Seawinds Funeral Homes Joins Forces with StoneMor Partners

Sebastian, FL, April 17, 2013 --(PR.com)-- StoneMor Partners L.P. is proud to announce its new partnership with Seawinds Funeral Homes in Florida. Founded by James W. “Jim” Young, Seawinds Funeral Homes group includes six premium funeral homes spanning Florida’s east coast from Melbourne to Palm Beach. Featuring stunning facilities, an attentive staff and superior services, these funeral homes are renowned as some of the best in Florida.

Young, who has been working in the funeral industry since he was 18 years old, has dedicated his life to building first-class funeral homes. After graduating from mortuary science college at Miami Dade College in 1985, he served his internship at Fred Hunter Funeral Home. In 1992, Young founded Young and Prill Funeral Homes, which he operated for nearly 10 years throughout the Treasure Coast before selling the company.

Young founded the Seawinds group in 2001, starting with Seawinds Funeral Home and Crematory in Sebastian. He then acquired Davis-Seawinds Funeral Home and Crematory in Melbourne and later Cox-Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home and Crematory in Vero Beach. Young later bought Eagle Monument Cemetery Services in Fort Pierce, which was a monument and cemetery services company. From there, he and the Buxton family in Okeechobee created the Buxton-Seawinds Funeral Home and Crematory. Young then purchased Palm Beach National Chapel, a funeral home conveniently located adjacent to the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth. Lastly, Young founded the Treasure Coast Seawinds Funeral Home in Stuart, FL. In addition to the funeral homes, Young has three crematory facilities in connection with this group. Together with his wife, Timea, they’ve grown the business tremendously.

Last year, the Seawinds group handled a total of 2,000 calls. “We had about 35 employees, and it got to the point where I wanted to take the business to the next level.” Young says, “To do that, I needed to partner with StoneMor for support so I could focus on growing the business more than the financial part. I felt StoneMor would be a good fit for the Seawinds family because of the way they operate their businesses.”

Jim Young will work directly with Nancy Lohman, StoneMor Partners regional manager for the Florida region and Director of Funeral Services with Lohman Funeral Homes, Cemeteries & Cremation.

"The acquisition of Jim Young's Seawinds properties is a perfect complement to our Florida region,” says Lohman. “We have known Jim for decades and are elated to now be working together to serve families across the central east coast of Florida."

“The Lohmans and Seawinds group have worked together for years,” adds Young. “It’s always been a close relationship, and that’s one of the reasons I picked StoneMor.”

Together, the Lohman and Seawinds group will cover Volusia County all the way down to Broward County.

“So now we cover the large majority of the east coast of the state, creating a major footprint for StoneMor in Florida,” says Young.

“Jim has built a very successful funeral service company,” says Ken Lee, Vice President of Funeral Operations with StoneMor Partners, L.P. “His addition to StoneMor Partners will be a great asset to our management team.”