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Our Family & History

     Our dedicated and supportive staff are here to guide you through this difficult journey. We take pride in doing our absolute best to ensure your needs are met. Our staff has more than 105 years of combined experience in the funeral profession, and dealing with the community. Please take a look at our family picture above and read our biographies if you have the opportunity.

Mitchell Family Funeral Homes has been serving our local communities for many years. Our three generation family business started in 1957 when Rho Mitchell and Kenneth Scharett started the Scharett-Mitchell Funeral Home at the 21 West Ave. Location in Albion. In 1971, Michael Christopher who owned the Christopher Funeral Home on State St. in Albion joined Rho and Ken in a partnership with the Scharett-Mitchell-Christopher Funeral Home. In 1972, with the desire to expand, the location at 16650 state Route 31 was built to serve the families of the Holley area. Mr. Scharett retired in 1975 and Mr. Christopher retired in 1982. Rho's son David joined the family business in 1984 thus becoming the second generation. David began purchasing the business from his father Rho in 1994 and in 2012, his son Joshua would join the firm to become the third generation funeral director in the family business. 

In December of 2017, the Bates, Wallace & Heath Funeral Home in Middleport, NY was acquired as well as the Merrill Grinnell Funeral Home in Albion and Holley in an effort to expand our business and help serve more families. In a continuing effort to help bring our business into the future we purchase the Sherrie Bream Funeral Home of Gasport, NY and Kenneth H. Sherrie Funeral Home of Newfane, NY from the same corporation from Texas that we purchased the firms from in 2017, bringing a total of five local funeral homes back to local family ownership, something that we are truly proud of and honored to be a part of.

David B. Mitchell - Owner/Funeral Director

      I was born and raised in the Albion area to Rho and Beverly Mitchell. I am a 1980 graduate of Albion High School and a 1983 graduate of Simmons Institute of Funeral Service, the same college that my father graduated from in 1953. I helped around the family business for many years until I became a funeral director. I purchased Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes from my father in 1994 and remain very involved in day to day business operations, meeting with families, answering the phone and even helping my son, Joshua cut the grass every now and then. I am the father of three boys who all graduated from Holley High School. I am an active member of the Holley Rotary Club, a Paul Harris Fellow, member of the Albion Lions Club and serve on the Board of Directors for Hospice of Orleans. My passion is helping our community in any way that I possibly can. The community has supported my family business for many years and our funeral homes would not be what they are today without the support from the community.

​Joshua R. Mitchell - Funeral Director/Certified Funeral Celebrant  

     I grew up in Holley, NY, a son of David and Cindy Mitchell, the oldest of three boys. I graduated from Holley High School in 2008, where I played tennis and soccer. I went to Monroe Community College for three semesters before attending Simmons Institute of Funeral Service in Syracuse, NY, to follow in the family business. I graduated in 2011 in a degree in A.O.S. in Mortuary Science, then lived in Cortland, NY for a year to do my apprenticeship at the Wright-Beard Funeral Home. I began working with my father David in December of 2012 at Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes, Inc. I am a third generation funeral director since my grandfather started the business in 1957. I enjoy playing golf whenever I have the chance and the weather permits, most times playing with my father, David, as well as Paula and Scott in various charity tournaments we sponsor in the summer. I am currently the only Certified Funeral Celebrant in Orleans County, helping roughly 15-18 families a year through our firms. It is something that I really enjoy doing. I am an active member and past-president of the Holley Rotary Club and Chair the annual Gary Ahl Memorial Golf Tournament and am on the board of the Genesee Orleans Ministry of Concern. I respect and value being in a small town and love meeting new people.

Paula H. Fuller - Funeral Director

     I was born and raised in Macedon, NY to James and Laura Hirliman, one of three children. I graduated from Pal-Mac High School in 1992 and then attended SUNY Canton College of Technology in Canton, NY where I graduated in 1994 with an A.A.S in Mortuary Science. I began my career with the Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes, Inc. of Holley and Albion, NY in the summer of 1994. I married Joe Fuller in 2000 and we had our daughter Julia in 2006. I am a member of Holy Family Parish in Albion, NY, the Ladies Auxiliary of the Albion Fire Department, the Town of Albion Republican Committee as well as the Orleans County Vets Club in Albion. I enjoy bowling, volleyball, softball and vacations with my family. It was a dream of mine since I was 12 years old to become a funeral director and be a part of the community that I work in, and I love being a part of both Albion and Holley.

Scott M. Schmidt - Funeral Director

     I was born in Buffalo to Bruce and Betty Schmidt and lived in Tonawanda until I was 14. My family moved to Middleport in the summer of 1977 and graduated in 1981 from Royalton Hartland Central School. For reasons of curiosity and love of science, I decided to attend Mortuary School…much to the amusement of my guidance counselor. Graduating in 1983 from SUNY Canton College of Technology, I received an A.A.S. degree in Mortuary Science. Immediately after college a Residency became available at the Urban Funeral Home in Cheektowaga. 6 months into my residency, I became aware of a position opening up at the Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Home in Albion. Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Home was where my residency would be completed and where I would spend the next 15 years serving the communities of Albion and Holley as a Licensed Funeral Director. I was elected to the Office of Coroner in 2000 and have held that position ever since. Following a near-fatal car accident in 1996, challenges arose which led to the opportunity in 1997 to join the Christopher Mitchell team. Also in 1997, I was appointed Chief Coroner for Orleans County. I have embraced the opportunity to work in the community where I live and, remain active in and belong to many organizations to include: Barre Center Presbyterian Church where I have served as organist since 2000, Kendall Lions Club, Albion Fire Department, WNY Volunteer Fireman’s Association and the NYS Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners. I’ve been deployed to several major Mass Fatality disasters as a member of the National Disaster Medical System’s DMORT unit as well.