Old funeral home getting new life
By Dwight Otwell Editor

DWIGHT OTWELL/Sentinel photo The old Ivie Funeral Home in Murphy is being resurrected to serve as a home for Tri-State Charters. There is room for a number of businesses to rent.

The old Ivie Funeral Home building, that has stood vacant in Murphy for a decade, is getting new life.

Tri-State Charters is moving its operations from Hwy. 64 west to the Valley River Avenue building, located next to Murphy First United Methodist Church.

The building has been purchased from Grier Ivie by Steve and Sandy Forrister and Scott and Kim Fletcher.

"We are buying it so we can occupy it for the bus business," Steve Forrister said. "We plan on keeping the character of the building like it is."

The 15,000 square foot building has four levels. Tri-State Charters will occupy the the sun room and other space in the building and will use one level for maintenance of its buses, Scott Fletcher said.

"We will rent out two levels and an apartment," he said.

The new owners are busy renovating the landmark building. The likely name for the building will be Carriage House Suites.

DWIGHT OTWELL/Sentinel photo Steve Forrister, one of the new owners of the old Ivie Funeral Home, peers from a window of the Murphy landmark. The new owners say they will keep the charming character of the old building.

Forrister said the building has been empty about 10 years. Grier Ivie's father built the building for his funeral home business. The family lived in the building and Grier Ivie grew up in the structure. Ivie Funeral Home is now located on Peachtree Street in Murphy.

"It is one of the prettiest buildings in Murphy," Fletcher said. "We saw this as an opportunity to move to town. We will try to keep the flavor of the building and bring it back to life. It is an amazing building."

Old caskets were found in one of the two basements of the building. However, Fletcher said that no leftover bodies were discovered.

Keener Price Tours, owned by Debra England and Tri-State Charters, will be in the building as will Trudy's Music Shop. Kinder music, including piano lessons, will be taught. This is a system of teaching music to children and infants so that they can obtain musical skills at an early age. Fletcher said it is a "big thing" in other parts of the state.

A bus driver for Tri-State Charters has rented an apartment upstairs in the structure.

The building has a myriad of rooms ideal for businesses to rent.

"We think it is a beautiful building and it is very good structurally," Forrister said. "The location will work out good for our buses."