Claybar Kelley

Specialties

Funerals, Cremations, Funerals, Cremations, Memorial Services, Floral Needs,

Pre-​arranged Plans, Cemetery & Monument Needs.

Family owned and operated for over sixty years, Claybar Kelley-​Watkins Funeral Home has been serving Southeast Texas with a commitment to excellence unsurpassed in our area. We have led the way in personalized funeral service — creatively celebrating life through meaningful ceremonies and gatherings. We have 3 funeral home locations, three cemeteries, two crematories, a floral shop and a beautiful family center designed for gatherings or receptions. We offer a wide variety of funeral or cremation options and prearranged funeral plans to meet any budget or service preference.

History

Established in 1901.

as Ed Brulin, local pioneer undertaker, went into partnership with John F. Pipkin to form Pipkin-​Brulin Funeral Home. J.D. Roberts, a well known funeral director in the South, founded Roberts Undertaking Company in Beaumont in 1922. In 1950, these two pioneer funeral homes merged under the leadership of Charles S. Kelley to become Roberts & Pipkin-​Brulin. Mr. Kelley began construction in 1956 on the new building located on Eleventh Street. In 1962, the name was changed to Kelley-​Hixson. In 1965, he expanded the company with the development of Haven of Rest Cemetery on Hwy 90, the construction of the area’s first crematory and the opening of a full service floral shop.

In 1991, Mr. Kelley handed the legacy, carefully guarded for over 90 years, to Frank and Dorendia Watkins and in July of 1993 the torch was passed again as Brown and Linda Claybar purchased all interest from the Watkins. The name was changed to reflect the merging legacies– Claybar Kelley-​Watkins.