By Nancy Price
Wilson St.Pierre Funeral Service & Crematory has restored the name of a Southside funeral home to honor the late William “Bill” Singleton of Greenwood.
Singleton Community Mortuary and Memorial Center, 7602 Madison Ave., Indianapolis, was renamed Singleton and Herr Mortuary after the St.Pierre family purchased the Singleton Community Mortuary building from Bill Singleton’s estate in October. Singleton passed away in 2017.
“We chose to name it Singleton and Herr in respect to Bill, primarily to ensure his name was on the building and keep the stability Bill would have wanted,” said Paul St.Pierre, president of Wilson St.Pierre. “The Singleton and St.Pierre names have both been the most trusted and respected names for seven decades together on the Southside.”
Singleton’s first job with a funeral home was with J.C. Wilson & Company, managed at that time by fourth-generational funeral director Robert R. St.Pierre, around 1959. Robert purchased the business in 1964.
“Bill was quite a young man but gained my grandparents’ trust quickly,” said Paul. “He was on our board of directors in the 1960s. Quite confident, he ventured out on his own and opened Singleton and Herr Mortuary in 1974.”
Hoping to retire in 1995, Singleton sold the mortuary in 1990 to a family in Illinois, yet decided to compete against the firm he sold, building Singleton Community Mortuary and Memorial Center.
“With all that knew him, most of the families he had served decided to use Singleton Community Mortuary, not his founding firm of Singleton and Herr,” said Paul. “Ironically, Wilson St.Pierre purchased Singleton and Herr from the Illinois owners in 2003. The St.Pierre’s long desired to offer the lowest prices in Perry Township, so we changed the brand from Singleton and Herr to not compete so closely to Bill next door. Our Simplicity Funeral Care brand, after a few short years, is now the leading provider of funeral and cremation care in Perry Township.”
Toney Edwards, Singleton’s successor of the business, has moved Singleton Community Mortuary to the west side of Indianapolis, at 1202 S. Lynhurst Dr. Indiana State Law states that if a consumer purchased a prearrangement with Singleton Community, they can move it to any funeral home of their choice.
“All those prearranged with Singleton Community are now transferred to their west side location,” Paul said. “If a family wants to remain on Madison Avenue in Bill’s old funeral home, they will have to stop in or call to initiate documents to keep it on the Southside. The entire Singleton and Herr staff led by Paul and Kristin St.Pierre can assist with this simple process.”
For more information, go to singletonandherrmortuary.com.
