Peeples-Rhoden Funeral Home, Inc. has been serving the families of Hampton County and the surrounding Lowcountry area for over 100 years.
Founded by Mr. Eugene M. Peeples, who had previously served as Hampton County Clerk of Court, and originally known as Peeples Funeral Service, it was one of the first funeral homes in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. When the business began, they made their own burial vaults out of cement and operated the local ambulance service, being one of the last funeral homes in the state to relinquish that responsibility to the county in 1978. In the early 1950's, while under the direction of Jimmy Holland and Earl Peeples, son of Eugene Peeples, the name was changed to Peeples-Holland Funeral Home. In 1975, after the untimely death of Jimmy Holland, Gordon L. Rhoden, Sr., joined the firm as general manager. Soon after, Gordon acquired the business, and the name was then changed to Peeples-Rhoden Funeral Home, Inc. His brother, John B. Rhoden, Jr., joined Gordon in the business and remained a member of the firm until his retirement in 2004. The original business was located in Hampton on the corner of First Street and Elm Street until 1985, when the decision was made to construct a new facility at 300 Mulberry Street, approximately 3 blocks from the original business. On April 21, 1986, the new structure was complete, and the physical move was made.
Gordon L. Rhoden, Sr. and his wife Brenda Rice Rhoden, who passed away in March of 2025, own and operate the business located in Hampton as well as the Chapel located at 330 Clarke Avenue in Estill. In December of 2003, Gordon and his son, Lee Rhoden, purchased Parker Funeral Home, now Parker-Rhoden Funeral Home, in Walterboro. Gordon graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 1970, is Past President of the South Carolina Funeral Directors Association, Past Vice President of the South Carolina Coroner's Association, and proudly served 8 terms as Hampton County Coroner, making him one of the longest-serving coroners in South Carolina at the time. Gordon and Brenda were members of Hampton First Baptist Church, where he has served as a deacon. They also have two daughters, Lori Rhoden Bowen and husband Patrick of Atlanta, GA, and Ryan Rhoden Brunson and husband Rabi of Hampton; eight grandchildren: Gretchen, Cress and Emmie Rhoden, Grant Ewing and Olivia, Emma Clare and Sims Rhoden Brunson, and Harrison Cook, as well as three great-grandchildren: Mary Ellis and Eliza Stephens, and Briggs Mullinax. Lee and his wife, Amy Harrison Rhoden, reside in Walterboro.
Gordon passed away in November of 2025. Since his passing, Preston M. Altman, a native of Hampton County who worked several years with Gordon, operates the firm as its general manager with the support of the Rhoden family.
Today, as it was in 1924, we continue to be a family serving the needs of bereaved families in a compassionate, caring, and dignified manner.
