The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home

Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home is Avon Park’s oldest continuously operating mortuary institution, established in town in 1929 and located at 111 East Circle Street since its founding.

Origins and Stephenson & Blythe (1925–1929)

The business traces its origins to 1925, when Georgia native Jack M. (J. M.) Stephenson moved from Monroe, Georgia, to newly created Highlands County[stephenson-nelson-about]. Stephenson founded the Highlands Hardware Company in Sebring and entered the mortuary profession in partnership with licensed embalmer J. Ross Blythe under the firm name Stephenson & Blythe[stephenson-nelson-about]. Prior to establishing a dedicated facility in town, Stephenson operated an early Avon Park parlor through pioneer undertaker Lloyd Correll from a small wood-frame building on Main Street adjacent to the post office, where Correll handled the funeral of his uncle Gene Bristol[maxwell-1976].

In September 1926, the firm performed notable emergency public service when the catastrophic Great Miami Hurricane breached the dike at Lake Okeechobee, drowning hundreds in Moore Haven. Stephenson and Blythe joined an emergency relief train mobilized by the Sebring and Avon Park posts of the American Legion, transporting embalming fluids, instruments, and caskets directly into the disaster zone to care for deceased victims[stephenson-nelson-about].

The William R. Reck House and Avon Park Establishment (1929–1955)

Stephenson established a permanent branch in Avon Park in 1929. Avon Park druggist and furniture merchant Dr. J. A. (Joe) Lander—who had previously purchased funeral supplies from hardware merchant Fred Smith—purchased the historic two-story frame home of pioneer settler and county division commissioner William R. Reck on East Circle Street (Lots 3–5, Block 4) and leased it to Stephenson as a funeral home[maxwell-1976].

In 1932, Stephenson purchased the East Circle Street property outright from Lander[maxwell-1976]. Following J. Ross Blythe’s death that same year[fl-death-blythe-1932], Stephenson acquired full ownership of the firm[stephenson-nelson-about].

In late 1945, Stephenson’s stepson, Marion H. Nelson (1918–1991), returned from military service in the United States Marine Corps during World War II[obit-helen-nelson-2022]. Having completed training at the Cincinnati College of Embalming, Nelson and his wife, Helen Peyer Nelson (1921–2022), moved into the second-floor living quarters of the Reck house and managed the Avon Park funeral home for six years until 1951, when they moved to Lake Wales to establish the Marion Nelson Funeral Home[obit-helen-nelson-2022].

The 1955 Mortuary Facility and Mid-Century Partnerships

In 1955, the firm undertook a major redevelopment of the East Circle Street site. To accommodate the modern facility, the historic two-story Reck house was relocated to the northwest portion of the parcel facing North Verona Avenue (correcting a directional slip in Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell’s 1976 narrative describing it as the northeast corner, as North Verona Avenue bounds Block 4 on the west), and a modern, purpose-built mortuary structure was erected at 111 East Circle Street[maxwell-1976][hcpao-circle-parcel].

Highlands County Property Appraiser records identify the site as Parcel A-22-33-28-010-0040-0030, comprising 0.69 acres across Lots 3, 4, and 5 of Block 4, with an Actual Year Built of 1955 and 6,715 square feet of heated finished area designed specifically for mortuary, chapel, and family visitation use[hcpao-circle-parcel]. To accommodate funeral corteges and growing automotive traffic, the grounds underwent progressive paving installations: 3,124 square feet of asphalt drives in 1955, 2,432 square feet of concrete paving in 1960, and 624 square feet in 1989[hcpao-circle-parcel].

Following Jack M. Stephenson’s passing circa 1980 (Estate File 80-125, Official Records Book 733, Page 493)[hcclerk-or733-493] and the conveyance of the property to Stephenson-Nelson-Smith Funeral Home, Inc. in 1986 (Official Records Book 907, Page 570)[hcclerk-or907-570], the firm executed a comprehensive commercial remodeling of the building in 1991 alongside 5,778 square feet of new concrete drives and walkways[hcpao-circle-parcel][stephenson-nelson-about]. This late-20th-century site overhaul completely subsumed the footprint of the relocated pioneer Reck house, replacing it with the paved customer parking and motor-coach driveways fronting North Verona Avenue.

During the post-war decades, the business admitted new operating partners, trading under successive partnership names:

  • Scott-Stephenson-Smith Funeral Home: Adopted when partner Wilson Smith purchased an interest in the business[maxwell-1976].
  • Stephenson-Nelson-Smith Funeral Home: Adopted when Nelson Smith acquired an equity interest[maxwell-1976].
  • Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home, Inc.: Formally incorporated under Florida corporate law (Division of Corporations Document 600212), operating dual chapels in Avon Park (111 East Circle Street) and Sebring (4001 Sebring Parkway)[sunbiz-stephenson-nelson][stephenson-nelson-about].

The establishment maintains an unbroken ninety-five-year record of mortuary service to Avon Park and surrounding communities.

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
  • stephenson-nelson-about — Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home. History and Staff, Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home & Crematory. 5 September 2026. https://www.stephensonnelsonfh.com/who-we-are/history-and-staff
  • hcpao-circle-parcel — Highlands County Property Appraiser. Highlands County Property Appraiser Parcel A-22-33-28-010-0040-0030, 111 E Circle St, Avon Park. 5 September 2026. https://www.hcpao.org/Search/Parcel/28332201000400030A
  • sunbiz-stephenson-nelson — Florida Division of Corporations. Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home, Inc., Corporate Filing Record. 5 September 2026. Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, Document 600212
  • obit-helen-nelson-2022 — Marion Nelson Funeral Home. Helen Peyer Nelson Obituary (1921–2022), Marion Nelson Funeral Home. 1 August 2022. https://www.marionnelsonfuneralhome.com/obituaries/helen-nelson
  • fl-death-blythe-1932 — Florida Department of Health. Florida Death Index entry for J. Ross Blythe, 1932, Highlands County. 31 December 1932. Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, Death Certificate Index, 1932
  • hcclerk-or907-570 — Highlands County Clerk of Courts. Warranty Deed: Graves B. Stephenson to Stephenson-Nelson-Smith Funeral Home, Inc., 16 September 1986. 16 September 1986. Highlands County Official Records, Book 907, Page 570
  • hcclerk-or733-493 — Highlands County Clerk of Courts. Notice of Administration: Estate of James M. Stephenson, File No. 80-125, recorded 1982. 1 October 1982. Highlands County Official Records, Book 733, Page 493

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. Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home, History and Staff, Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home & Crematory (2026) · secondary
  3. Highlands County Property Appraiser, Highlands County Property Appraiser Parcel A-22-33-28-010-0040-0030, 111 E Circle St, Avon Park (2026) · official
  4. Florida Division of Corporations, Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home, Inc., Corporate Filing Record (Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, Document 600212) (2026) · official
  5. Marion Nelson Funeral Home, Helen Peyer Nelson Obituary (1921–2022), Marion Nelson Funeral Home (2022) · archival
  6. Florida Department of Health, Florida Death Index entry for J. Ross Blythe, 1932, Highlands County (Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, Death Certificate Index, 1932) (1932) · official
  7. Highlands County Clerk of Courts, Warranty Deed: Graves B. Stephenson to Stephenson-Nelson-Smith Funeral Home, Inc., 16 September 1986 (Highlands County Official Records, Book 907, Page 570) (1986) · official
  8. Highlands County Clerk of Courts, Notice of Administration: Estate of James M. Stephenson, File No. 80-125, recorded 1982 (Highlands County Official Records, Book 733, Page 493) (1982) · official

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