History & Staff

We have years of experience caring for families, from all walks of life. Each family comes to us because they know we are leaders in our profession, dedicated to excellence in service, and have the highest integrity.

Our History

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.

Our Valued Staff

  • Joseph P. Hayes III

    Joseph P. Hayes III, President

  • Lynn Harper

    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.

  • Scott E.  Zinn

    Scott E. Zinn, Funeral Director and Embalmer

    Scott E. Zinn is in his 35th year of service with Rutherford Funeral Homes and Crematories. He was the Manager of Rutherford Funeral Home, 2383 North High Street, Columbus for many years but has been caring for families at the Powell location since 2020. Scott has been a Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer for 33 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. 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.

  • Jeff Craig

    Jeff Craig, Funeral Director, Embalmer and Cremationist

    Jeffrey Craig serves as a Funeral Director and Embalmer with the Rutherford-Corbin Funeral Home 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.

  • Shannon Hall

    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.

  • Todd Steiner

    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.

  • Mark Strong

    Mark Strong, Funeral Director/Embalmer

  • Dan Booze

    Dan Booze, Certified Crematory Operator

    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.

  • Donald C. Jones

    Donald C. Jones, Funeral Director, Embalmer and Cremationist

    Donald C. Jones 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.

  • Andy Wyman

    Andy Wyman, Cremationist

  • Tara Dodaro

    Tara Dodaro, Administration

    Tara is an administrator at our Rutherford Corbin Funeral Home In Worthington. She is from Hollywood Florida and a graduate of South Broward High school. She came to Ohio in 2001 for what was supposed to be a year, but we are happy to still have her here in Ohio. Tara is also a small business owner with her husband. When not working, Tara spends time with her two fur babies Dolce and Pupolee, her daughter, husband & friends. Her hobbies are online shopping, reading, makeup, pop culture and hiking.

  • Sue Sheatzley

    Sue Sheatzley, Administration

    Sue is an administrative assistant at Rutherford Corbin Funeral Home. 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.

  • Connie Haag

    Connie Haag, Administrator Assistant

  • Joe Frazier

    Joe Frazier, Funeral Directors Assistant

    Joe was born and raised in Marion, Ohio and has lived in Columbus, Ohio since 2010. He has a degree in accounting and works in the construction industry as a Director of Finance. Joe has worked at Rutherford's since 2017. He assists the Funeral Directors with families, maintains the funeral home fleet, helps the President with various building improvements and is the caretaker of the University location.

  • William D. Newland

    William D. Newland, Assistant Funeral Director

  • Mackenzie  Dunn

    Mackenzie Dunn, Pre-Arrangement Specialist

    Mackenzie was born and raised in Bowling Green, Ohio. She graduated from Bowling Green High school in 2017 and went on to play division I volleyball at Oakland University. She graduated from Oakland in 2020 with a Bachelor of Integrative Studies degree.Mackenzie grew up in the funeral business. Her grandfather and two uncles founded their family funeral home in Bowling Green in 1975, which her father, Tim Dunn, has now taken over and added a few more locations with her sister Brittany and brother Tyler. Mackenzie is extremely passionate about taking care of & serving every family she possibly can. Her goal is to make the pre-planning process as simple, stress free and comforting as possible. She is a great person to help you and your family within this process because she is a ray of light and truly cares about the people she meets with.

  • Kobey Simpson

    Kobey Simpson, Maintenance/Cremationist