John Shearer: The History Of Wann Funeral Home

Wann Funeral Home – one of the oldest Chattanooga businesses – was recently sold to Cade and Shawn Williamson, who own and operate Legacy Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Soddy-Daisy.

However, the name will remain similar – Wann Funeral Home and Cremation Center – and longtime former owner John Hargis will also continue working with the new owners.

“It was important for me to sell the funeral home to someone in the community who will continue our tradition of offering compassionate, personalized services,” said Mr. Hargis, who had owned the funeral home since 1972.

The Williamson family has also long been in the funeral home business, as Cade Williamson’s great-great-grandfather was funeral home owner R.J. Coulter. Also, Cade’s grandfather, Jimmy Williamson Sr., ran Williamson and Sons Funeral Home in Soddy-Daisy before it was later sold.

According to some history provided by Mr. Hargis, Wann Funeral Home has been in Chattanooga since about 1902, although no records could be found pinpointing its exact beginning.

J.H. Wann had come to Chattanooga from North Georgia and first had his funeral home and a livery stable at the corner of Mitchell Avenue and Main Street.

The business later took over the L.J. Sharp funeral firm and moved to the former Sharp facility at 660 Georgia Ave. That building had earlier been occupied by the Calumet Club and was later used by the fledgling Olan Mills photo studio business.

In 1926, Wann enjoyed a rare experience when it hosted at its funeral home a large convention of fellow funeral home operators.

About when World War II began and not long after taking over the Harry E. Chapman Funeral Home, Wann relocated to 541 McCallie Ave. For about 20 years during this time, the business was known as Wann-Chapman Funeral Home.

By 1958 the funeral home was in the former Central Baptist Church at 800 McCallie Ave. after the church moved out to the Woodmore area and became known as Central-Woodmore Baptist Church. In 1964 Wann moved to its current location in a former American Legion building after the veterans group built a newer building next door.

At that location they were closer to the historic Forest Hills Cemetery where many of their clients were buried.

Although Wann has often been the funeral home of choice for prominent Chattanooga families, it also found itself on a couple of occasions helping with the funerals of two people well known throughout the United States.

The first dealt with the death of President Woodrow Wilson’s 54-year-old first wife, Ellen Axson Wilson, in August 1914 from complications from a kidney-related affliction then known as Bright’s Disease.

Wann had one of the first motorized funeral fleets in the South, so funeral home officials sent one of their coaches to a Rome, Ga., train station to escort Mrs. Wilson’s body to her burial at Myrtle Hill Cemetery. However, President Wilson instead decided to use a horse-drawn carriage.

But in early 1947, the funeral home was able to take a much more active part in the local funeral for noted singer and actress Grace Moore after her tragic death in a plane crash at Copenhagen, Denmark.

Wann-Chapman handled the local arrangements for the 48-year-old star, whose parents, Col. and Mrs. Richard Moore Sr., owned the Lovemans department store at the time and lived in Riverview.

Her overflow service was held a few feet away from the funeral home at the now-razed First Baptist Church on Georgia Avenue, and burial was at Forest Hills Cemetery.

Although the Wanns dealt with mourning families as part of their business, they also unfortunately had their own times of sadness over the years. Founder J.H. Wann died in an automobile accident in Florida shortly after the end of World War I, and son Paul H. Wann ran the business until his untimely death in 1928.

Paul Wann’s widow, Ethel Creekmore Wann, then became a pioneering local businesswoman by necessity, as she ran the business before her son, James C. “Jimmy” Wann, became old enough to help with the operation.

In 1972, Jimmy Wann – the father of Broadway composer and actor Jimmy Wann and former Chattanooga Times journalist Libby Wann Duff – sold the funeral home to John Hargis. However, Mr. Wann continued to stay involved with the funeral home until a few years prior to his death in 1984.

Mr. Hargis came from Tampa to work with Jimmy Wann, and he has now put in 47 years in the business. As he admitted, he has not yet grown tired of the work.

“I just enjoy the people,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure for 47 years to work with all those people. You have families that come back to you, and you know them by their first names.”

The Williamsons – who will use their Soddy-Daisy crematory facility to provide cremation services for Wann clients – say they are excited to be at the foot of Lookout Mountain as well and will be doing some remodeling and updating there.

“We are thrilled to be able to continue the legacy of Wann Funeral Home and I look forward to providing every family with the same comforting experience that John has offered so many families over the years,” said Cade Williamson. “I’m especially pleased he will continue working with us.”

Jcshearer2@comcast.net