Our History
On October 9, 2000, Daren Flanagan of Marietta and the Watts family of Madill purchased the funeral home in Marietta from John Kennedy. Today, Flanagan-Watts Funeral Home is continuing the firm’s tradition of caring service the people of Marietta and this area have come to depend on since the funeral home was established in 1914. The original owners, Lon T. and Lula Selz Burton, began the undertaking business in the 100 block of West Main Street in 1914. In 1934, the couple built a new brick building on the east side of Main Street where the funeral home is presently located. George and Eva Jenkins Goodrich moved to Marietta in 1938 and became partners in the business with Mrs. Burton in 1939 after her husband’s death. The three ran the business together until 1942 when Mr. Goodrich was called into the United States Navy as a medical corpsman. While he was in service, Mrs. Burton and Mrs. Goodrich continued the business.
Mrs. Burton sold the business to the Goodrichs just prior to her death in 1946, and they continued to operate the funeral home until their retirement in 1976. In November 1967, William G. (Bill) and Betty Anderson moved to Marietta to work with the Goodrichs. John Kennedy purchased the funeral home from the Andersons in 1985, after working with them for several years.
The latest sale of the business to co-owners, Daren Flanagan and the Watts family, keeps the tradition alive of selling to one of the employees. Associated with the funeral home since June 1993, Daren graduated from the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service in 1996. The Watts family has been in the funeral business in Madill since 1926. Their company is currently owned by Bryant Watts, grandson of the company’s founder, and his sons, M.B. and Brad. The family also owns a funeral home in Kingston.
Locally owned and operated, the funeral home staff strives to provide the same high quality service in a friendly, caring atmosphere that the business was established on so many years ago. To better serve our friends and neighbors, our new facility was completed in July 2005.