The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
Menu
Admin Sign-In

Gene Bristol, Lloyd Correll, and Pioneer Undertaking in Avon Park (1920–1930)

During the early 1920s, professional mortuary practice in Avon Park shifted from general retail merchants selling coffins out of storefronts to dedicated undertakers maintaining specialized equipment and family parlors. Central to this transition was Lloyd Correll, recognized as Avon Park’s first resident professional undertaker, whose inaugural professional case was the preparation and burial of his uncle, Gene Bristol[maxwell-1976].

The Bristol Family in Pioneer Avon Park

The Bristol family was established in Avon Park during its pioneer settlement period. Following the catastrophic Great Freeze of 1894–1895, E. H. Bristol was recorded among the prominent property owners and citrus growers who remained in the settlement to rebuild local agriculture alongside Clark D. Knapp, John C. Burleigh, and C. C. Chollar[maxwell-1976].

During the Florida land boom of the 1920s, the family was prominently represented in commercial and civic life by Mrs. Katherine Bristol:

  • She supervised the dining room and kitchen operations of the Hotel Jacaranda alongside Mrs. Tennie Haynie and Mrs. L. C. Stewart during the hotel’s early seasons under manager Mr. Broderick[maxwell-1976].
  • She owned and operated Katherine Bristol’s Bakery, an established retail shop located within the Hotel Jacaranda commercial arcade[maxwell-1976].
  • In the spring of 1927, Katherine Bristol and Lloyd Correll participated together in local civic entertainment, co-starring in a humorous baseball exhibition staged in conjunction with the St. Louis Cardinals spring training camp, with Bristol appearing as the comic owner of the “St. Louis Cardinals’ Girls Team” and Correll serving as the team clown[maxwell-1976].

The Bristol and Correll families were linked by kinship through the marriage of the Correll family into the pioneer Bristol line. Lloyd Correll’s uncle was Gene (Eugene) Bristol[maxwell-1976]. The close family association endured across generations: Lloyd Correll and his wife Virginia Loretta (Drumm) Correll named their daughter Katherine Correll (later Mrs. Katherine Hurn) after Katherine Bristol[maxwell-1976][obit-james-correll-2016].

The First Dedicated Undertaker and Gene Bristol’s Burial

Before Lloyd Correll began practicing, Avon Park possessed no independent undertakers. Pioneer settlers who died were interred in wooden coffins built by local carpenters, and by the 1890s and 1910s, manufactured caskets were stocked in overhead rafters by general merchants such as John C. Burleigh, Mr. Holt, Captain Rae, and hardware merchant Fred Smith[maxwell-1976]. In 1918, Smith sold his funeral inventory to Avon Park druggist Dr. J. A. (Joe) Lander[maxwell-1976].

In the early 1920s, Lloyd Correll entered the undertaking profession in Avon Park. His very first professional commission was conducting the funeral of his uncle, Gene Bristol[maxwell-1976].

Gene Bristol’s interment occurred during a transitional era for Bougainvillea Cemetery. Although the ten-acre cemetery had been dedicated by town founder Oliver Marvin Crosby in 1888, municipal recordkeeping and grave indexing were minimal prior to the 1930s. A comprehensive survey of marked graves in Bougainvillea Cemetery (Find a Grave Cemetery ID 71796) documents no surviving headstone or inscribed marker for Gene Bristol or the Bristol surname[fg-bougainvillea]. Bristol was interred in an unmarked plot or with an ephemeral wooden marker that deteriorated over time, reflecting common early-20th-century burial conditions in pioneer Florida cemeteries prior to perpetual care endowments. Furthermore, searches of the statewide Florida Death Index across DeSoto and Highlands counties yield no official death certificate or vital registration, confirming that his demise survives in the historical record solely through community oral tradition[fl-death-index].

The Evolution of Correll’s Mortuary Parlors

Following the funeral of Gene Bristol, Lloyd Correll expanded his mortuary business across several downtown locations:

  1. The Post Office Frame Building: Correll initially operated a funeral parlor on behalf of Georgia undertaker Jack M. (J. M.) Stephenson in a small wood-frame building situated on Main Street adjacent to the original post office and the Chamber of Commerce, recognized by long-time residents as one of the oldest standing commercial buildings in the townsite[maxwell-1976].
  2. The Bank Block Music Store: Correll subsequently opened a retail music store in the new brick business block near the First National Bank of Avon Park[maxwell-1976]. The store was noted for its distinctive swinging front doors; behind a partition in the rear, Correll maintained his mortuary workspace, embalming instruments, and casket inventory[maxwell-1976].
  3. The Arcade Building: As his enterprise grew, Correll relocated his undertaking parlors into the Arcade building across Main Street[maxwell-1976].
  4. The South Forest Street Residence: Correll later established a dedicated residential mortuary on South Forest Street opposite the Pendleton Wholesale Company[maxwell-1976]. The facility followed the period’s standard residential funeral home design: the Correll family lived in the second-floor residential quarters, while the ground floor accommodated formal visitation parlors, a casket selection room, and preparation facilities[maxwell-1976].

