Family-owned funeral home in Springdale sells for $2.1 million

Westfield Chapel funeral home in Springdale, family-owned since its founding in January 2008 by David Fulfer, has been sold.

Springdale businessman Colby Fulfer, David Fulfer’s son and the president/owner of the business since 2015, confirmed the sale of the business for more than $700,000

According to county records, the 7,846-square-foot building at 3236 W. Huntsville Ave. sold in mid-December for $1.4 million, pushing the total value of the deal to more than $2.1 million.

The new owner is a group of six investors led by Stan Youngblood, who has been on the Westfield Chapel staff since March 2018.

David Fulfer died on July 7, 2009, and Colby Fulfer later bought the business from his mother Jeanne Fulfer in 2015. Since then, he said the business became one of the fastest-growing funeral home companies in the country. Phone calls from investors began to increase in frequency.

The funeral home industry was projected to have revenue in 2018 of $16 billion, according to Statista.

“We’re very passionate about what we do and were able to help a lot of people in the business, but this felt like the right thing to do,” Colby Fulfer said of the sale.

Prior to starting Westfield Chapel, David Fulfer was a builder and developer who owned Wilkins Homes Inc.

“He built hundreds of homes in Northwest Arkansas,” his son recalled. “When he saw the housing market crisis on the horizon, he decided to transition out of the building industry. That’s why he decided to start a funeral home.”

Colby Fulfer said Westfield Chapel will retain its name under the new owners, and he will remain with the company on the business side “as needed.”

Westfield Chapel has four full-time employees.