Our History
The Howze Mortuary, Inc., Inc. is a family owned and operated funeral home located in the Northern part of Greenville County. The mortuary is owned by Raymond “Bo” and Brynda Brown and they have been helping families in the area for the past 28 years.
The mortuary traces its roots back to 1948 when Harold Stillwell opened The Stillwell Mortuary in a two story home on North Poinsett Highway in Travelers Rest. Around 1950 Mr. Stillwell built a new modern facility just down the street and continued to serve the community until 1958.
Then in 1958 the mortuary was sold to James M. O’Dell and he continued operating at this location until 1963. In 1963 Mr. O’Dell decided it was time to grow so he bought a home at the corner of State Park Road and Poinsett Highway and remodeled it to become the new O’Dell Mortuary.
In August of 1972 Townes and Kathleen Howze purchased the mortuary from Mr. O’Dell. In 1973, the name was changed to The Howze Mortuary, Inc.. On June 20, 1996 ground was broken for our current state of the art funeral home. On April 27th, 1997 a dream of the Howze’s to give the Travelers Rest area a new funeral home was realized. Our mortuary has a 200 plus seat chapel, 4 spacious viewing/visitation rooms and ample parking. We at The Howze Mortuary, Inc. believe that personal service is the backbone of our business and for the last 50 years we have offered service that is second to none. In 2009 Raymond & Brynda Brown purchased the mortuary from the Howze family and will continue to give the Travelers Rest area the compassionate family oriented service that has been the main focus of our 74 year heritage.
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Raymond “Bo” Brown III Owner/Manager /SC Licensed Funeral Director, FD2346/SC Licensed Embalmer, EMB1818
Raymond and his wife Brynda purchased the mortuary from the Howze family in 2009. Raymond is a licensed Funeral Director/Embalmer and has been with the mortuary since 1994. Originally from Piedmont, SC, Bo is a 1977 graduate of Wren High School and 1996 graduate of Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service. He was the South Carolina Funeral Director’s Piedmont Group Chairman in 1998 and has served on the North Greenville Hospital Advisory Council. He is a member of the Travelers Rest Historical Society, National Railway Historical Society, National Vice President of the Railroadiana Collectors Association, Inc., Vice-President of the Carolina Railroad Heritage Association and has in the past had a Christian Clown Ministry. Brynda is a life long resident of Travelers Rest and was born and raised here in the community. She is also a member of the Travelers Rest Historical Society, National Railway Historical Society, Carolina Railroad Heritage Association and also helps with the Christian Clown Ministry. Bo and Brynda enjoy traveling and looking for Railroad Memorabilia along with meeting up with fellow collectors in attending shows around the country. They have a love for Greyhounds and cherish their two, Angel and Rain.
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Steven A. Norman Assistant Manager/SC Licensed Funeral Director/Embalmer, FDE2686
Steve has been with The Howze Mortuary since 1998. Prior to that he had a successful seventeen year career with two fortune 500 companies working in materials management. He is a native of Tuscarawas County, OH and is a licensed South Carolina Funeral Director and Embalmer and also has his South Carolina Preneed License through the State of South Carolina Insurance Commission. Steve is a 1981 honors graduate of Fitchburg State College (now Fitchburg State University) in Massachusetts earning a B.S. in Business Administration and a 2002 honors graduate of Piedmont Technical College earning an A.S. in Funeral Service. He is a member of the Piedmont Group of the South Carolina Funeral Directors Association, National Funeral Directors Association and the American APICS Society. He is married to the former Laura Salvadori, who works at The Center For Developmental Services in Greenville; son, Dr. Brian F. Norman, PharmD and his wife, Dr. Lauren (Mackey) Norman, PharmD and their daughter, Blakely Lauren Norman, step-sons: Baine Dalton and his son Brian Bailey Dalton and Brad Dalton and his wife Jasmine and their children, Skylar Siena Rose Dalton and Eli Zayne Dalton along with their four legged companion dog, Luke and cats, Molly and Mokie. Steve and his wife are members of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Easley, enjoy traveling to their second home in Riviera Maya, Mexico, attending auctions, attending music events, hiking and spending time in the kitchen cooking together. Along with playing a little golf on the side, Steve enjoys cheering on his Ohio State Buckeyes and has the aspiration of hiking the Appalachian Trail after his retirement.
