2016-7-26 "The History of Roller Funeral Homes" by Renata Jenkins Byler

"The History of Roller Funeral Homes" was the presentation of Renata Jenkins Byler at the July 2016 meeting of the Baxter County Historical & Genealogical Society. According to Renata Jenkins Byler, granddaughter of the founder, Roller Funeral Homes traces its history back almost 130 years, and since those earliest days, the company has always been about family. The Roller family’s third generation today carries on the traditions founder Denver Roller first established. Renata Jenkins Byler is Vice President of Marketing and Facilities for Roller Funeral Homes. Renata Byler says, “if not for the will and charm of company founder Denver Roller, this success story with the family theme and the motto, ‘With all our respect,’ might never have been. My grandfather started in the funeral home business in Mountain Home.” She notes that Denver Roller worked at McClure Funeral Home, and when the owner offered him the chance to buy the funeral home, he took the opportunity. “My grandfather was the only embalmer/mortician in a six-county area, and he took care of everyone’s needs through World War II,” Byler said. “He also ran the ambulance service, which funeral homes generally did in those days, and he was making trips to Springfield [Mo.] and Little Rock on dirt roads.” Byler says her granddad met Christine Nail in Mountain Home in the fall of 1936. “He told her they were going to get married on Jan. 1, 1937. She told him he was crazy, but he followed her to Kansas City and continued to insist they were going to be married on Jan. 1. And my grandparents were married for 49 years until his death.” But, Byler said, Roller could not grow the business he wanted in Mountain Home, so he sold the funeral home back to McClure and moved to Little Rock. Over the years, through a series of carefully chosen acquisitions, the Roller family expanded its presence across Arkansas, and when the family performed Denver Roller’s own funeral on his 70th birthday in 1985, there were 13 funeral homes that carried the Roller name. A family of more than 300 employees represents the face, heart and soul of the company across Arkansas and into Memphis and the thousands of families entrust Roller to provide its services – and its support – in the most emotionally trying times of their lives.