Our History
Brunswick Memorial Park Funeral Home is a locally owned and operated funeral home, you may wonder what this means to you. Well it all started back in 1986, when Richard Parker purchased Brunswick Memorial Park as a cemetery, to provide the very best in cemetery needs for Glynn County. In 1995 he built the funeral home on the same grounds to offer even more in services for years to come. Nearly ten years later he purchased Chapel Park Cemetery in Brunswick and Oglethorpe Memorial Gardens on St. Simons Island. Once again to provide the highest level of cemetery services available.
Brunswick Memorial Park Funeral Home offers something to our client families that no other local funeral home can. We own and operate three local perpetual care cemeteries, Brunswick Memorial Park, Chapel Park Cemetery and Oglethorpe Memorial Gardens. Making arrangements for both funeral and cemetery with the same people reduces the stress associated with making those arrangements. For those who choose cremation, we also have our own on site crematory, and offer many cremation burial or inurnment options in all three of our cemeteries.
Our goal is to provide the very best in services, funeral needs, cemetery, and genuine care for the families that allow us to serve them. More families are choosing Brunswick Memorial Park Funeral Home for our variety of services and options. It is our honor to serve the people of Glynn and surrounding counties. With more and more funeral homes being owned by large “out of town” corporations, we are proud to be family owned and operated. We hope that you will allow a locally owned and family operated funeral home to serve you and your family.
Our vision is to be the leader of funeral and cemetery services in our community, this is our highest priority. We will accomplish this by ensuring genuine satisfaction, care and concern for our client-families and employees. We uphold the highest level of ethics and integrity with each and every person we come in contact with. We consider it an honor to serve those who trust us to do so. We take great pride in providing the highest level of care and service to all who choose Brunswick Memorial Park Funeral Home and cemeteries.
Thank you for your support of our calling. We respect your wishes, and desire only to serve those wishes. If you have any questions regarding the funeral home and/or the cemeteries, please do not hesitate to call on us to serve you.
Golden Isles Cremation Center
Golden Isles Cremation Center came to be out of a desire to offer the very best in respect and dignity, while keeping our service to you as simple as possible. Direct cremation gives individuals and families a different option from the traditional "funeral home". We are not just here to fill a need, but to build relationships, to earn trust and loyalty. For generations we have been committed to serving our neighbors in Brunswick and the surrounding area, assuring them of the finest personal care and understanding in their times of greatest need. Direct cremation gives an alternative to traditional services allowing the families we serve the freedom honoring the lives of their loved ones in their own way.
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Richard Parker, Owner/Operator
Richard Parker has been the Owner and Operator of Brunswick Memorial Park since 1986 when he purchased the cemetery, 11 years later he built what is now known as Brunswick Memorial Park Funeral Home. In addition, he owns the Chapel Park Cemetery and Oglethorpe Memorial Gardens, which he purchased in 2004. In 2005 he built the crematory at Brunswick Memorial Park and opened the Golden Isles Cremation Center to complete the Parker Family Company. For over 18 years, Mr. Parker has passionately served on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Cemetery Association and formerly held the title of President. He is currently the Vice President of the Georgia State Cemetery Board, and has twice served as the President in the past.
Family is extremely important to Mr. Parker and he employs his wife of 43 years, Arlene, his daughter Candice Jones and his grandson Cale Thorpe honorably serves as a Junior Funeral Assistant.
Richard not only enjoys working with his family, but values spending every moment possible with them. He enthusiastically supports his grandson in his Motocross endeavors, spending most afternoons and almost every weekend driving Cale and his bike to tracks all over Georgia and Florida. -
Arlene Parker, Administrative Assistant
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Brad Whiddon, Funeral Director - Manager
Brad Whiddon is a Funeral Director and Family Service Counselor for Brunswick Memorial Park & Funeral Home. He has been a part of the Brunswick Memorial Park family since 2002, but has been in the aftercare business for over 32 years. Brad graduated from Gumpton-Jones College of Funeral Services in 1989 and has been dedicated to taking care of families in their greatest time of need since then.
