Honestly, it feels weird driving past the corner of Cumberland Street and Layton Avenue in Dunn without thinking about the history there. For 119 years, that building wasn't just a place of business. It was where half the town said their final goodbyes. But if you’ve been looking for cromartie funeral home obituaries lately and coming up with 404 errors or "permanently closed" signs, there’s a big reason why.
On December 1, 2025, a massive chapter of North Carolina history ended. Cromartie-Miller Funerals and Cremations officially closed its doors for good.
It’s a lot to process for local families. You’ve got generations of folks who wouldn't have dreamed of going anywhere else. Raymond Cromartie Sr. started the whole thing back in 1906, literally above a hardware store. It survived world wars, the Great Depression, and the transition from a small-town family business to being part of the massive Dignity Memorial network. Now, that historic building—which, fun fact, used to be the First Presbyterian Church and even a school—is quiet.
Where did the records go?
If you're hunting for a specific obituary from the last few years, don't panic. The records didn't just vanish into thin air when the lights went out. Since the home was a Dignity Memorial provider, their digital archives are mostly tucked away under that corporate umbrella. Basically, if you search the main Dignity Memorial website, you can still pull up a lot of the recent notices.
But what if you need something older? That’s where it gets kinda tricky.
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- Reeves Funeral Home: This is the big one. Most of the active files and pre-arranged contracts were moved over to Reeves Funeral Home in Hope Mills. If you’re a family member trying to track down paperwork or an old service record, they’re usually your first phone call.
- The Daily Record: For decades, the local Dunn paper was the "official" spot for every Cromartie notice. Their archives are a goldmine for those 1950s-1990s obits that might not have made it onto the modern internet.
- Digital Memorial Sites: Websites like Legacy and We Remember still host hundreds of cromartie funeral home obituaries. I’ve found that even when the official funeral home site goes dark, these third-party "tribute walls" stay up because people keep posting photos and lighting virtual candles.
The Beverly D. Cromartie Confusion
Here’s something that trips people up all the time. If you Google "Cromartie Funeral Home," you might see results for a "Beverly D. Cromartie Funeral Service."
Wait. Different place.
That business is actually based in Baltimore, Maryland. It’s a completely separate entity from the historic Dunn location. I've seen folks get frustrated searching for a North Carolina relative only to realize they’re looking at a listing for a service 400 miles away. If the obituary you’re looking at mentions a viewing on Edmondson Avenue, you’re looking at the Baltimore home, not the one from Harnett County.
Why the Dunn closing matters
It’s about more than just a search result. When a place like this closes after a century, a bit of the town’s "institutional memory" goes with it. You’re talking about a business that relocated to Wilson Avenue in the early days and eventually settled into that Cumberland Street spot in the late 60s.
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People like Allen Stapleton became faces of comfort for thousands. Honestly, in a small town, the funeral director often knows the family tree better than the family does.
The closure was confirmed by Christopher James, a spokesperson for the parent company, Service Corporation International (SCI). They’ve been pretty clear that while the building is gone, the legal obligations—like those pre-paid funeral plans—stay valid. They just get shifted to other providers in the network.
Finding those hard-to-reach obituaries
If you are doing genealogy or just looking for a friend's service details from years ago, try these specific search hacks:
- Search by Maiden Names: Older North Carolina obituaries often listed women primarily by their husband's name (e.g., "Mrs. John Smith"). If you can't find "Mary Smith," try the husband's name or the maiden name.
- Check "The Daily Record" Archives: Many local libraries in Harnett County keep microfilm or digital access to the local papers.
- Use the "Dunn, NC" Filter: On sites like Legacy.com, don't just search the funeral home name. Search "Dunn, NC" and the date range. Sometimes the funeral home name gets misspelled in the upload (like "Cromarty" or "Cromarte").
What to do if you have a pre-paid plan
This is the part that actually matters for the living. If you or a parent had a "pre-need" contract with Cromartie-Miller, you aren't out of luck. Those plans are backed by insurance or trusts. You can typically transfer them to any other funeral home in the area.
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You don't have to go to Hope Mills if that's too far. You can walk into any local home in Dunn or Erwin and they’ll help you move the file. It’s your money and your plan; the closing of the physical building doesn't change that.
For those just looking to pay their respects or find a piece of family history, the digital trail of cromartie funeral home obituaries remains the best bridge to that 119-year legacy. It’s a weird transition for the town, but the stories of the people who passed through those doors are still there if you know where to look.
To move forward with finding a specific record, start by checking the Dignity Memorial national database or contact Reeves Funeral Home in Hope Mills to verify the location of archived files. If the search is for historical or genealogical purposes, visit the Harnett County Library's digital archives to access past issues of The Daily Record.