Weed-Corley-Fish to Build Funeral Home in Austin Suburb: Family-owned business also launches rebranding effort

AUSTIN, Texas—Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Homes & Cremation Services, a family-owned and locally operated business that has served families in the Austin area for four generations, is opening a new location in Lakeway. It will be the first funeral home in this growing Travis County suburb.

Meanwhile, the company is rebranding its two existing locations in Austin under the banner of Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Homes & Cremation Services. The name of the location at 2620 S. Congress Ave. will switch from Wilke-Clay-Fish to Weed-Corley-Fish; the location at 3125 N. Lamar Blvd. will retain the Weed-Corley-Fish identity.

The rebranding includes a new logo and an updated Web site.

The groundbreaking for the third location of Weed-Corley-Fish is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 5. The new 10,000-square-foot funeral home will sit on nearly 2.5 acres at 411 RR 620 South in Lakeway, about half a mile north of Lakeway Boulevard; it is set to open in the summer of 2009. Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Homes & Cremation Services bought the land last year.

The Lakeway location of Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Homes & Cremation Services will employ as many as eight full-time and part-time workers, Laurens Fish III, the company's managing general partner, said. Longtime funeral director Mike Foskey, who currently works at the North Lamar location, has been promoted to manager of the Lakeway location, Fish said. Foskey lives in Lago Vista.

Fish said Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Homes & Cremation Services decided to build Lakeway's first funeral home because the area is underserved. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Lakeway's population grew from 8,454 in 2002 to 10,627 in 2007, a 26 percent increase.

San Gabriel Builders Ltd. of Lakeway is the general contractor for the Lakeway project, and Gary Devin of Solutions Studio in Austin is the architect. The new building will feature an open floor plan, wireless Internet connections, the latest in audio-visual equipment and a reception area with a catering kitchen, Fish said.

"The Weed-Corley-Fish family is pleased to be expanding into Lakeway. Residents of the Lakeway area soon will be treated to the same kind of service that people in Austin have appreciated and trusted for many, many years," Fish said.

About Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Homes & Cremation Services: Through four generations, Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Homes & Cremation Services has proudly served families in the Austin area. The Weed-Corley-Fish heritage dates back to 1886; our business has been family-owned since then.

Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Homes & Cremation Services offers the finest, most modern and comfortable facilities in the Austin area. We recognize that our most valuable asset is our reputation and that our success is best measured by the families we have served for generations. Historically, we have maintained a 98 percent satisfaction rating on surveys of families we have served.

Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Homes & Cremation Services is a member of Selected Independent Funeral Homes, an international association of independent funeral directors with high standards of membership. All members follow the Selected Independent Funeral Homes Code of Good Funeral Home Practice.

The Weed-Corley-Fish family currently has about 70 full-time and part-time employees.

For more information, visit www.wcfish.com [1].