Our Staff

George and Ruth Penland (Deceased)

Founders

Ruth and George went to Hayesville High School in 9th, 10th, and 11th grade. Ruth  met George Penland in the 9th grade where he and two other boys were taking Home Economics in Ruth's Home Economics class. He became her high school sweetheart.

 They graduated in the class of 1935. Ruth was Salutatorian and had the last five years of perfect attendance. The last two years of high school, Ruth lived at the Hayesville jail and helped her aunt Neva cook and feed the prisoners.

 In February 1936, she went to live with her grandparents to care for two first cousins, eleven and seven years old. Their mother had passed away. They later lived with George and Ruth. She helped them milk the cows and several other chores. She helped her grandmother pull feathers from the ducks to make feather beds and pillows. She remembers sleeping on straw tick beds and helping make cotton mattresses. She was a 4-H Club leader and a reporter for Clay County news. George and Ruth helped raise six other children.

George and Ruth were married on August 28, 1937. They had three sons, Jerry, Jim, and Joe. George farmed and worked in the TVA office where they were building the Chatuge Dam, and helped James Clark sell stock at the Farmer's Federation. From 1942 until 1959, they ran Penland and Sons Poultry and Feed, a Grade A Dairy and Tri-State wholesale company. Ruth was the bookkeeper and treasurer. She attended Young Harris College to earn a degree in business.

 In 1959, the poultry and dairy business had slowed down. Jim was in college at Cullowhee, and Ruth and George moved to Swannanoa to have a promising financial future for their three sons and their families.

 In 1963, George was a supervisor at Beacon Manufacturing Company, and Ruth worked at Memorial Mission Hospital, where she served as Admitting Supervisor for 15 years. They relocated to Berryman Hall Funeral Home in Asheville, where George would manage for Ruth's cousins. In 1970, they purchased the business and renamed it Penland and Sons Funeral Home. They also had an ambulance service under contracts with the Federal Veterans and Buncombe County. They bought 5 Apartment Houses, which the Fire Department used for training purposes, and burnt one, on Crescent Street, to make a larger parking lot. Penland Ambulance Service office and Joe's Business were on Broad St. Ruth and George resided on Baird St beside her son Joe and his wife Terri. After George's father passed away in 1970, they moved his mother into the apartment next door to the funeral home, where she resided until she passed in 1979. They had two apartments on Charlotte Street that Ruth rented.

 In 1976, they opened another funeral home at 125 South Avenue in Swannanoa. The funeral home in Asheville burned in 1986. They bought a house and moved next door to the funeral home in Swannanoa.  Ruth's brother Rex passed away in 1999, her husband George died in 2001, and her son Jerry on August 28, 2005. Jim retired after 44 years of service at Square D Company and joined Ruth and Joe at the funeral home.

 In 2009, Joe had to retire because of bad health from exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He died on January 28, 2014.

 After 60 years of bookkeeping, serving as treasurer, and managing, Ruth decided to slow down. Her grandson, Jason Penland, joined Jim to operate the funeral home. Jason also owns Asheville Mortuary and Asheville Area Alternative Funeral Home, where his son, Jonathan, and daughter, Emily, work. This marks the fourth generation in the family funeral business.  The present manager of Penland Family Funeral Home is Stanley Combs, and the office manager is Brittany Gehring.

 Ruth was the family genealogist. There were 12 children on Ruth's mother's side and 24 grandchildren. On her father's side, there were 11 children and 20 grandchildren, plus three generations, making for a large number of kinfolk. Ruth has two widowed daughters-in-law, Janice and Terri, a son, Jim and his wife Linda, 10 grandchildren with their eight spouses, 20 great-grandchildren and 12 great-great-grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins, who all that are of employment age have good paying jobs, such as Doctors, Lawyers, Judges, School Teachers, Fire Chiefs and VA Hospital Supervisors/ Office Managers.

 Ruth was an Atlanta Braves fan and a Carolina Tar Heel fan. She was the oldest member of Oak Forest Methodist Church, the oldest living graduate of Hayesville High School, and was one of the oldest active funeral directors in North Carolina.

 With the help of CPI security system, a walker, funeral home staff and family, the Swannanoa Fire Department within walking distance of her residence, who employs her grandson Anthony Penland as Fire Chief and his son, Jarrod Penland (also Ruth's grandson), and her grandson, Joe Penland living next door to her, Ruth wouldn't of been able to live alone in her home next to the funeral home until her passing at 106 years old on May 22, 2025. 

James "Jim" Penland

Owner

A native of Clay County (1941) and son of George and Ruth Penland. He is a graduate of Hayesville High School in 1959. He attended Western Carolina College and moved with his family to Swannanoa in 1961.

He was a supervisor and Division Traffic Manager for Square D Company. After 44 years of service he retired in 2004.

He started working for Penland and Sons Funeral Home in 2004 along with his mother Ruth Penland and brother Joe Penland.

In 2012 along with nephew Jason Penland they purchased the funeral home and changed the name to Penland Family Funeral Home. They have made many changes, updating building, Vehicles and services for the Funeral Home.

Jim is very community minded, coaching 3 sports, charter member of Erwin Youth League, Southeast Regional Commissioner and member of Babe Ruth Board of Directors. He was induced into Erwin High School Hall of Fame in 2015.

He is married to his high school sweetheart, Linda Sanders Penland and they have 4 children, Ladonna, Jeff, Keith and Jimmy Penland. They have 4 grandchildren and 1 great granddaughter.

Brittany Gehring

Office Manager

Brittany Gehring is a Swannanoa native and a 2008 graduate of Charles D. Owen High School. She is the daughter of Timothy Grant and Martha Edmonstone.

 Brittany started her career in  Funeral Service in 2014 as an office coordinator at another funeral home and joined our family funeral home in the fall of 2021. 

 Her gentle nature and sweet smile are the first things you notice about her. Brittany is a warm spirit and nurturing soul. From the very first phone call, you will feel comfortable with her. She understands the gravity of losing a loved one and how heavy grief can be. In 2011, Brittany suffered through many losses in her life. She is an advocate for Mothers Against Drunk Drivers and someone you can lean on in your darkest moments of loss. 

 Being able to care for families, especially mothers and fathers who have lost their children, no matter how old they are, is one of the beautiful attributes Brittany possesses. Brittany truly cares for all of the families she serves at Penland Family Funeral Home and is honored to serve the community in which she grew up.

 In her free time, Brittany enjoys spending time with her daughter, Isabelle, as well as camping, hiking, making crafts, and gardening.

Emily Penland

Funeral Director

Emily Penland is the newest and youngest licensed Funeral Director at Penland Family Funeral Home. She graduated from Fayetteville Technical Community College in 2024 with an Associate’s Degree in Funeral Service Education and became a licensed funeral director in December of that year, following the successful completion of her apprenticeship.

As a fourth-generation funeral professional, Emily proudly continues a legacy that began in 1970 with her great-grandparents, Ruth and George Penland, founders of Penland and Sons Funeral Home. Her grandfather, Joe Penland, carried the tradition forward until his passing in 2014. Today, the family business is led by her father, Jason Penland, and her brother, Jonathan Penland, who also serves as a funeral director.

Emily is deeply committed to serving families with compassion, integrity, and professionalism. Known for her thoughtful nature and dedication, she strives to exceed expectations and provide comfort and guidance to every family she has the honor of caring for.

Jason Penland

Owner