Our History
The Rutherford Funeral Homes and Crematories have been serving the families of Columbus and Central Ohio for 95 years from their four convenient locations in Columbus, Worthington and Powell, Ohio.
Rutherford Funeral Homes and Crematories were first established in 1923 by Perry E. and Ruth Rutherford as the P.E. Undertaking Co., located at the corner of Frambes Avenue and North High Street. In 1925, the funeral home moved to its present location at 2383 North High Street as the P. E. Undertaking Company. It is now known as the Rutherford Funeral Home, which was later operated by the late William P. Rutherford, the son of Perry E. and Ruth Rutherford.
In 1961, the Rutherford Family acquired the Corbin Funeral Home in Worthington, Ohio. This formed the Rutherford-Corbin Funeral Home, located at 515 High Street, three blocks south of Dublin-Granville Road (State Route 161). Also located at that facility are two of our four crematories.
1976 saw further expansion of the Rutherford Funeral Homes by the acquisition of the Shroyer Funeral Home, forming the Rutherford-Shroyer Funeral Home. The smallest of our four locations, it is located in historic "Franklinton" at 1278 West Broad Street, just west of downtown Columbus.
In 1996 our firm continued to grow. The Rutherford family added our newest location, Rutherford Funeral Home at Powell, located at 450 West Olentangy Street (Powell Road). Also located at this new facility are two crematories to offer greater service and convenience to the families of Central Ohio.
In the many years of caring for the families of Columbus and Central Ohio, our firm has understood one very basic concept: that real service is based on trust and offering families a variety of choices to carry out their last wishes. As we continue into the twenty first century, Rutherford Funeral Homes and Crematories continues to build on our 90 year tradition of service and meeting the needs and desires of the communities we serve.
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Joseph P. Hayes III, President
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Scott E. Zinn, Funeral Director, Embalmer and Cremationist
Scott E. Zinn, Manager of Rutherford Funeral Home, 2383 North High Street, Columbus has been a Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer for 30 years. Born and raised in southeastern Ohio near McArthur he attended Boston University, Ohio University and received his Bachelors of Mortuary Science from Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. Scott is an Eagle Scout, BSA and is still active in the Chief Logan Reservation Alumni Association. He is a member the National Funeral Directors Association; Ohio Funeral Directors Association; Central Ohio Funeral Directors Association; New England Lodge #4 F&AM; 32nd Degree Masons, Valley of Columbus, and King Avenue United Methodist Church.
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Ron L. McDonald II, Funeral Director, Embalmer and Cremationist
Ron L. McDonald has been a Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer since 2002. He is a graduate of Newark High School, Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science and The Ohio State University. Ron is a member of the Ohio Funeral Directors Association, National Funeral Directors Association and The Ohio Embalmers Association.
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Jeff Craig, Funeral Director, Embalmer and Cremationist
Jeffrey Craig serves as a Funeral Director and Embalmer with the Rutherford-Corbin Funeral Homes and Crematories. Born in Frazeysburg, Ohio, he is a graduate of Tri-Valley High School, Ohio University, and the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. Jeff has been a Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer since 1984 and is a Certified Cremationist. He attends Jersey Baptist Church, and is a member of the National Funeral Directors, the Ohio Funeral Directors, the Central Ohio Funeral Directors, and the Ohio Embalmers Associations. He is currently a member of the Columbus North East Lions Club, and is past president, secretary and Zone Chair of the Heath, Ohio Lions Club and a member of the Newark Kiwanis Club. Jeff is a member of the Marion County Historical Society, as a living historian of the 121st Ohio Volunteer Infantry and 9th Ohio Light Artillery, and the Central Ohio Chapter of the Ohio University Alumni Association.
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Sue Sheatzley, Administration
Sue is an administrative assistant at Rutherford Funeral Home at Powell. Before joining Rutherford's staff, she worked for hospice, initially as a volunteer with patients and families for 5 years, and later as intake coordinator for 9 years. Sue graduated from The Ohio State University where she studied Education and Spanish. Outside of work Sue enjoys traveling with friends and family, historical novels, and a good Netflix binge.
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Larry Colacci, Greeter
Larry is the greeter at the Rutherford Funeral Home at Powell. Larry is also a parishioner at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Powell.
