T he funeral home was started in 1913 by Carl Ustick, Sr. and his wife Millicent (Cross). They operated the funeral home until 1946. Carl Sr. was working at the Independence Mine in Victor, CO when an accident in one of the mines took place and he helped the local undertaker in his spare time. He liked the work and when the funeral home in Rocky Ford was for sale, he came to this area. He took a correspondence course and passed the state exam. The funeral home was purchased from Dobbs and Lyons. Millicent had her license as a funeral director and Carl had a full license to embalm.
Somewhere during this time they also ran ambulance. This was done by the funeral home because they had the cot and the car to transport. It was later sold to the fire department.
There was a little building in the back for building caskets. Carl would build wood caskets and Millicent would line them. Casket handles were purchased. When Carl Jr. got his first steel casket Sr. told him "you will never sell those things". Most bodies were kept until Sunday and the funerals were held then.