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Dean E. Weinmueller SC Licensed Funeral Director/Embalmer, FDE3213
Dean has been employed with The The Howze Mortuary since March of 2002. Dean is originally from Vassar, MI and prior to working in Funeral Service, Dean had a successful career in Textile Manufacturing. Dean attended Bob Jones University and is a 2005 graduate of Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service in Atlanta, GA. He is a member of The National Funeral Directors Association along with the South Carolina Funeral Directors Association - Piedmont Group. Dean and his wife Teresa are members of Freedom Baptist Church in Berea and Teresa is retired from Pickens County School District and is the Administrative Assistant here at the mortuary. They have two sons: Hans Weinmueller, wife Kathie and grandson Tyler and Erich Weinmueller and his wife Andrea. Both of his sons are Deputy's with The Greenville County Sheriff's Department. Dean's brother Danny Weinmueller, helps us out here at the mortuary and we enjoy his smiling face and dedication around the mortuary.
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Matt Moyer Advance Planning Director/SC Licensed Funeral Director/Embalmer, FDE2739
Matt has been with The Howze Mortuary since August of 2012. Matt is originally from Easley, SC having graduated from Piedmont Technical College, Funeral Service Program in July 2002. Matt is a licensed South Carolina Funeral Director/Embalmer and also has his State of South Carolina Preneed License. Matt is married to the former Susan Roberts of Greenville and they are members of Easley Bible Methodist Church in Easley. They have four children: Clark, Dalton, Duncan and Will.
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Jonathan R. Norris SC Licensed Apprentice Funeral Director/Embalmer, AFDE3937
Jonathan has been with The Howze Mortuary since February of 2015 and is a graduate of Wade Hampton High School. He holds his Certificate in Funeral Directing from the Funeral Service Program at Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood, SC and is currently serving his Apprenticeship. Jonathan is married to the former Chelsea Snyder and they have four children, Liam Wade Norris, Amelia Rose Norris, Baker Thomas Norris and Hazel Jane Norris along with their family pet dogs, Chuck, Willow and Scout. Jonathan enjoys playing golf in his spare time and spending time with his family and friends.
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Jim Braziel SC Licensed Apprentice Funeral Director/Embalmer, AFDE4295
Jim has been with the Howze Mortuary since April of 1996. Jim, who is an Ordained Minister is retired from The Greenville County Sheriff Office and was formerly the manager of Sharpshooters Indoor Range in Greenville. Jim is currently serving his Apprenticeship as a Funeral Director/Embalmer here at the mortuary. Jim and his wife Gail who recently retired from the City of Travelers Rest as City Clerk are life long residents of Travelers Rest and attend Bethel Baptist Church in Greenville.
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Teresa Weinmueller Administrative Assistant, Non-Licensed Staff
Teresa joined The Howze Mortuary in June of 2021 as an Administrative Assistant. Teresa is the wife of Dean Weinmueller who is a Funeral Director here at The Howze Mortuary. She is a retired school teacher from the Pickens County School District and a member of Freedom Baptist Church in Berea. She is the proud mother of her two sons: Hans Weinmueller, his wife Kathie and their son, Tyler along with her son Erich Weinmueller and his wife Andrea.
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Doug Godfrey Part Time Associate, Non-Licensed Staff
Doug has been with The Howze Mortuary since March of 2016. Doug has been in the ministry for 23 years and is currently the pastor of Little Mountain Baptist Church in Wellford, SC. Doug and his wife Amy live in Lyman, SC and they have three children: Morgan, Sam and Luke along with a new granddaughter, Macie Illa Grace Godfrey. Doug is employed with The Greenville County School System and proudly served his country in The United States Marine Corps. having served in Iraq.
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Dave Hamblen Part Time Associate, Non-Licensed Staff
Dave has been with The Howze Mortuary since November of 2016. Originally from Lima Ohio, Dave is a retired Respiratory Therapist with Spartanburg Regional Hospital. Dave and his wife Laurie are residents of Easley, SC and enjoy traveling to the beach and spending time with their family, especially their grandchildren.
