Chad Snyder, of the Snyder Funeral Home family, would like to invite the community to celebrate the transition of the funeral home on South Main Street back to its origins as a healthcare center. The former Dr. Nathan Tucker Laboratory and doctor’s office is planned to become the Morrow Family Health Center, with the opening planned for Spring 2016.

The new “Morrow Family Health Center” will provide affordable, high-quality medical, dental and behavioral health services for all ages. Presently, the Morrow Family Health Center is operating Monday through Friday 8:00 am-4:30 pm at their temporary location of 235 W. High St., Mount Gilead.

“This opportunity is bittersweet for our family,” Chad stated. “While it was a difficult decision to make, we felt this presented a great opportunity for the people of our community and for all of Morrow County.”

The Morrow Family Health Center is a federally qualified health center (FQHC) that will accept uninsured individuals on a sliding fee scale that is based on family size and income, as well as those who have insurance, Medicaid and Medicare.

The facility currently known as Snyder Funeral Home was built in 1900 by Dr. Nathan Tucker to operate his medical practice and laboratory, which he founded in 1889. Dr. Tucker quickly became world renowned for his asthma treatment, known as Dr. Tucker’s Asthma Specific. Along with the success of his practice, Dr. Tucker gave generously to the community, and helped build many of the structures throughout downtown Mount Gilead. Continuing to recognize Dr. Tucker’s significance to the community, each year the Mayor of Mount Gilead presents the Dr. Nathan Tucker Award of Excellence to an individual whose efforts have made Mount Gilead an even better place to live.

In 1910, Dr. Nathan Tucker passed along the management of the business to Dr. W. B. Robinson, who later passed it down to his son, Dr. G. B. Robinson. Dr. G. B. Robinson died in a plane crash on September 1, 1959, and subsequently the laboratory was closed. The property remained vacant until it went up for auction in 1962. The Snyder Funeral Home family, which was founded in Johnsville in 1922, made the decision to expand and purchased the building. After extensive remodeling, the Snyder’s opened their Mount Gilead funeral home to the public in April of 1963.

“With the growing community due to the oil boom, our family responded to the need for a second funeral home in Mount Gilead,” Chad added. The funeral home operating in Mount Gilead at the time, Craven Funeral Home, was founded by Dale Craven in 1926, who started in the building best known as Bowen’s Jewelry Store. The business was relocated to the old Whitney home in 1934, which remains its current location, 67 North Main Street, in Mount Gilead. Mr. Craven later passed the business to his son, Max Craven, until 1985 when they turned to the Snyder Funeral Home family to carry on their tradition of service and care. Snyder Funeral Homes has continued to operate both locations in Mount Gilead for the past 30 years.

“Change began for our two funeral homes in 2010, when we remodeled our Craven Chapel. More and more families chose to use that facility, as it was more accommodating with updated technology and a comforting decor,” Chad explained. “For the past several years, the vast majority of the families we have had the honor of serving, have preferred to use the Craven Chapel, making it no longer necessary to maintain two locations in Mount Gilead. However, when this opportunity presented itself, the decision still weighed heavily on our hearts. The Snyder Chapel not only served hundreds of families from our community, but has also served as a home for our family for three generations, and continues to be where my grandmother, Madelyn Snyder, resides. There have been countless memories made here.”

Chad continued, “Looking back it is difficult to understand the magnitude of our family’s decision to move to Mount Gilead, but without this bold move by our founding fathers, Snyder Funeral Homes would not be the organization it is today. This move became a cornerstone of our corporation, which enabled us to grow to now own and operate 16 funeral home locations, over six counties. We have been very blessed to serve this community for fifty-two years, and we look forward to continuing to do so. We truly appreciate the ongoing support.”

Courtesy Photo Chad Snyder stands in front of the funeral home where he and three generations of his family spent their childhood. The building will become home to the Morrow Family Health Center in teh Spring of 2016.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/12/web1_Chad-Snyder-for-Sentinel.jpgCourtesy Photo Chad Snyder stands in front of the funeral home where he and three generations of his family spent their childhood. The building will become home to the Morrow Family Health Center in teh Spring of 2016.

Courtesy Photo For ten years, the building by Dr. Nathan Tucker at the corner of S. Main St. and Marion St. was known as Dr. Tucker’s Asthma Specific. The business closed in 1959 and was sold at auction in 1962 to the Snyder funeral Home family, of Johnsville.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/12/web1_Dr-Tucker-Building-for-Sentinel.jpgCourtesy Photo For ten years, the building by Dr. Nathan Tucker at the corner of S. Main St. and Marion St. was known as Dr. Tucker’s Asthma Specific. The business closed in 1959 and was sold at auction in 1962 to the Snyder funeral Home family, of Johnsville.