Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home & Crematory is one of the oldest and most respected funeral homes in the Hampton Roads area and have been privileged to serve the many residents. Our reputation for honesty and fairness and a true concern for those we serve has been a hallmark of Hollomon-Brown for over 100 years.
Its roots date back to 1912, when it was operated as Hollomon Funeral Home located at the corner of 18th and Granby Streets in the Ghent section of Norfolk. John Herbert Hollomon and his wife Pearle Twiford Hollomon operated the business at that time.
On February 1, 1924, Pearle Twiford Hollomon and James Martin Brown formed a partnership that created Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home. Mr. Brown began his career in funeral service working for the Hollomon's while he was in high school. Also about this time it was decided that the funeral home needed to make a move to a larger facility. The funeral home relocated to the Park Place section of Norfolk at the corner of 29th and Granby. This location continued as the flagship location until the opening of the Tidewater Drive Chapel in May of 1972.
Upon the death of Mrs. Hollomon on October 7, 1928, Mr. Brown became the sole proprietor of the funeral home. Mr. Brown continued operating the funeral home for many years until his sudden death on June 28, 1962.
Louis R. Jones, Mr. Brown's son-in-law, purchased the funeral home from James M. Brown's widow and assumed the leadership of the family operation. Mr. Jones, a licensed funeral director and embalmer, had previously been working at the funeral home prior to Mr. Brown's death.
Early in Mr. Jones' tenure at running the family business, he saw a need to expand the business so as to provide the necessary services for the increased population of the Hampton Roads area. Mr. Jones began his search for land in Virginia Beach in order to build our first branch chapel. This search took him to a piece of property in the Lake Smith Terrace/Lakeview Park/Thoroughgood area of the city.
Once construction was completed, an open house was scheduled for the public to tour this new modern facility. The open house was held on Saturday, July 9th and Sunday, July 10th of 1966. The dedication ceremony for this new chapel was held at 2:00 p.m. on July 10, 1966.
The Bayside Chapel went through a major expansion in 1991 to increase its size and to modernize the facility. The expansion added a new visitation room, family consultation office, casket selection room and living quarters for the night attendant. During this expansion, the original building was completely renovated.
Expansion continued in Virginia Beach with the building of the Indian River Chapel located at 6568 Indian River Road in Virginia Beach. This new facility opened on February 11, 1969.
The Indian River Chapel also went through a major expansion and renovation in 1993, similar to the improvements that occurred at the Bayside Chapel. With these changes, we have modernized a facility to meet the needs of our customers.
Our next step in expansion occurred in the City of Norfolk with the building of the Tidewater Drive Chapel. Located at 8464 Tidewater Drive, this location became, and currently serves as our main chapel. The dedication and opening of this new modern facility occurred on May 25, 1972.
The location at 29th and Granby Streets was closed following the opening of the Tidewater Drive Chapel.
On December 31, 1975, Snellings Funeral Home, located in Portsmouth at the corner of High Street and Jamestown Avenue became a member of the Hollomon-Brown family. Snellings, founded in 1888, is one of the oldest funeral homes in the Hampton Roads area.
With the City of Virginia Beach growing so rapidly, a need was foreseen for another location in that city. The Lynnhaven Chapel & Crematory officially opened to the public with an open house and dedication ceremony on Sunday, October 24, 1976. This new modern facility was the first in our area to contain an onsite crematory.
In order for us to continue providing the best possible service to the community, a second crematory was added in 1999 at the Lynnhaven Chapel. With the addition of a second unit, the crematory area was enlarged and completely renovated making it one of the most modern facilities in the area.
The Lynnhaven Chapel has recently gone through an extensive interior remodeling in May of 2001. This endeavor has allowed us to provide a warm and inviting facility for the future needs of our customers.
Development of a cemetery followed shortly after the opening of the Lynnhaven Chapel & Crematory in the City of Virginia Beach at the intersection of Princess Anne and Dam Neck Roads. The extensive development included the clearing of the land, putting in a drainage system along with a pond, and a complete roadway system. The first burial in Colonial Grove Memorial Park occurred in 1979 in the Garden of the Risen Christ.
With the population of our area continuing to grow, it was realized that a new location was needed for the aging Snellings Funeral Home. A search began for a new location for Snellings. This search resulted in the construction of the Snellings Churchland Chapel located at 5815 High Street, West in the Churchland area of Portsmouth. An open house was held on Saturday, December 15, 1979, and Sunday, December 16, 1979, with the dedication ceremony being held at 2:00 p.m. that afternoon. The Churchland Chapel was closed on May 3, 2013.
Another area of Hampton Roads that was growing was the City of Chesapeake. A search began for a site that would allow Hollomon-Brown to continue to provide the best possible services and facilities to the families that we serve. An opportunity arose for us to purchase an existing cemetery that was located in the heart of Chesapeake. Chesapeake Memorial Gardens, located at 524 Cedar Road, was acquired with the intent to provide the cemetery needs of the area and to build a new funeral home on the grounds of that cemetery. An open house and dedication ceremony officially opening the new facility occurred on August 15, 1982. This new facility was the first of its kind in the area to offer funeral services and cemetery arrangements in one convenient location.
On October 13, 1985, the Snellings George Washington Highway Chapel opened to provide for the funeral needs of the residents of the Deep Creek and Cradock area of the Hampton Roads community. The chapel is located at 1144 George Washington Highway, N., in Chesapeake.
With Virginia Beach continuing with its amazing population growth, it was decided that a new site for a funeral home was needed in the northeast part of the city. The Great Neck Chapel was constructed on a site near the intersection of Great Neck and First Colonial Roads. The chapel, located at 1264 Great Neck Road, North, opened to the public on May 21, 1989. An open house was held for this new facility on Saturday, May 20 and Sunday, May 21 of 1989. The official dedication ceremony began at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.
With the increased population growth of the Hampton Roads area it was decided that another location was needed that would be more central to our growing area to eventually become our centralized chapel. A site was selected in the Kempsville area near the intersection of Indian River and Kempsville Roads. This site now contains a 16000 square foot facility that opened on February 5, 1995, located at 1485 Kempsville Road in the City of Virginia Beach.
In December of 2016, we opened our new 16,000 square foot Princess Anne Chapel and Crematory. This state-of-the-art facility is located in Virginia Beach at the corner of Princess Anne Road and Dam Neck Road.
We are continuing to look to the future in order that we may provide the very best in funeral and cremation services and facilities to the families we serve.