Our History
Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home established in 1885, is the oldest funeral home in Tullahoma. The business was founded by H. P Dewey and M. C. Troxler in a building at the corner of N. W. Atlantic and Moore Streets. Mr. Dewey and Mr. Troxler continued the business with the assistance of Mr. John Modrall until 1905 when Mr. Dewey passed away. Mr. Troxler operated the funeral home until 1912 when Mr. Charles Luther Moffatt from Troy, Tennessee purchased the business. Mr. Moffatt moved the funeral business to a new location on Grundy Street between N E Atlantic and Washington and operated it until his death in 1928. Mr. Claude Seagraves and Mr. Jim Malone purchased the funeral home after Mr. Moffatt’s death. In 1932 Mr. Fred Daves, a native of Mulberry, TN entered the business as a partner of Mr. Jim Malone. In 1934, Mr. Lee Shrader and Mr. R. O. Bomar became partners with Mr. Daves and in 1939, Mr. L. D. Ramsey became a partner. During this time, the funeral home was located on South Jackson Street between Lincoln and Lauderdale Streets.
In 1941, Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home contracted with Camp Forrest Army Command to provide services for military personnel stationed at Camp Forrest and their families. In 1942, Camp Forrest became a WW II prisoner of war camp. Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home also had the contract to provide services for those of the POW’s who died while at Camp Forrest.
In 1947, the funeral home was relocated to its present location, the former home of Mrs. G. A. Parker at 401 N. Jackson Street. Mr. Daves and Mr. Ramsey were partners from 1939 until 1949. In 1949, Mr. Bill Culbertson relocated from Columbia, Tennessee and became a partner with Mr. Fred Daves. In 1953, Mr. Culbertson bought out Mr. Daves and owned and operated the funeral home until his retirement in 1990. At that time, Mr. Jeff Gamble from Winchester, Tennessee purchased the funeral home. During the next two decades, the funeral home changed ownership a couple of times. In November of 2012, Mr. Jeff Gamble repurchased the funeral home. He is proud to be back in Tullahoma providing the quality funeral service families have come to know and trust for the past 128 years.
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Juanita M. Ruff, Licensed Funeral Director, Manager
Juanita was raised in Indianapolis, Indiana and graduated from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Natural Resources/Environmental Science. After graduation, she worked in the Environmental Division of Sargent and Lundy Engineers, Chicago, Illinois and for the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, Highland, Indiana. She and her husband, Joseph E. Ruff, Jr., relocated to Tullahoma, Tennessee in 1990. In 1995 she began working for Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home in Tullahoma as a Family Services Counselor. She became a Tennessee licensed Funeral Director in January, 1998. She continued to work at Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home until August 2005 when she and her husband decided to relocate to Connecticut due to Joe’s job transfer. In 2007 they were transferred to Atlanta, Georgia and then to Charlotte, North Carolina. In the spring of 2011 they returned to the Middle Tennessee area and Juanita began working for Coffee County Funeral Chapel in Manchester, Tennessee. In January of 2013, Juanita rejoined Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home. Juanita and Joe have two sons, Patrick Joseph Ruff and his wife, Laura and Ryan Christopher Ruff and his wife, Amy and five grandchilden, Sydney Warren, Jacob and Jackson Richards and Ethan Joseph and Kamden Jase Ruff. She and Joe reside in the Tullahoma area and are members of the First United Methodist Church of Tullahoma. Juanita is a member of the Tullahoma Downtown Lions Club and the Daughters of the American Revolution.
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Morris Wells, Non Licensed Funeral Assistant
Morris Wells, a native of Tullahoma, began his career in the funeral industry at Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home over 55 years ago. At that time, Daves-Culberston also provided ambulance service for the community. Through the years, he also worked for Gowan-Smith Funeral Home in Shelbyville and Motlow-Moore Funeral Home in Tullahoma. He returned to Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home in 1971 and has been continuously employed there for 42 years. He and his wife, Dora Lee Cates Wells have two sons, Ray Wells and his wife, Phyllis and Darryl Wells, both of Moore County; five grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Morris and his wife are members of the West End Baptist Church in Tullahoma.
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Kathy Brock, Family Services Advisor
Kathy Brock and her husband Larry moved to Manchester in 2006 from Tulsa, Oklahoma after Kathy’s retirement from Health Care. She has worked as a licensed insurance agent in Manchester for the past five years helping families prearrange their funerals.
Kathy is also a certified grief recovery specialist, providing grief support through First Baptist Church in Manchester where she and Larry are members.
Kathy’s son Craig and his wife Jan with their two children Sam and Emily live in Tullahoma, her daughter Kim Stewart and her family live in Mt. View, Arkansas.
Kathy loves spending time with her family. -
Bobby McBee, Non Licensed Funeral Assistant
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Bill Cox, Non Licensed Funeral Assistant
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Willie Brunosky, Non Licensed Funeral Assistant
Willie was born in Endicott, New York. He graduated from Union Endicott High School in 1984. Graduated from Ohio Christian University in Circleville Ohio with an Associates in Christian Education in 1987 and then moved to Huntsville Alabama.
He married his college sweetheart Brenda in 1988. While working secular jobs, he accepted a call from the Lord to become a minister. He was a Bi-vocational Associate Pastor from 1995-2000 and 2000-2003 was Young Married Couples Pastor at two different churches in Huntsville, Alabama. He became an ordained minister in 2000 in the Church of the Nazarene.
In the fall of 2003 moved to Winchester Tennessee to pastor the Brownington Church of the Nazarene where he and His family still reside.
Willie and Brenda have one son, Justin, who graduated from Tullahoma High School and is currently studying at Motlow State Community College.