The history of Stone Brothers Funeral Home began somewhere around 1900 when a young man by the name of Edward Stone became interested in Funeral Service and the Embalming trade.

Young Edward had left the family compound in Melbourne, Florida and had moved to Tampa where in the year of 1916, after being licensed by the state of Florida, he opened the first Stone Brothers Funeral Home.

This was the same year that another brother Albert left Melbourne and moved with his wife and young daughter to Jacksonville. After the second brother Richard went to Embalming School, Albert bought him a Packard Hearse to go into business also.

Albert wanted Richard to open up in Jacksonville, but to be closer to home, Richard left Jacksonville and opened the second Stone Brothers Funeral Home in Cocoa, Florida in the year of 1925.

During this time Albert was employed as a porter on the Florida East Coast Railroad. His train run was from Jacksonville to Key West, with a layover in Fort Pierce. In 1920 Albert was also licensed to Preach in the Methodist Church.  During his long layovers be became acquainted with several families in the Fort Pierce area, and was encouraged by them to help them organize a Methodist church. In September of 1926 with a flock of 11 believers the St. John Methodist Church became a realization.

After the hurricane of 1927 which destroyed the railroad, Albert decided to leave the railroad. Because of his church, in the year of 1929 he moved his family from Jacksonville to Fort Pierce.  He later became an agent for the Afro Life Insurance Company where he continued to meet and make more friends. With the support of his church family and the new friends that he had made, he made the decision to follow his brothers in funeral service. This business, the third Stone Brothers Funeral Home was opened in 1932 and has been a part of the community of Fort Pierce since it’s founding at the same location 317 North 7th Street.

Records reflect that in 1941 he expanded his services to another community north of Fort Pierce in Indian River County as a second location. The all Black community north of Vero Beach was known as Gifford. A building was built in that community in 1953 to house the growing business, thus becoming Stone Brothers Funeral Chapel. A nephew that he had raised by the name of Charles went to Mortuary school after the war and ran the Gifford business for his uncle, until he died in 1984.

Albert had to provide a home for his daughter, husband and young grandson after his beloved daughter Alma, contracted Polio and was stricken to a wheel chair.