Our History
In June of 1988, five Erwin, Tennessee business men, including funeral director Michael D. Peterson, formed a corporation with the purpose of constructing and operating Unicoi County's fourth funeral home. They acquired property on Main Street that had housed an automobile dealership, a tire and appliance center, and later a van conversion center. They immediately began the renovations to make the building suitable for use as a funeral home, including a new roof structure, interior walls, ceilings, carpeting, exterior brick, and paving.
On September third and fourth of that year, just ten weeks after renovation began, an open house hosted several hundred people of the community, and Valley Funeral Home began serving Erwin and the surrounding area. In February of 1989, "The Southern Funeral Director" magazine selected Valley Funeral Home as the month's feature firm. A photograph of the facility appeared on the cover of the publication, and a story with additional photographs were included inside. Valley Funeral Home has a church-type chapel with vaulted ceiling and private family room, offices, and a large reception area.
Since 1992, four years after the opening of the funeral home, Valley Funeral Home became the leading funeral home in Unicoi County. Since the start of Valley Funeral Home in 1988, Valley Funeral Home has been increasingly preferred. In 2002 the funeral home served more families than all other funeral homes in Erwin combined. We are proud to be the funeral home of choice for the families of Erwin and Unicoi County.
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Amanda V. Bailey Manager/Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer
Amanda is a proud native of Unicoi County and graduated from Unicoi County High School with honors in 2003. She then went to John A. Gupton Mortuary College in Nashville, TN, where she earned an Associates of Arts Degree in Funeral Service. Amanda is married to Christopher L. Bailey. She is the proud mother of two daughters, Madilyn McKenzie and Katie Ann Edwards and the proud step-mother to Lucas Reece and Zoey Ann Bailey. When not working she enjoys being outdoors, being with friends and spending time with her family. She is a member of Good Shepherd Baptist Church. Amanda considers it an honor to serve the families of Unicoi County and surrounding areas, and Valley Funeral Home considers it a privilege to have such a dedicated manager.
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Angela L. Shelton Administrative Assistant
Angela grew up in Erwin, TN and graduated from Unicoi County High School in 1991. She attended Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, FL where she majored in Business Administration and Management. In October, 2015, she came back home to Erwin and on April 28, 2016, joined the Heritage family at Valley Funeral Home. Angela is a member of Erwin Church of God and enjoys photography and spending time with her family, especially her nieces and nephews. Angela considers it an honor to serve the families of Unicoi County in their time of need.
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John Edwards Funeral Assistant
John is a 1987 graduate of Unicoi County High School, and attended Draughons Jr. College, East Tennessee State University and the Church of God School of Ministry. He has been married to Lori Hire-Edwards since 1994, and they have one son, James Ryan and grandsons, Desmond Wyatt, Dakoda James, and William Raymond John. An ordained Bishop in the Church of God, John has served in many areas of pastoral and pulpit ministry across the state of Tennessee since 1986. He was proud to be selected in 2007 to come home and serve as Senior Pastor at Erwin Church of God. John’s experience in funeral service started here in Erwin in 1988, and continued in several areas of the state as he traveled, ministering the Gospel. “I am honored to extend my ministry to help serve the people of Unicoi County, here at Valley Funeral Home,” John says, “it is a great opportunity to show the love of Christ to families in some of their darkest hours, offering a helping hand, a compassionate ear, and a prayerful heart.” John joined the Valley Funeral Home family in January, 2010.
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Amber Burgner Funeral Assistant
Amber grew up in Chuckey, TN and attended David Crockett High School and Tusculum College. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 2015. Amber is the proud mother of two boys, ages 9 and 4. Her hobbies include playing softball and watching her children compete in Karate Tournaments. Amber joined the Valley Funeral Home family in August, 2018.
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Jessie C. Stamey Apprentice Funeral Director and Embalmer
Jessie was born in Leonardtown, Maryland but shortly afterwards moved to Erwin, TN, where she graduated from Unicoi County High School in 2017 with distinction. Immediately after high school she attended John A. Gupton Mortuary College in Nashville, TN where she obtained an Associates Degree in Funeral Service and earned her Cremation License in 2019. Upon completion of mortuary school, she joined the Heritage family as an Apprentice Funeral Director and Apprentice Embalmer at Valley Funeral Home. Jessie is a member of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Erwin where she was a former Altar Boy. She began her love for the funeral profession while serving with the Unicoi County High School's JR ROTC program. From a young age Jessie has enjoyed being outside and over the years has developed a fondness of gardening, hiking and discovering waterfalls. She also has a love for hot rods. Jessie considers it a great honor to be able to serve the citizens of Unicoi County and the surrounding area.
