History & Staff

Ed. B. Caudle 1939 until 1985

Ed B. Caudle was born in March 1920 about two miles north of the current Lindale High School. He graduated from Lindale High School in 1939 and went to work for M. H. York & Sons Hardware, Furniture, & Funeral Directors. After realizing that he might have a career in the Funeral Industry, Ed moved to Dallas and enrolled at the Dallas School of Embalming eventually receiving his Funeral Directors and Embalmers Licenses. Upon graduating Ed returned to Lindale and worked for the York Family until Dec. 7, 1941 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Ten days later he joined the US Navy and served until 1945. After the War, Ed again returned to Lindale and the York Family business and eventually became a partner in the business. After the death of Leon York in 1960, Ed acquired the remainder of the business and York-Caudle Funeral Home became Ed B. Caudle Funeral Directors. In 1985, Ed retired but still remains as CEO of the Company. In 1991, Ed was honored by the Texas Funeral Directors Association at their annual convention in Corpus Christi for 50 years as a licensed Funeral Director. He married Daphene Gimble from New Harmony and they have two children, Michael E. Caudle who lives in College Station, and Janet Rutledge who lives in Lindale and is Secretary/Treasurer of the Company. They also have 4 grandchildren, Greg Caudle, Allison Rutledge, Cory Paul Rutledge and wife Cassie, and Angela Caudle.

Mr. Ed Caudle passed away on April 10, 2012.
Mrs. Daphene Caudle passed away January 28, 2017

C. James Rutledge 1974 until 2015

James moved to Lindale in 1966 from Lubbock, Texas and graduated from Lindale High School in 1971. After graduation he moved back to Lubbock and attended Texas Tech University. In March of 1974, he began working for Ed B. Caudle Funeral Directors located at that time in downtown Lindale. In August of that year, he married Janet Caudle and they moved to Fort Worth where he worked at Greenwood Funeral Home and Cemetery and entered Mortuary School in Dallas, and Janet continued at Texas Christian University. After graduating from the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science in 1975, James started working for Harveson & Cole Funeral Directors in Fort Worth and after Janet graduated from Texas Christian University in 1976, they moved back home to Lindale. In 1985, James became a partner in the business and it became Caudle-Rutledge Funeral Directors and served as President and Managing Director until November 3, 2015. In 1986, Caudle-Rutledge moved to its new and present location at 206 W. South Street, and completely remodeled the structure in 2000. James and Janet have two children, Allison Renee Rutledge who lives in Lindale and Cory Paul Rutledge and wife Cassie who live in Spring. James has served as President of the Lindale Rotary club, former Lindale City Councilman, Member of the Lindale Area Chamber of Commerce, and currently serves on the Board of the Texas Bank and Trust in Lindale. He and Janet are members of the Lindale First Baptist Church, and are members and property owners at Hideaway. On November 3, 2015 James decided to retire and sold the rest of the stock to his partner , Jeff Daugherty. Jeff came to Lindale 24 years ago to work for James and became a partner in the business in 2001.

Jeff D. Daugherty Owner/General Manager

Jeff was born and raised in Paris, Texas and graduated from Paris High School in 1982. He began working in radio in 1980 and in 1984 he became Station Manager and Chief Engineer for KPRE radio in Paris. In November of 1986, he changed jobs and moved to KPLT/KTXU and served as Operations Manager and Assistant Chief Engineer. During that time, he was on the Board of Directors of Paris Crimestoppers , the Paris Community Theater and a Member of Paris Jaycees. In 1989, Jeff was offered an opportunity to enter into the funeral business and began working for Gene Roden's Sons Funeral Home in Paris. While employed there, he attended mortuary school at the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service and graduated with Honors in August 1991. In June of that year, Jeff left Paris and moved to Austin to serve his apprenticeship with Cook-Walden Funeral Homes. In April of 1992, Jeff moved to Lindale and began working for Caudle-Rutledge Funeral Home. Jeff became a partner in the business in 2003 and on November 3, 2015 became the Owner and General Manager. Jeff has served as Past President of the Smith County Emergency Services District #1 Board, has served on the Lindale City Council since 2007, as Mayor Pro-Tem since 2008, and in May 2016 was elected Mayor of Lindale. He also serves currently on the Lindale Economic Development Corporation Board, Lindale City Cemetery Board and is a member of the Lindale Chamber of Commerce. He has one daughter and son-in-law, Regan Daugherty Fitts and Dillon Fitts. Regan was a Lindale High School graduate in 2012. Jeff also has two grandsons, Ezra Cole Fitts and Lucah Chase Fitts. Jeff loves East Texas and has proudly made Lindale his home.

Eric Royal Funeral Director and Embalmer

Eric was born in Conroe, Texas and at a young age moved to Longview, Texas where he grew up and graduated from Pine Tree High School in 1992. Immediately after High School graduation he attended the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service earning a degree in Mortuary Science. After completing the required apprenticeship, he became a licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer at age 21. Eric began working at Caudle-Rutledge Funeral Home in 1997 and had the pleasure of knowing and working alongside James Rutledge, and Jeff Daugherty. In 2001, he returned to Longview where he worked for 16 years at Rader Funeral Home as one of the Head Embalmers for both the Longview and Kilgore locations. Eric returned to Caudle-Rutledge-Daugherty Funeral Home in 2017 working for Jeff Daugherty. In his spare time, Eric enjoys working in his yard, antiquing and road trips with his wife, Breahn, and spending time with his family. Eric and Breahn have been married since 2011, attend the Holy Family Catholic Church in Lindale, and are proud to call Lindale their home.

Savannah Spicher Assistant Funeral Director

Kimberley Redditt

Kimberley grew up in East Texas. She met her husband, Charles, in college while attending Texas A&M, Commerce. They have been married for 30 years, living in Arlington, Texas for the last 28 years. She served 23 years professionally in the retail industry as a Human Resources Manager, Employee Relations Manager and Compliance Manager in Ft. Worth, Texas prior to joining the Caudle-Rutledge-Daugherty Funeral Directors in 2021. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, DIY projects, spending time with family, and playing ball with her two toy poodles.

Annie Bell Baldwin Funeral Home Associate

Jim Daugherty Funeral Home Associate

Mike Barker Funeral Home Associate

Ron Owens Funeral Home Associate

Russ Thedford Cemetery Support

Sid Boyette Cemetery Support