Tony A. Austin

Director of Operations, Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer

Tony Austin, a licensed funeral director and embalmer, oversees a staff of eight full-time employees, several part-time employees and specialty contractors.

Mr. Austin supervises all business decisions affecting the family-owned funeral and cremation organization, which has had a presence in Delray Beach since 1985. The second location in Mangonia Park opened in 2007. He works in strategic partnership with Dr. Barbara Carey-Shuler, wife of the late business founder James Lamar Shuler.

Mr. Austin sees growth potential in both markets where the chapels have strong name recognition and community ties. In Delray Beach, he sees a number of opportunities to reach audiences that would appreciate more convenient arrangement services via the web or over the phone. Shuler’s Memorial Chapel also plans to hold more community outreach to explain the advantages of pre-planned/pre-need arrangements, which allows family members to plan and finance their services in advance.

Barbara Shuler brought Mr. Austin out of retirement to head operations due in large part to his extensive experience and professional relationship with Lamar Shuler. The men worked together as part of the Florida Morticians Association. Austin had retired in October 2009 from Stewart Enterprises’ Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Funeral Home and Cemeteries in Miami, where he had worked since 1988. His last position was managing the Woodlawn Chapel in Hialeah.