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Benny Holmes Part Time Associate, Non-Licensed Staff
Benny has been with The Howze Mortuary since September of 1999. Benny grew up in Travelers Rest, graduating from Travelers Rest High School and is a Lieutenant with the Wade Hampton Fire Department - Wade Hampton Blvd. He has one son, Tyler, along with 5 stepchildren: Emma, Noah, Eli, Owen and Alex. Benny is married to Measha Holmes and they enjoy traveling to the mountains and the beach.
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Joseph Hudson Part Time Associate, Non-Licensed Staff
Joseph joined The Howze Mortuary in September of 2019. He is currently the Minister of Music at Cleveland First Baptist Church in Cleveland, SC. Joseph is a graduate of Travelers Rest High School and has furthered his education at North Greenville University. In his spare time, Joseph is an avid collector of railroadania and enjoys fishing with friends.
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Del Huff Part Time Associate, Non-Licensed Staff
Del has been with The Howze Mortuary since February of 2020. He attended Travelers Rest High and Greenville Technical College where he earned his AS Degree in Electricity/Electronics. Del and his wife Kim started Splash Pools Inc. here in Travelers Rest and owned the business for 28 years before selling in 2016. Del is a veteran of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force and retired from the Air Force Reserves in 2011. Del and Kim are members of Locust Hill Baptist Church.
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Jim Kowalczyk Part Time Associate, Non Licensed Staff
Jim has been with The Howze Mortuary since May of 2012. Jim is a retired CFO/Accountant hailing from Chicopee, Massachusetts and is married to the former Linda Frigon. They have 5 children and 5 grandchildren. His wife is a retired nurse with The Greenville County School System and they reside in Greer. In their spare time, Jim and Linda enjoy camping, the beach and traveling to New England visiting family.
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John Moon Part Time Associate, Non-Licensed Staff
John has been with The Howze Mortuary since September of 2020. John and his wife Judy are members of North Fork Baptist Church.
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Jerry Norris Part Time Associate, Non-Licensed Staff
Jerry has been with The Howze Mortuary since September of 2016. Jerry is the elder statesman in the Norris trio that works here at The Howze Mortuary. Jerry and his wife Patricia are members of Overcome Church and reside in Greenville.
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Randall Norris Part Time Associate, Non-Licensed Staff
Randall "Pistol" Norris has been with The Howze Mortuary since June of 2016. He is married to the former Sherry Goodreau where they are members of Overcome Church and reside in Travelers Rest. Randall is the father of Jonathan Norris who is a Funeral Director Assistant here at the mortuary; two daughters, Lindsay Barker and Lauren Swan, and is the son of Jerry and Patricia Norris. Randall is employed with Blackhawk, Inc. and in his spare time he loves to fish, has a clown ministry with clown name "Pistol", sings with the group "Heartsound Quartet" and dresses as Santa during the Christmas season.
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Derrel Robinson Part Time Associate, Non-Licensed Staff
Derrel joined The Howze Mortuary in May of 2003. He is currently the Pastor at Lima Baptist Church in Travelers Rest, SC. Derrel is a graduate of Travelers Rest High School and Fruitland Baptist Bible College in Hendersonville, NC. Derrel and his wife Freda live in Travelers Rest and have three sons: Michael and wife Rebecca, Adam and wife Channing and Jacob and wife Emily and their two children: River and Halley. Derrel enjoys spending time with his family and friends along with gardening and hunting in his spare time.
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Keith Simpson Part Time Associate, Non-Licensed Staff
Keith has been with The Howze Mortuary since March of 2021. Keith is married to Anita Batson Simpson and they were the previous owners of Piedmont Portraits, Inc. here in Travelers Rest and are members of Forestville Baptist Church. They are the proud parents of two sons: B.J. Simpson, who went to be with the Lord in December of 2018 and Dylan Simpson along with a daughter: Kaelyn Simpson. Keith enjoys spending time with his family, going to the beach and playing a little golf on the side.
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Stephen E. McCombs Retired
Stephen has been with The Howze Mortuary since January of 2014. Stephen is a life long resident of northern Greenville County graduating from Slater - Marietta High School and is retired from the Travelers Rest Post Office. His wife Libby is retired from Gateway Family Medicine here in Travelers Rest and they reside in Marietta. Stephen recently retired July 3, 2022 from the mortuary and we wish him well in the years ahead.
