11/08/2024
To all our family, friends, and families we have served over the last 18 years as Hancock Funeral Home, as we have seen time come quickly and living a quality life means so much to most everyone, we too have seen this in our own family and realized it is now time for us to enjoy some of what life has to offer outside of a 24 hour a day and 7 days a week lifestyle.
18 years ago we bought the former Moody Funeral Home and opened as Hancock Funeral Home on Sept. 29, 2006 and served many of you during this time frame, but as we lost our Mom, Margie Hancock in Feb. 24, 2022 after a brief illness of cancer, we have come to sit on the side of the table where many of you have sat before us. Life is precious and is but a glimpse in the li green scheme of things, and as of Oct. 31st, Dad (Allen) and myself made the very difficult decision to close the business. For those of you who don’t know, Dad was lucky and found a very precious lady and remarried and has moved to Winter Haven, and we love Helen and couldn’t be happier for them. Dad started working in the funeral business when he was 16 years old with Russell Bevis and worked with Southerland Funeral Home and then Seidel Funeral Home in Fort Meade and then Well Funeral Home in Plant City. He then went in as an architect with Mobil Chemical Co. and then went in to be an architect and designer with Public Supermarkets, retiring as their Equipment Coordinator for all of the Publix stores. He then had to be on the go and worked with Kenny Rogers opening his restaurants, Kenny Rogers Roasters, all the while during this time working part time with Dan Moody. I (Chuck) at 13 years old decided I wanted to go into the funeral business and at 16 years old began working with Dan Moody in this building we own today, and stayed with him until he retired in 1995. Our family along with Lacey and Sharon McClellan formed Hancock & McClellan Funeral Home in 1996 and was sold by Lacey to McLean’s in 1999. After a short tenure away from the funeral business both Dad and I brought along my brother Russell and my Mom into the funeral business once again and started Hancock Funeral Home in 2006. So for 66 years Dad, who is now 82, has worked in the funeral homes of Fort Meade and myself , this year being 38 years ago working with many families in Fort Meade during their family deaths. Mom sat behind a desk for 15 of those years doing the business books, sending cards and doing the outreach. My brother Russell is now the Director for the Fort Meade Chamber of Commerce, and it is now time for us too, to live a relaxed lifestyle and enjoy the time we have left to walk this earth. We hope you can understand how difficult of a decision this was to make as we do not want to let anyone down when they need us, but it’s time to retire. I will begin a new venture and will still be local. I’ve got a lot of knowledge and history and remember many things people want when they pass away. So any questions, do not mind calling me.
I’m sure there are and will be many questions, and all preneed monies and prearrangements are safe and we are working to have these taken care of by another area funeral home and we can let you know that information as it is finalized in the coming days. Any current deaths will be handled by calling our office number as usual and will be handled through Ponger-Kays-Grady Funeral Home in Wauchula. They are a longtime family owned business that takes great pride in the families they serve. Our website will remain up as usual but serve as a historical basis and informational center. All obituaries and memorial videos will remain there so they will not be lost or go away. You will always have access to these. Should there be any questions further, you may call the funeral home number at 863-285-8171 as I mentioned above or by calling my cell number at 863-581-6101 and I will be glad to talk with you. My phone stays quite busy, so if I don’t answer, please leave a message and I will call you back.
But we want to again thank everyone and extend our love and thanks to all of you and for your support through the years. We hope that you all will now support our decision of beginning our chapter 2 in life. Again our best to you all!!!
Best regards always,
Chuck Hancock
