Our History
Sharp Funeral Homes History
Sharp Funeral Homes is proud to be a multigenerational business, serving families with the personal touch that only a family-owned business can give. We feel deeply humbled by and appreciative for the trust we have received from Genesee County families for over 100 years.
It all began in 1889 when Austin and Trent Bowles established a funeral home together in Linden, Michigan. They then handed the family business down to Brian Bowles. After WWII, Brian passed it on to Eldred and Rod Bowles, who continued the work of their grandfather, father, and uncle with compassion and care.
In 1970, Roger Sharp, a proud U.S. Army veteran and graduate of the California College of Mortuary Science, was working on expanding his own family business by purchasing the Bendle Funeral Home at 8138 Miller Road in Swartz Creek. 19 years later in 1989, the mantle was passed from Eldred and Rod to Roger, as Roger successfully added two new locations in Linden and Fenton by acquiring Bowles Funeral Home. After moving the Fenton Chapel to its current location at 1000 Silver Lake Road in 1991, Roger renovated the building in Grand Blanc Township at 6063 Fenton Road in 1994 and opened the fourth Sharp Funeral Homes location.
Today, Roger owns and operates these four beautiful, full-service funeral homes alongside his three children, Jennifer Sharp Scully, Stephanie Sharp Foster, and Roger L. Sharp II, as well as his son-in-law, Michael T. Scully.
Together, they have invested not only in their family business but in the Genesee County community they love, participating in charities and organizations such as the Genesee County Alzheimer’s Association and the Fenton Community Fund, serving on local boards such as the Swartz Creek Kiwanis Club and the Board of the Fenton Regional Chamber of Commerce, and even establishing the annual Heart of Caring Award for hospice professionals and caregivers in the community.
We look forward to continuing our storied relationship with the families of Genesee County, providing support and healing to our treasured friends and neighbors for many more years to come.
