BLACK FUNERAL HOME BUSINESS

In Acres Homes, in the heart of the north side of Houston, Paradise Funeral Homes is a symbol of history, community, and change. The building that houses the largest funeral home in the area was once a school that Houston’s former mayor, Sylvester Turner attended. Over the years, Paradise has gone through several transitions before becoming the funeral home that it is today. However, a significant transformation began in September 2021 when Richie Rhue became the first licensed embalmer and funeral director to be area general manager of all four of its funeral homes. Mr. Rhue’s path to the funeral business was not his apart of his original plan for his life. Born and raised in Conway, South Carolina, (30 minutes from Myrtle Beach) he initially envisioned a career in hospitality. “I didn’t want to be a funeral director. I actually wanted to be more in hospitality, like restaurants and hotels because that’s what I was used to where I was from,” he said. Despite him not wanting to initially be in the funeral business he is a third-generation funeral director and embalmer. His grandfather encouraged him to work for the funeral home, after his grandfather’s passing, he worked at...