Stoudenmire-Dowling Funeral Home

10/31/2025

Wishing you a safe and happy Halloween! 🎃

10/30/2025

View Paul Wilburn Hudson's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

10/28/2025

When you're ready to take that step, our caring staff is here to gently guide you through all your options.

10/23/2025

10/21/2025

Providing a welcoming space where memories are honored and loved ones are remembered.

10/21/2025

View Lyndal Gale Matthews's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

10/20/2025

View Angela M. Roop's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

10/16/2025

Today we’re excited to shine a spotlight on Pete, one of our funeral directors!

Pete is a native of the Netherlands. He attended East Carolina University and graduated from Gupton-Jones College of Mortuary Science. He holds dual licenses as a Funeral Director and Embalmer in both North Carolina and South Carolina. Before moving to Florence in 2001, Pete worked in North Carolina for 25 years.
He is a member of the Florence Kiwanis Club, where he previously served as President, and he currently serves on the Carolinas Kiwanis District Foundation Board. He has also been recognized as a George Hixon Fellow.
A U.S. Air Force veteran who served during Vietnam, Pete is a member of Florence VFW Post 3181 and the Calabash, NC, American Legion Post 503. He and his wife, Marti, are members of Central United Methodist Church and the Sarah Blanton Sunday School Class.

10/14/2025

Part 2 of our history!

In 1980, John F. Dowling joined as a funeral director and embalmer, later becoming manager and part-owner. Following Mr. Stoudenmire’s passing in 1986, Charlotte C. Stoudenmire became president, and Dowling vice president and general manager. In 1988, Dowling acquired full ownership, with his wife Wanda Haynes Dowling serving as vice president and office manager. Two years later, the funeral home was renamed Stoudenmire-Dowling Funeral Home, Inc.

By the mid-1990s, the Dowlings recognized the need for a larger, more modern facility to meet the needs of Florence’s growing community. After careful planning, they purchased land along Highway 301 and 52 South. On February 27, 1998, construction began on the new funeral home, ensuring that the legacy of service established decades earlier would continue.

10/09/2025

View Dennis Ray King's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

10/06/2025

For more decades, Stoudenmire-Dowling Funeral Home has been a trusted name in Florence when caring for our community's loved ones and today we're sharing our history!

Part 1: In the early 1900s, Earnest L. Oulla (1881–1960) acquired what was then known as the Vaughan Undertaking Company. He operated it as Oulla’s Inc., advertising “Furniture and Pianos, Ambulance Service, Funeral Directors,” from its location on South Dargan Street next to St. John’s Episcopal Church.

As the business grew, Oulla purchased the residence of Dr. Frank H. McLeod, Sr. at 300 South Dargan Street in the early 1930s. This stately brick home, completed in 1917, became the new home of Oulla Funeral Home. In 1946, Conner D. Stoudenmire (1911–1986) purchased the business, renaming it Stoudenmire Funeral Home in 1948. By 1973, he incorporated the firm and allowed employees to become stockholders, setting the stage for the business’s future growth.

Stay tuned for part 2!