OUR LEGACY
Claude J. Edney Funeral Home, Inc. was established on November 9, 1952 by Claude J. Edney, Sr. in Darby Township, PA. The original location was 640 Sharon Avenue and in 1955 was relocated two houses down to the present location at 634 Sharon Avenue.
Claude, Sr. was born on November 11, 1920 in Philadelphia, PA. He was a graduate of Darby High School, class of 1938. After completing high school, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corp then served in the United States Army, eventually being promoted to Master Sergeant. He served in both WWII and the Korean War and was honorably discharged in 1951. He loved to draw and was an avid reader with an amazing love of science especially biology. Claude, Sr. had aspired to be a podiatrist but because of the color barriers of that time, many African Americans were not able to go to school to be doctors. This led Claude, Sr. to mortuary science. At a time when African Americans dreams were continually being deferred, Claude Sr. saw the need to give a proper homegoing service to families and decided to own and operate the only black funeral home in the area.
During the infancy stages of the funeral home, Claude Sr. and his wife and loving partner, Evelyn made ends meet by continuously looking ahead and staying focused on the goal of maintaining the funeral home. Three children were born to the union of Claude, Sr and Evelyn; Claude, Jr., Rennett and Carlotta. It was a beautiful struggle balancing a new business and a new family. Claude, Sr. also worked at the United States Postal Service and was a dedicated church member, teaching Sunday School at his beloved First African Baptist Church also in Darby Township, PA.
Claude, Jr. graduated with a bachelor’s of science degree in Business Administration from Howard University in 1972 and later attended Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science receiving a diploma as graduate mortician in 1976. Claude, Jr. excitedly wanted to work in corporate America on Wall Street but Claude, Sr. had fell ill and Evelyn wanted to take care of her husband. Claude, Jr. heeded the calling and quit his corporate job to come home and carry on the family business of service.
On August, 1987, Claude, Sr. passed away leaving a rich heritage of care and concern for the family and community to his children. Claude, Jr. picked up where his father left off and transformed the small mom and pop funeral parlor into a proactive community resource that is dedicated to the advancement of the Darby Township and other neighboring communities.
Presently, the energy of Claude, Sr. continues to live on through his wife, Evelyn; son, Claude, Jr; and all his grandchildren, Claude III, Chanelle, Camille and Amanda. Together, Claude and Evelyn, started the LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE that still lives on today.