Given-Dawson Funeral Home announces name change

Given-Dawson Funeral Home on Park Avenue recently changed its name to Given-Dawson-Paisley Funeral Home to recognize the continued leadership of Jessica Paisley, general manager and licensed funeral director. Pictured from left are Bill Given, Paisley and Bob Given. Contributed | Beacon

COSHOCTON – Given-Dawson Funeral Home has a long history in our community. The families involved with the business want to see that continue and are happy to announce that they are adding Jessica Paisley’s name to their sign.

“It’s state law that when the principal directors retire or are not actively involved you have to add the name of the person who is to your sign,” said Bill Given. “Jessica has worked hard here the last 10 years and it’s time to do this. Steve Dawson has retired and Bob (my brother) and I are semi-retired.”

Bob agreed with his brother.

“Jessica is like family and we are very proud of her and what she has done for the funeral home,” Bob said.

He and Bill Given are still very involved in the Given-Dawson-Paisley Funeral Home and even Dawson still helps out on occasion, but none of them take part in the daily operations.

Paisley was hired in 2008 as a licensed funeral director and was later promoted to general manager in 2012.

“They have all been great to work for and with over the years,” said Paisley. “This is a new adventure for me and the start of a whole new chapter.”

Bill and Bob have both been in the funeral home business for more than 40 years, Dawson for 50 plus and Jessica 11.

“They each have their own special areas of the business that I’ve been able to pick things up from over the years,” Paisley said. “This isn’t a career that you just fall into. It’s a calling. You just don’t let the families you serve go. You see them on the street, you see them at Wal-Mart and you chat with them and carry on a relationship with them.”

Both Bob and Bill grew up in the funeral home business, but said they were never forced to follow in their family’s footsteps.

“The career was made available to us and it became second nature and of course back then we also had the ambulance business and durable medical equipment,” Bob said. “We had things like hospital beds, wheelchairs and walkers and would deliver them and set them up in our suits because you were coming or going from a funeral or had to run down to the cemetery.”

Bill can remember taking one emergency call when terrible weather came through the area.

“I think it was 1974, I was home from college and there were tree limbs flying everywhere and I remember thinking how exciting it was,” he said. “I look back now and think about how Dad and Bob Dawson (Steve Dawson’s father) were probably in their 40s or 50s and that must have been a real nightmare for them.”

Bob and Bill’s original family funeral home was on the corner of Main and Seventh streets and the Dawson Funeral home was where Given-Dawson-Paisley is today at 186 Park Ave.

“We were competitors, but still friends,” Bob said.

The two funeral homes officially merged on July 1, 1981 and Given-Dawson Funeral Home made another change in the 1990s.

“At a certain point in our lives we realized that our children were probably not going to follow us into this business,” Bill said. “We wanted to find a way to continue on so we affiliated with an acquisition company. Our business was strong and vital, but we didn’t have a person to pass it on to.”

They took care of that in 1995 when they joined the Dignity Memorial network.

“Bob and I weren’t ready to retire at that time, but we wanted to make sure the place we worked hard to build would still be here when we were,” Bill said.

Paisley said Dignity Memorial has more than 2,000 locations throughout the United States and that they are a great support system.

“I tell people we are corporate owned, but family run,” she said.

Paisley might not have grown up in Coshocton like the Givens and Dawsons who came before her, but she is honored to have her name added to the business and is here to stay and continue its legacy.

“I’m originally from Zanesville, but my family and I love Coshocton and think it’s a good little town,” she said. “Our funeral home has an incredible history of serving Coshocton County for many years, and I look forward to continuing to serve families with the same personalized service that I’ve been honored to provide.”

Category: Business