By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Comfortable couches, soft chairs, delicate chandeliers and a sense of quiet welcome, help make the new funeral home in Raeford put the emphasis on “home.”

That was Jonathan Prather’s goal in the designing and planning for Legacy Funeral Home: he didn’t want it to feel like a funeral home at all. And with the ribbon cut on its grand opening last month, it’s now ready to connect with the community and provide services for families.

Jonathan Prather is owner of Legacy Funeral Home and Crematory, and a Funeral Service Licensee. Prather bought McNeill Legacy Funeral Home in St. Pauls in 2021, and hoped to expand to the Raeford community. When the time was right, the business pursued the permits and permission with the city, and broke ground.

“We knew we wanted to expand, we had looked in this area for a while,” Prather said.

Construction wrapped up in late 2025, and the funeral home is now open for business.

The Legacy Funeral Home team in Raeford includes Micah Thompson-Prather, a Funeral Service Apprentice who is soon to complete his license; Kasei Lester Prather, a Funeral Director Apprentice; Doris McLean, a Funeral Associate and administrative assistance; and Ricky D. Locklear, a Funeral Associate. The company also has staff members at its location in St. Pauls who can assist with families’ needs.

Jonathan Prather was born in Robeson County, where he grew up in Red Springs and graduated from Red Springs High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 2006, an associate’s degree in funeral service from Fayetteville Technical Community College in 2007 and an associate’s degree in emergency medical science from Robeson Community College in 2017. He has nearly 20 years of experience working in the funeral services industry.

He has also volunteered and worked as a paid employee in emergency medical services, since the age of 18. He worked as a House Supervisor at UNC Southeastern and currently serves as a medical examiner for Robeson County.

Together, Prather and his wife, Kasei Lester Prather, and their son Micah make Legacy Funeral Home and Crematory a family business. Kasei Prather is a licensed cosmetologist who graduated from the Funeral Directors program at FTCC. The couple have four children – Micah, Ashleigh, Izabella and Ezra.

The funeral home and crematory offers a full line of services. They conduct traditional funerals, and have a display room of coffins and a variety of urns available. Memorial services can be held in the on-site chapel, and Legacy Funeral Home has two comfortably-appointed rooms for holding viewings. For viewings expected to have a large attendance, the funeral home can open up more space to accommodate visitors and family. The funeral home also provides committal/graveside services.

Constructing and opening a brand-new funeral home was a process that took a little over a year, Prather said. Legacy Funeral Home and Crematory is licensed through the North Carolina Board of Funeral Service. Once the building was completed, it underwent inspection “to make sure everything was up to par,” Prather said. It also received its certificate of occupancy and inspection from the fire marshal’s office.

Legacy Funeral Home and Crematory, as the name implies, has an on-site crematory. The electrical work for the crematory was in the final stages and should be completed within the next month, Prather said.

In the near future, they plan to do a “lunch and learn” to talk about pre-planning for funeral services. They’ll be announcing more details about the event in the future, on Facebook.

Legacy Funeral Home and Crematory is located at 320 S Main Street, Raeford. The phone number is (910) 479-1042. The email is Legacyfuneralsraeford@gmail.com. They are available to discuss pre-planning or immediate needs. The funeral home’s website is https://www.legacyfhraeford.com which has the contact information and details on pre-planning and other resources. Obituaries from Legacy Funeral Home and Crematory will appear in The News-Journal.