Brad shares his life with his wife of 24 years, Donna, on their farm in Camden County. He enjoys taking care of the farm whenever he can spare the time, since he is also a busy father of three grown children and two beautiful grandchildren. -
Candice Parker Jones, Administrative Director
Candice Parker Jones was born in Atlanta, but has lived in Brunswick since she was 5 years old. She is a true member of the Brunswick Memorial Park family, as she is the daughter of Richard Parker, the owner of the Parker Family Company. Candice started working in the funeral home back in high school as a part of a work study program but has been an official employee since 2001.
Candice is married to Kevin Jones, who has served Glynn County as a police officer for the past 20 years. She is also a dedicated mother to her son, Cale, and the family spends as much time as they can Motocross Racing. When Candice is not in the office she can be found on the side of a dirt track watching Kevin and Cale compete. -
Felicia Lee Staat, Funeral Director
Felicia Staat is a 2011 Summa Cum Laude graduate of the Funeral Service Program of Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach, VA. She joined Carter Funeral Home in 2011 as an apprentice and in 2013 became a licensed Funeral Director. In 2016, Felicia joined Brunswick Memorial Park Funeral Home and Golden Isles Cremation Center. She works with the other Funeral Directors and Office staff to assist families in making final arrangements during one of life's most difficult times.
Felicia is married to Chris Young and they share 5 children and 5 grandchildren. In her off time she likes to travel to near-by cities to explore, listen to good music, preferably live, and she also likes to enjoy a great glass of wine every once and awhile. -
Cale Parker Thorpe, Junior Funeral Assistant
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Kimberly Stevenot, Office Assistant
Kimberly Stevenot is a Vidalia, Georgia native who moved to Brunswick in 2006. After spending over a decade raising her 4 children, Kimberly joined the Brunswick Memorial Park family in 2017 when her youngest went off to Kindergarten. She is an office assistant who partners with the Funeral Directors and other office staff members to assist families in completing the necessary paperwork and processes during their time of grief.
When she is not at work, Kimberly enjoys going to the beach and watching movies with her husband, James and their children; Mason, Trip, Caden and Annaliese. She is an enthusiastic soccer/football/track/gymnastics mom and also likes reading, baking and regularly enjoys retail therapy to keep herself sane. -
David Valentine, Funeral Director
David Valentine is a Funeral Director at Brunswick Memorial Park Funeral Home. He recently joined the Parker Family Company in 2017 after relocating from Virginia, although he originally hails from North Augusta, South Carolina. David received his degree from Gumpton-Jones College of Funeral Service in Decatur. David partners with the other funeral directors and office staff to assist bereaved families in making the final arrangements for their loved ones.
David has two adult children, Brian and Katherine, and enjoys boating, camping and attending car shows. -
Taylor Dismuke, Funeral Coordinator/Office Assistant
Taylor Dismuke was born in Brunswick and lived here until her family relocated to her step-dads home town of Grand Marais, Minnesota. She spent middle school and half of her high school career there until her heart called her back home to Brunswick where She graduated from McIntosh County Academy in 2011. Taylor started a career into the nursing field in her senior year of high school and into her adult life. In 2015 that was put aside when she welcomed her son Huddson into the world and spent the next year as a full time Mom. Taylor joined the Parker Family Company in early 2017 as an Office Assistant who works with the Funeral Directors and office staff to complete paperwork as well as funeral/ memorial supplies during the families time of grief.
While Taylor is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, soaking up the sun and also spending as much time with her son as possible. -
Elaine Clark, Family Service Counselor
Elaine Clark has lived in the Brunswick, Georgia area most of her life, having moved from West Virginia when in her teens to be near her sister. Her mother and father also moved and this became “home”.
Elaine serves as our Family Service Counselor, assisting individuals in Advance Planning to lock in today’s prices for tomorrow’s needs. Her compassionate nature and desire to help people think through the process logically instead of emotionally over-spending helps prepare for “that day” when decisions can be more difficult. Elaine also explains and arranges advance payment options to fit one’s lifestyle and budget.
Elaine retired as Marketing Manager for Georgia Pacific Cellulose and had successful sales positions in the healthcare field. She is a Certified Trade Show Marketer through Northern Illinois University and a Certified Meeting Planner through the University of Georgia.
She enjoys spending time with her son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Cari, and grandson, Logan. She also enjoys reading, writing and zip-lining.