding communities for almost a century. Our commitment has remained unchanged and as always we have responded to the changing needs of our communities. We are proud to be a member of the Dignity Memorial® network of more than 1,800 funeral, cremation and cemetery providers. When you choose a Dignity Memorial provider, you not only receive the compassionate care you expect, but also the value you deserve from the largest and most trusted network of Funeral, cremation and memorialization services. Dignity Memorial providers offer exclusive benefits, including National Transferability of Prearranged Services, the Bereavement Travel Program, the 24-Hour Compassion Helpline® and access to an acclaimed grief management library.
