As a child
living on the south side of Chicago, Kourtney Teat knew exactly
what he wanted to do when he grew up. Most 12-year-old boys back in
the 1980s were into sports, video games and probably just about any
other typical thing you can imagine – except checking out dead
bodies inside the old church at the corner of their
street.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>That’s right.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Picture this: Teat and his sister, hightailing it down the street, sneaking a view of the newly-departed – before the funeral – before they got caught by an adult.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Somehow during the course of his exciting new pastime, the sneak preview turned into an assessment of the undertakers’ professional workmanship.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“And all of the sudden, we did it so often, I started looking at the bodies and – ‘Man, I could do better than that,’ and run out,” Teat recalled, grinning from ear-to-ear. “We had to run out of there before the deacons caught us.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>That’s when he decided to be a mortician.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“When I told the teacher at school, she had to tell the students what it was,” Teat said. “I’ve always said when I get out of high school, I’m going to college, I’m going to be a mortician.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>And that’s what he did.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Teat is one of three seasoned partners at McClendon/Teat Mortuary and Cremation Service, located in a newly-constructed property at 12140 New Halls Ferry Rd. in North St. Louis County. It opened for business a few weeks ago.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>He and partners David McClendon and son, David McClendon II, built a 7,400 sq. ft. facility on property they purchased in 2006 next to Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church. The mortuary has two chapels that can be subdivided for four services at a time and plenty of parking in the rear.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The elder David McClendon is also a longtime successful businessman in Springfield, Illinois as owner of James D. Memorial Chapel, which he also built from the ground up in the late 1980s.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>McClendon said their motto “dignity – beauty – affordability” has served well over the years.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“This is a ministry for us. We help people. We’ve never turned anybody down – we’ve never turned anybody away,” says McClendon. “We come together as family, so we can do it all and we are licensed in both Illinois and Missouri – and we have contacts to run funerals wherever we need to and whatever we need to do.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>McClendon said final arrangements are “the best way feasible for both parties,” with services for the spectrum of races, faiths and cultures.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“We wanted somewhere where people could bring their families and coworkers and everything – and they could be proud of it,” McClendon said.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>McClendon is an Alton, Illinois native and a former North St. Louis County resident. His wife, Jean McClendon, is a retired school administrator who creates floral arrangements for the business.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Son and partner David McClendon II said he was flying home five years ago when he started working on the business plan for this business.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I went to the man who actually knew it the best, and what a father,” McClendon II said: “‘Hey, I have this dream and what can we do about this?’”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The son already knew the trade from the father.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“A lot of kids grew up watching Michael Jordan – watching Michael Jackson – I grew up watching him,” said McClendon II. “Because there was no TV time.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>In addition to their resemblance, both McClendons bring medical equipment sales and business experience to their mortuary acumen. Teat built expertise in large-volume funeral operations in Chicago, East St. Louis and at James D. in Springfield, Illinois, where he met who would become his partners.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The men are incorporating new ideas and innovation to meet needs and demands of today’s clientele. For a nominal fee, McClendon/Teat will offer video feeds of final services to loved ones who are sick, live too far away or otherwise cannot attend.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“The beauty of the building – don’t mistake that and say, ‘I can’t afford it,’” McClendon II said. “We’re going to help you out – we are family owned and operated and these are the only owners, and we have the ability to make our price adjustments as need be.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>McClendon/Teat is inviting the public to its open house on Saturday, August 6 from 3–6 p.m. For more information, call 314-921-8400 or visit
“http://www.mcclendonteatmortuary.com/”>
“color: black; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;”>www.mcclendonteatmortuary.com
