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Pat Reger says he still has a few memories of great-grandfather.

“I never had the chance to work with my great-grandad, but I did work with my grandfather and father,� he said.

Pat Reger said his father, George Reger, was the third generation to join the family business. That was in the 1950s. The lessons he remembers learning from his father included putting people first, treating them like family and having patience and understanding.

“My dad told me a long time ago that no matter how bad your day or your night was, when you come here and work, the people we’re seeing, theirs has been 10 times worse than you can imagine,� Pat Reger said.

That perspective has driven him for decades in a business that creates special connections with those it serves, he said.

“You can make a good living as a funeral director, but it’s not a business you get into for the money,� Pat Reger said.

He said he saw what it took from previous generations — the long hours and emotional toll. He joined the family business in the early 1980s.

“I never expected to get into this business,� Pat Reger said. “I saw how much work it was when I would work here during the summers, so I went to Marshall and went into sales. It wasn’t until my dad asked me to come give a hand one day that it really hit that this may be for me, and that was 40 years ago.�

Pat Reger takes over

Pat Reger took over the business after his father died in 1999. He said dealing with death every day didn’t make losing his dad any easier. And not only did he lose his father, he also lost his business partner.

“I no longer had that rock to lean on,� he said.

Fortunately, Pat Reger said he has a knowledgeable extended family in the Reger Funeral Home and Cremation Services’ staff. His brother, George Michael Reger, has more than 27 years in the business.

George Michael Reger said while he grew up around the funeral home business, like his brother Pat, he didn’t plan to become a funeral director.

“I went to college at Marshall and got out and became a sales guy,� he said. “I ended up losing a job and trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Pat had already been in the business and Dad was still around. And, you know, I kind of started thinking about being a little bit older and where I wanted to be in life. My friends were here and my family was here and I thought just talk to them to kind of get a feel for it.�

He said he wanted to be a funeral director, but he didn’t want to do the embalming part of it.

“At first I thought I could be somebody to show the pre-arrangement, but I realized if I was going to do it I was going to have to do it all,� George Michael Reger said. “All our funeral directors do it all. You’re funeral director and embalmer and you do a pre-arrangement. I think that says something about us and how we were taught from our dad, who was taught by his dad and granddad.�

Fifth generation joins

Andrew Reger joined in 2014.

“It’s just something that I wanted to do, but really it was at George’s graduation from mortuary school was when I think that’s when it settled in,� Andrew Reger said. “I remember standing there and I pulled on Dad’s shirt sleeve and I remember saying I want to do that. I want to be up there.�

Andrew Reger said he feels fortunate to be able to learn from those who’ve been so successful in the business.

“I was always told not to do this, to do something different, but I always knew I wanted to,� Andrew Reger said. “My dad wanted me to go out and have other experiences, which I did, but this is a business that I feel you have to have a calling for, and I was called.�

Reger’s extended family

Pat Reger said the funeral home employs 11, and each one is family. He said the funeral home’s extended family includes funeral director Sonya Nobel, who has more than 37 years of service. He added there are also long-time employees Tim Porter with 30 years of service, Jesse Simmons with 35 years, John Harrah with 18 years and administrator Sharon Gothard with 23 years.

“We also have Paul Muth with two years of service and Nancy Price with four years,� he said.

In 2019, the Reger Funeral Home & Crematory Ceredo-Kenova Chapel was established.

“That’s when we started doing our own cremations, and I think that’s been a benefit to our families,� Pat Reger said. “This allows us to do everything in house. We’re the ones doing the cremation. It’s not a third party. It’s one of us. We’re all licensed to do it, so your loved ones never leave our care now for that cremation to take place, whereas before that wasn’t the case. So right now, I think we’re still in the learning process of that, and how to operate our own crematory.�

Business changed in 100 years

The business, like most funeral homes in 1924, were at an actual home and the funeral directors usually lived upstairs.

“They had the visitation at the home and most of the services were in churches,� George Michael Reger said. “Today, it’s quite the opposite. Funeral services are conducted in the funeral home.�

After establishing the funeral home, Henry and James Reger decided to build a 250-seat chapel, a rarity at the time, he said.

“A lot of our funerals are conducted in the chapel now, as opposed to go into someone’s church,� George Michael Reger said. “And the other thing we’ve seen is cremation services have increased. So that’s just changed the the style of services that we provide, which includes funeral services, burial, cremation and live or delayed funeral webcasting so the service can be viewed online.�

Pat Reger said at one time the funeral home had an ambulance service.

“In the old days, the funeral directors saw a need in the community because there was no one to do that, and so they provided an ambulance service,� he said. “You had a lot of work between running an ambulance business and running a funeral home.�

Pat Reger said they stopped the service in 1986 when modern ambulance and emergency management services were created in cities and counties.

“It got to the point where you were going to have to have paramedics and EMTs (emergency management technicians) on the ambulances. The personnel we had, they didn’t want to get those licenses, and we as funeral directors were not going to get those licenses, either.�

Centennial celebration

In celebration of the centennial, the Regers have set up a small display of the funeral home’s history in the front hall.

“We encourage you to stop in and visit the display to share in our history,� Pat Reger said.

Pat Reger said while operating a five-generation family business has its challenges, it also comes with many blessings.

“The biggest thing that we have done as a family is we get together on Sundays and have dinner,� he said. “Our mother, Ruth, is still living and so we all have dinner together.�

Pat Reger said they are also reflecting on the family’s deep roots in the community.

“We’re five generations of family with 100 years of history in Huntington and that is something we’re really proud to be a part of,� he said. “We are Huntingtonians through and through and consider ourselves blessed to have survived five generations and the different states of business over a century.