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Cathy Wentzel, Administration
Cathy serves as Assistant Office Manager. She came to the funeral home with four years of experience as a Funeral Director’s Assistant at Brown Funeral Home in Martinsburg, WV. She is an active member of Unity of Delaware in Delaware, OH. She is a Unity Chaplain and a Reiki Master. She also enjoys watching college sports and is an avid OSU Buckeyes fan. Free time is spent with family and friends.
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Justine Ramser, Administration
Justine is an administrative assistant at our Powell location. She is a graduate of Columbus Business University. She has many years' experience as a medical office administrator and is a life member of the Medical Group Management Association. Justine is committed to the local golden retriever rescue, Golden Endings, serving on the board as secretary. Chloe, her golden retriever, was a certified therapy dog who visited residents in many facilities providing her special brand of love to hospital and Alzheimer's patients. She is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and has enjoyed many volunteer opportunities over the years.
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Shannon Hall, Funeral Director/Embalmer
Shannon Hall is a licensed funeral director and embalmer. She is originally from Huber Heights, Ohio. Shannon graduated cum laude from Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science with her bachelors degree in Mortuary Science. She is a member of the Ohio Funeral Directors Association and the National Funeral Directors Association. Shannon is a proud fur momma of two beautiful longhair dachshunds, Stevie and Sophie. In her spare time she enjoys reading, sewing, crafting, cooking, going to the zoo and museums, and watching the travel channel, hockey and football.
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Tara Dodaro, Administration
Tara is an administrative assistant at our Rutherford Corbin Funeral Home In Worthington. She is from Hollywood Florida and a graduate of South Broward High school in 2001. She came to Ohio when she turned 18 for what was supposed to be one year but we are happy to still have her in Ohio. She says it suits her better here. She is also a small business owner with her husband. When not working, Tara spends time with her two fur babies, daughter & husband. Her hobbies are online shopping, reading, playing with makeup, anything that has to do with pop culture and hanging out with friends.
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Todd Steiner, Funeral Director/Embalmer
Todd Steiner is an funeral director and embalmer, as well as a certified crematory operator. He hails from Centerville Ohio, and attended Centerville High School. He received an A.A. in psychology from Sinclair Community College, a B.S. in psychology from Wright State University, and a B.M.S. from Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. He graduated top of his class at C.C.M.S. and received the Nunnamaker award for academic excellence and student citizenship. Todd has studied the Japanese martial arts of the Bujinkan for 13 years. He is a technology enthusiast, and enjoys keeping up with the latest psychological and other scientific research.
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Dean Hall, Funeral Director's Assistant/Cremationist
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Joe Frazier, Office Manager
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Dan Booze, Apprentice
Dan was raised in Millersport, Ohio and is a 2001 graduate of Millersport High School. Dan graduated in 2009 with an Associates in Security Management and graduated in 2015 with a Bachelors in Psychology from Ohio Christian University. Dan is an active member of the Millersport Lions Club and is a parishioner of St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Lancaster. Dan is a Certified Crematory Operator and is currently serving his apprenticeship to become a Licensed Funeral Director.
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Jocelynn Priest, Funeral Director/Embalmer
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Brett Knapp, Courier
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Mark Strong, Funeral Director/Embalmer
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Donald C. Jones, Funeral Director, Embalmer and Cremationist
Donald C. Jones serves as the Executive Vice-President of Rutherford Funeral Homes and Crematories and is the Managing Director of the Rutherford-Corbin Funeral Home, 515 High Street, Worthington. Don has been a licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer for over 34 years and is a Certified Cremationist. He attended The Ohio State University and is a graduate of the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. He is a member of McKendree United Methodist Church; the National Funeral Directors Association, the Ohio Funeral Directors Association and former board member of OFDA. He is a Past President of the Central Ohio Funeral Directors Association and serves on the Advisory Board of Walnut Grove Cemetery.
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Andy Wyman, Cremationist
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Lynn Harper, Owner
Lynn Harper is the daughter of the late William P. Rutherford and Helen Rutherford. She is owner of all four locations and in charge of the accounting for all four of our locations.
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Chris Lawson, Advance Funeral Planner
Chris Lawson is our Advance Funeral Planner. He is a licensed funeral director, embalmer and insurance agent. Chris spent nearly 18 years doing at need funeral work before switching to the pre-need side of the funeral business. He takes pride in helping our families get all their affairs in order in advance. In his spare he enjoys riding his motorcycle and serving his community as an EMT with his local fire department. Chris has been married to his wife, Traci for over 16 years and they have four children, Tyler, Kylee, Mylah and Rylan.
