In 1934 Henry W. Poteet and his wife Annabell, began serving the families in Augusta who had lost loved ones. At that time, they were in a partnership with Edward P. Grealish and William Ryan. The name of the funeral home at that time was Grealish, Poteet & Ryan. It was located at 519 Greene St., this building was later known as the Elks Club and is currently the Marion Hatcher Building. In 1938 the funeral home moved next door to 529 Greene St. because the newer location was more accessible for the elderly, having only two floors, rather than the four of the previous home.
Within a few years the name of the business changed to Grealish, Poteet & Walker, Mr. Ryan sold his share of the business to Tupper Walker of Beech Island, SC. By 1945 Henry Poteet bought the shares of both Edward Grealish and Tupper Walker and the funeral home became known as Poteet Funeral Home.
Poteet Funeral Home remained in the hands of Henry W. Poteet, his wife Annabell, and their two sons, Howard and Tommy and grew to three funeral homes in the Augusta area. In 1986 Henry W. Poteet died; Howard and Tommy remained to run the business with their mother and sons, Buzz, Donnie and Stephen.
In 1992, the Poteet family sold the name and business and leased some of the property to the Loewen Group of Burnaby, Canada under the condition that the Poteet Family remain and manage the business in the same manner that it had been managed since 1934.
In December of 2001, a few years after the death of both Annabell and her son Howard, the last working Poteet family members, Tommy and his son Buzz left the buildings and memories to begin a new business, independent of corporate ideals and pressures.
An eight-acre tract of land with an existing church on the property, West Augusta Baptist Church, was purchased. After many trials and tribulations, Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors was finally opened in June of 2002 after eight months of remodeling and attorney's fees.
In July of 2002 we completed the renovation of the former West Augusta Baptist Church, a 15000 square foot building. It became the first and only Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors. Our building includes the largest lobby in the area, capable of handling very large crowds, four parlors, or viewing rooms with different themes; a chapel that seats 220 people, all of which are decorated to make our guests feel at home, we did not want the typical "funeral home" atmosphere.
In November of 2006 we added another 6000 square feet, half of which is a garden lobby with a caterers kitchen attached. We wanted to accommodate the families that want more than just a typical visitation. Our garden lobby can be used for sit down dinners that can accommodate around 60 people, casual food receptions, or even non-traditional funeral celebrations.
