Dec. 11 – TERRA ALTA – Arthur H Wright Funeral Home in Terra Alta celebrates more than 130 years of funeral service on Sunday. In sharing the anniversary news, owners Jerry and Jennifer Field also announced the groundbreaking expansion of their funeral chapel.
Field said the groundbreaking ceremony will take place Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Arthur H. Wright Funeral Home on Highland Avenue in Terra Alta.
“The new chapel is expected to open in the summer/fall of 2025,” said Jennifer Field, “and will better serve the families we serve in the Preston County community. The expansion to our main building will also allow us to prepare for the future. We continue to provide exceptional care.
She said Fike-Watson Funeral Home, now Arthur H. Wright Funeral Home, has served families in the Preston County area and beyond for 130 years. Field said longevity in business is one of the hallmarks of continued success over time and can indicate a company’s reputation and commitment to quality services.
“Since September 1966, our Highland Avenue building has proudly served as a funeral home.” she said. “It wasn’t just brick and mortar, it was a familiar place, a place that has become a tradition in itself.”
Field said a number of renovations were made to the property in 2017, including adding two wheelchair-accessible restrooms. She said new paint, carpet and furnishings gave the funeral home a warm and inviting feel. Improvements have also made the building fully handicapped accessible and many other items have been updated. She said the name of the funeral home will not be changed.
Field also spoke about the history of the funeral home.
“One hundred and thirty years ago, Adolphus R. Fike had a dream,” she said. “Even though he was a successful farmer, merchant, contractor and furniture maker, he felt led to do something that would really make a difference in people’s lives. He saw a need in the community to serve families when there was a death. entered the funeral industry in 1894 as a partner at AR Fike, a company in Eglon, where they not only provided funeral services, but also made caskets and crude casket vaults.
“Adolphus was a graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Embalming in 1903. This is a special date for me because ninety years later I graduated from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science in 1993.”
Adolphus Fike was never one to rest on his laurels and was always looking for new ways to improve his business.
“After moving his business to Terra Alta in 1907, he had many firsts in Preston County,” Field said. “He owned the first horse-drawn hearse, the first grave-lowering device with grave grass and even purchased the first motorized hearse in 1917.”
The company itself evolved over time, changing locations and owners over the years.
“Fike-Watson Funeral Home did business in several buildings in Terra Alta,” Field said. In its early years it was housed in a building on Washington Street. In the 1930s, the Fike-Watson Funeral Home, then owned by PR Watson Sr., Lulu Fike Watson and PR Watson Jr., purchased the old Casseday Motel and moved it company there. In 1966, John and Norma Whitehair bought the company. They soon bought this building, called Sunset Hall, here on Highland Ave. and they lived there for 35 years above. John graduated from Terra Alta High School in 1945 and later graduated from Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. He also ran a successful ambulance service in partnership with the funeral home.
The year 1985 brought another change, she said.
“Art and Sylvia Wright purchased the business and building and changed the name to Arthur H. Wright Funeral Home,” she explained. “They performed services and made their home in Sunset Hall until their retirement in 1995. At that time, Mark Spear, Sonia and Robby Greaser teamed up and purchased the funeral home. This partnership lasted until 2015 when they sold the business to my husband Jerry and I. We were committed to continuing the legacy of exceptional care that the company has been able to provide. While the funeral home was under new ownership, the same level of personal service that you had come to know remained, and will be trust for many will continue to exist year to year.”
On Sunday, before the ceremony, drinks will be served at 12:30 p.m. There will be guest speakers and the Preston County Honor Guard will be in attendance. Field said it will be an outdoor ceremony and advises attendees to dress accordingly.
To contact Arthur H. Wright Funeral Home, call 304-789-2291. For the Field Funeral Home, located at 10537 Veterans Memorial Highway, in Masontown, call 304-864-5295.
