Our Story
In 1892 three brothers owned and operated Schoppenhorst Bros. Laundry and Linen Service in Louisville’s West End. One of the brothers, Edward Schoppenhorst, was the youngest son of Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Schoppenhorst, a German immigrant from Ladbergen, Westfalen. Edward was interested in the “undertaking” business and branched out to establish his own funeral home, which became Schoppenhorst Bros. Funeral Home. The other brothers remained in the laundry business.
Schoppenhorst Bros. Funeral Home located their business in the beautiful, historic 1865 residence built by Captain Kawein, an Ohio River boat captain. The home, at 1832 West Market Street, remains today and features the original glass front door made in France and shipped to Louisville in the 1860s. The eleven-foot vintage door showcases a piece of glass from every country in Europe which has been crafted into a distinctive design.
Edward and his wife, Flora, successfully managed the funeral home at West Market from 1892 to 1940. Their success can be attributed to their exceptional, caring service. They also had a reputation for maintaining an impeccable and efficient facility.
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After a long and dedicated profession in the funeral industry, Edward passed away in 1941 leaving Flora and Schoppenhorst associates to continue the business.
In addition to the family business on West Market Street, Mrs. Schoppenhorst, in 1960, joined Robert Bosse, Lee Cralle, Jr., James Daugherty, Alton Neurath, and Elbird Owen in building Highlands Funeral Home located at 3331 Taylorsville Road. Vernon Emerson later joined the business.
Flora led Schoppenhorst Bros. Funeral Home until her death in 1965 at which time she turned over two-thirds of the company to Mr. McFarland and Mr. Jackson. Charles Schoppenhorst and his wife, May Bert, owned the other third of the business.
Edward and Flora Schoppenhorst are both buried at Cave Hill Cemetery. They were active in their Masonic Lodge with Edward serving as a Past Master of Shawnee Masonic Lodge and Flora serving as Past Worthy Matron of Electa Chapter of The Order of the Eastern Star.
In 1976 Ben Underwood purchased Schoppenhorst’s funeral home and business on West Market for $64,000.00 At the time of purchase the business reported $15,000 in the bank and a volume of 55 death calls per year. Twenty years later, Ben and his director, Herb Morgan, experienced growth of 130 death calls per year.
In 1991, Ben and his mother, Hallie Kruse, partnered with Neill Brooks in the construction of Schoppenhorst, Underwood & Brooks Funeral Home located at 4895 North Preston Highway, Shepherdsville, Kentucky. Hallie earned her Director’s License in 1994 and was instrumental in the financial management of the business. Alvin Jessie directed the funeral home operations until 1997. The business at its new location experienced growth of 68 calls per year. In 2003, a Chapel was added and in 2008 two visitation parlors with private, adjacent food-service lounges were also added. Steve Brooks was elected Secretary and Ben Underwood is Board Chairman. Currently, the volume averages over 500 calls per year making Schoppenhorst Underwood & Brooks Funeral Home one of the top funeral homes in Kentucky.
In the spring of 2015, Schoppenhorst, Underwood & Brooks Funeral Home opened a second location at 123 Winning Colors Drive, Mt. Washington, Kentucky. This 18,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art funeral home is furnished with a beautiful stained glass windowed Chapel and four large visitation parlors each of which have private, adjacent food-service lounges. Each lounge is equipped with a refrigerator, ice machine, microwave, coffee machine, spacious service counters, and tables. Each lounge also has its own outside entrance which provides easy access for food delivery and allows convenience for smokers needing to step outside. In addition to the pristine interior of the funeral home, a baby grand piano sits in the spacious foyer entrance which is played by accomplished pianists during visitations.
Schoppenhorst, Underwood & Brooks Funeral Home is proud to carry on the devoted legacy of its original owners, Edward and Flora. As an independently owned business, we are in the position to customize our services to meet the personal needs of those in our community. We consider it a privilege to serve the families of deceased love ones by providing professional and compassionate care during their critical time of bereavement.
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Yes, we are independently owned.
In honor of the late Mr. Benjamin Underwood
Owner, CEO
Mr. Benjamin A. Underwood, age 83, of Louisville, returned to his Heavenly Father on Friday, April 22, 2022.
Mr. Underwood was a proud funeral director and embalmer for almost fifty years and fulfilled this important calling with respect and dignity to every person he came across. He was an “old school” funeral director full of purpose. His brilliant and intentional decisions can be seen in all of his locations.
