Our History

Our History

R.G. (Bob) Roberts came to Emporia in 1893 and was a mortician for the J.C. Dumm Undertaking Company for many years. On July 1, 1928, Bob and his son-in-law, Glenn A. Blue, bought the undertaking department of the Hardcastle and Kenyon Furniture Company, which was said to be the oldest undertaking firm in the United States in one location under continuous management, and opened the Roberts-Blue Undertaking Company at 610 Merchant Street.

Due to the business growing, and a need for more space and parking area, the business was moved to 605 State Street in 1938, which is the present location. Glenn and Lela Roberts Blue purchased the interest of Bob Roberts upon his retirement. 

On January 1, 1948, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Barnett of Baldwin, Kansas, purchased the funeral business. Their son, James Barnett, became part-owner and his family operated the funeral home for about thirty years. Over time, the funeral home experienced new growth by acquiring the V.C. Eccleston Undertaking Company, which had served the area’s Catholic Community for many years at Seventh and Merchant Streets. In the mid-1970s, the firm purchased the Robinson Livery Equipment Company, which had also been an old Emporia business. 

In May of 1977, J. Michael Turnbull purchased Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home from the Barnett family. Since purchasing the firm, Mike has made many improvements in the facilities. Mike attended Emporia State University for three years and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Mortuary Science in the class of 1972. He was associated with the Barnetts from 1972 until the purchase of the firm in 1977. As a member of the Kansas Funeral Directors Association, he served six years on its legislative committee and was chairman from 1996 to 2000. He was also the past president of KFDA District 2. In 1999, he became KFDA's secretary-treasurer, moved on to vice president, and in 2001 was elected president, a position he held until 2003, when the organization honored him as Kansas Funeral Director of the Year. He also represented Kansas on NFDA’s Policy Board. Mike provided strong leadership and direction for all of Roberts-Blue-Barnett’s current staff; he passed away unexpectedly on March 5, 2019.

An employee since his junior year of high school in 1995, William G. Pike purchased the funeral home on October 9, 2020. William graduated from Kansas City Kansas Community College with an Associate Degree in Mortuary Science in July of 1999. His apprenticeship with Roberts-Blue-Barnett began in August of 1999, two days after taking the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards. 

The staff at Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home has continually strived to provide a service honoring tradition and offering the trust our area families deserve during their time of need. Throughout the firm’s history, ownership and the firm’s licensed personnel have come from the local or surrounding area of Emporia, Kansas. The staff maintains memberships with the Kansas Funeral Directors Association and the National Funeral Directors Association, as well as the Emporia Chamber of Commerce, Emporia Main Street, and many civic and fraternal groups.