Why Choose Us? 
Not only are we family-owned by the Jennings family, we’re independent. Parnick Jennings, Sr. along with his family and the Good Shepherd Funeral Home Staff have a long and proud history of personal service in Rome and the surrounding counties. To learn more about our staff, you can click here to go to the Meet our Staff Page.
All of our attention and time is devoted to your family and making our funeral home the best it can be for our friends and neighbors. Being independently owned we do not have to be distracted by corporate mandates, which gives us the flexibility to better serve our families according to their financial situations. We focus on you and your family not profits. Conglomerates and large corporate owned funeral homes answer to shareholders, we answer directly to you. We are here solely to make sure we do our very best to meet your families expectations.
When a family suffers the loss of a loved one, it’s of great comfort to know the funeral director on a personal level. Parnick Jennings, Sr. his family and staff, takes every opportunity we can to be involved in our community.
The more you know and understand about our independently owned funeral home, the more you will come to appreciate the difference. If you need to ask questions about pre-arranging or simply want to say hello, do not hesitate to call us, our family is here to serve yours.
Our History
The history of the Jennings legacy dates back to the late 1920s, when James William Jennings, Parnick's father, began his funeral service career in Etowah, Tennessee. He moved the family to Rome in 1930, where he opened what once was known as Jennings Funeral Home.
Parnick Jennings, Sr., became his father’s partner after his tour of duty in the Korean War in the 1950s. He and J.W. Jennings worked together to serve the grieving families all over Rome and surrounding counties, becoming well-known for their generosity, Christian duty and compassion.
After all, during the Great Depression (and for many years afterwards) many people could not afford a traditional funeral service for their loved ones. The Jennings family was, and still to this day are, well known for their dedicated personal service regardless of a family’s ability to pay.
The Jennings Family eventually sold their firms in 1988, to a corporation which allowed Parnick to run the funeral homes as if he still owned them.
The firms changed ownerships several times after Parnick sold the first time. This series of changes, coupled with his commitment to serving the families of this area during their time of greatest sorrow, led Parnick to the decision of, once again, opening his own firm.
It should be known that the administrators of the Jennings Funeral Home in Rome changed the operating name to McGuire-Miller Funeral Home. Parnick Jennings and his family have no affiliation with either of the former firms.
Selling his family's firm was a difficult decision, but it had its reward. In 2007 Parnick and Margaret Jennings obtained a charter from the Georgia Secretary of State for the incorporation of his new firm, Good Shepherd Funeral Home, which allowed him and his family to begin serving families in the precious name of Jesus in their hour of sorrow. Our firm is one of Rome's two locally-owned funeral homes.
Parnick Jennings, Sr.'s Good Shepherd Funeral Home opened in March 2008, paying homage to J.W. Jennings founding mission:
"Striving to serve you best in this sacred responsibility, with a staff trained to render a service equaled by few and surpassed by none, at the lowest cost in the community."
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J. W. Jennings-Founder 1930 |
Gladys S. Jennings |
Frank W. Jennings |
Ester C. Jennings |