[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 19143-19144]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




HONORING THE TUTWILER FUNERAL HOMES 220 HANCOCK STREET AND 218 HANCOCK 
                       STREET AND MRS. ANN COUTEE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 12, 2013

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor two 
historic sites in the Second Congressional District of Mississippi. The 
Tutwiler Funeral Homes are both located in Tutwiler, MS.
  Mr. Speaker it is important that I make mention of the addresses of 
the Tutwiler Funeral Homes. The original one is located at 220

[[Page 19144]]

Hancock St. There is a newer structure located at 218 Hancock St.
  220 Hancock Street is the original Tutwiler Funeral Home. History has 
documented the funeral home as having several owners. When Mr. C.M. 
``Chick'' Nelson owned it, it was for ``blacks only.'' Although records 
do not date the funeral home start, events in history that took place 
associated with it gives an idea of the time and era. Then the funeral 
home was eventually purchased by Mr. Edward Thomas and sold to Mrs. Ann 
Coutee for $33,000 in 1981, who is still the current owner. When she 
purchased it, the building was in need of repair and equipment. It came 
with one old hearse and outdated embalming equipment.
  At a time when Mississippi was experiencing racial turmoil it played 
a significant role in the embalming and burying of black folks. On 
August 31, 1955, the Tutwiler Funeral Home prepared the remains of 
Emmett Till. At the time Mr. Woodrow ``Champ'' Jackson was the embalmer 
who prepared his remains. In October 1985, Michael Anthony Felton, a 
fifteen year old boy from Cleveland, MS, was believed to be the first 
Aids victim in the State after having contracted it from a blood 
transfusion. His family entrusted his remains to the Tutwiler Funeral 
Home. His death captured statewide attention in both Mississippi and 
Tennessee, and was even filmed for television. Robert Turner, who was 
the son of Mrs. Coutee and in line to take over the funeral home for 
his mother after becoming a licensed embalmer died suddenly. Well, as 
you will know, Mrs. Coutee stepped in and handled the entire 
arrangement of his burial. The Tutwiler Funeral Home has a presence and 
reputation that has withstood time. It has traveled beyond the city 
limits to handle the remains of loved ones all across Mississippi and 
the United States (e.g., Chicago, IL; Providence, RI; Mobile, AL; St. 
Louis, MO; Springfield, MO).
  Black churches were significant sure enough for funeral, social 
events, and even civic meetings to say the least. But under the 
ownership of Mrs. Coutee the Tutwiler Funeral Home served dual roles. 
It was also a chapel for services and auditorium for blacks, as the 
town folks called it. The Tutwiler community was limited in its ability 
to provide recreational buildings, meeting halls, and public structures 
for blacks to meet. In 2002, Hurricane Isidore came through and toppled 
the historic Tutwiler Funeral Home. The remains of the building from 
the storm are still in place, where the ceiling buckled in on top of 
one of the hearse.
  218 Hancock Street is home to the new Tutwiler Funeral Home. In 2002 
after the original Tutwiler Funeral Home was destroyed, Mrs. Coutee 
immediately sprang into action to rebuild. She made sure the new 
structure maintained its ability to meet the needs of Tutwiler and all 
that have a need to use it because she included a chapel-meeting room.
  In March 2013, Frank Ratliff, the son of Mrs. Z.L. Ratliff, the owner 
of the infamous Riverside Hotel in Clarksdale, MS, remains was in the 
care of the Tutwiler Funeral Home.
  Mrs. Ann Coutee is still the owner of the Tutwiler Funeral Home. She 
moved back to Mississippi in 1977 as a 43-year-old widow of six 
children. Her education and training span across several occupations, 
real estate, school librarian, hospital manager, and a licensed 
cosmetologist in both Illinois and Mississippi. So, the funeral home 
business was not her initial or preferred choice. But she wanted to be 
a business owner, provide steady support for her children and build a 
business she could pass on to them, and serve the community.
  Mrs. Coutee is the mother of six children, two boys and four girls. 
Her children are Margaret Turner, Sylvia Turner-Lottie, Patricia 
Turner-Sullivan, Reginald Turner, Robert Turner, and Saundra Hicks-
Brown. Both Reginald and Robert are now deceased.
  In the beginning she did all her own driving to pick up deceased 
individuals, traveling near and far, and oftentimes alone. She said 
embalming was never her choice but rather the cosmetics of preparation. 
Since the funeral home business was new to her, she joined the National 
Funeral Directors Association and maintained a membership for years. At 
her first meeting, she said, she could not figure out why she was the 
only black and a woman attending the meeting. Well, she soon learned 
the invitation to join was meant for the previous owner, Mr. Edward 
Thomas, a white male from Webb, MS. Not only did she learn that but 
while at the meeting, she was asked how she acquired the building 
because the all white membership said, ``black women don't own funeral 
homes unless they inherit it.'' Well, just so you will know, she 
responded, ``I do and I purchased it.'' Nevertheless, she stayed on 
because she was determined to learn the business and stay connected. 
Her struggles to stay on and learn the funeral home business is another 
story to be told later. Mr. Woodrow ``Champ'' Jackson remained on as 
her embalmer for many years. I am compelled to mention that under the 
ownership of Mrs. Coutee and funeral home director, Aaron Gunn III, the 
Tutwiler Funeral Home is open to people of all races and ethnic groups 
in need of burial services--that's right no more ``blacks only.''
  Through that determination and grit, Mrs. Coutee managed to not only 
raise her children to be successful but as it turned out, none of them 
are in the funeral home business. Her success did not stop there 
because as time passed she managed to acquire other properties in 
Tutwiler. She is the owner of a large majority of the previously white 
owned businesses and vacant lots in town, 208 Hancock St., 210 Hancock 
St., 212 Hancock St., 214 Hancock St., 216 Hancock St., 218 Hancock 
St., 220 Hancock St., and 222 Hancock St.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 
Tutwiler Funeral Homes at 220 and 218 Hancock Street along with the 
owner Mrs. Ann Coutee for their contribution to the black community and 
black funeral home business.

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