Census and Biographical Verification

Lloyd Correll’s standing as an independent undertaker is corroborated by the 1930 United States Federal Census for Highlands County (Enumeration District 28-1, Sheet 9A, lines 15–22, enumerated 1 April 1930)[census-correll-1930]. Correll is recorded as 38 years old (born in Iowa to Iowa-born parents) residing on South Forest Street with his wife Virginia L. Correll (age 33, born in New York to New York-born parents) and his widowed mother Clara E. Correll (age 62, born in Iowa)[census-correll-1930]. His occupation is recorded as “Undertaker” in an independent “Funeral home,” distinguishing him from general merchants and drug store operators[census-correll-1930].

The Correll family remained prominent in the community:

  • Lloyd Correll and his wife, Virginia Loretta Drumm, raised seven children: Jean (Mrs. Jean Hill, born in New York), Albert George (born in Iowa), Clara Darlein (Mrs. Darlene Baucom, born in Indiana), Mary Frances (born in Florida), Billy (Lloyd Benson Correll Jr., born in Avon Park), Jimmie (James C. Correll, 1931–2016, born in Avon Park), and Katie (Mrs. Katherine Hurn, born in Avon Park)[maxwell-1976][obit-james-correll-2016].
  • Their son, James “Jimmy” C. Correll, born in Avon Park on 26 March 1931, served in the United States Navy during the Korean War, had a career in law enforcement, and retired to Monroe, Georgia, where he died on 31 December 2016[obit-james-correll-2016].

Correll’s early undertaking business paved the way for permanent funeral establishments in Avon Park. When J. M. Stephenson leased the William R. Reck residence on East Circle Street in 1929 to establish the institution that became Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home, professional mortuary science had already been introduced to the community through Lloyd Correll’s pioneering parlors[maxwell-1976].

References

  • maxwell-1976 — Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell. The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida. 1976. Held at the Avon Park Historical Society Depot Museum, Avon Park, Florida
  • census-correll-1930 — United States Bureau of the Census. 1930 United States Federal Census, Highlands County, Florida, Enumeration District 28-1, Sheet 9A, lines 15–22. 1 April 1930. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SR1B-WMM
  • fg-bougainvillea — Find a Grave contributors. Bougainvillea Cemetery, Avon Park, Highlands County, Florida, Find a Grave cemetery 71796. 3 September 2026. https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/71796/bougainvillea-cemetery
  • fl-death-index — Florida Department of Health. Florida Death Index, 1877–1998. 31 December 1998. Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, Jacksonville, Florida
  • obit-james-correll-2016 — Meadows Funeral Home. James C. Correll Obituary (1931–2016), Meadows Funeral Home, Monroe, Georgia. 3 January 2017. https://www.meadowsfuneralhomeinc.com/obituaries/James-Correll-4/

Where this comes from

Evidence
corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
Review
unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
Rights
society

Sources

  1. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (Held at the Avon Park Historical Society Depot Museum, Avon Park, Florida) (1976) · book
  2. United States Bureau of the Census, 1930 United States Federal Census, Highlands County, Florida, Enumeration District 28-1, Sheet 9A, lines 15–22 (1930) · official
  3. Find a Grave contributors, Bougainvillea Cemetery, Avon Park, Highlands County, Florida, Find a Grave cemetery 71796 (2026) · secondary
  4. Florida Department of Health, Florida Death Index, 1877–1998 (Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, Jacksonville, Florida) (1998) · official
  5. Meadows Funeral Home, James C. Correll Obituary (1931–2016), Meadows Funeral Home, Monroe, Georgia (2017) · archival

Something here wrong, or incomplete? The Society would rather know. Tell a volunteer.

Have a question about this record?

← Back to collection

Ask A.P.

Ask the archive

    Try asking:

    0 / 500

    A.P. answers only from the Society's own archive and cites what it used. Questions are not linked to you; search history is stored on your device only (how it works).Ask a volunteer for anything it cannot answer.