Our family began its long history in funeral service when Robert M. “Bob” James, a Carbon County native, decided to settle in the Palmerton area. After receiving his funeral director’s license, he and his wife Irmgard “Irmy” James purchased the C. C. Buck Funeral Home at 661 Delaware Avenue, Palmerton, in 1946.

Several years later, Bob and Irmy purchased the Carl W. Kegel Funeral Home from the retiring Carl and Dorothy Kegel, and the R. M. James Funeral Home moved from 661 Delaware to 145 Delaware.

Bob’s nephew Tom Thomas, himself a Carbon County man, came to work with Bob and Irmy, along with his wife Carol, in 1964. Tom and Carol succeeded Bob and Irmy as second-generation family owners ten years later. Together, they operated the renamed T. K. Thomas Funeral Home, Inc. for the next 28 years.

In 1996, Tom and Carol’s daughter Debbie and her husband Rich Taylor came back to Palmerton to eventually succeed Tom and Carol. After obtaining his funeral director’s license and working with Tom and Carol for six years, Rich and Debbie became the current owners and operators of the funeral home in 2002.

Rich and Debbie—and family—are proud Palmertonians, and are currently involved in many aspects of community life.