Mark Anderson of Joiner-Anderson Funeral Home recently announced that Statesboro native Bland Mathews had become a partner and owner in the business.
      "We are very excited and feel Bland represents all the wonderful qualities we desire in our 'family' business," Anderson said. "Bland wanted to live here in Statesboro, and wanted to be in the funeral service business. My partner Tracy Joiner and I talked with him for several months before he came on board in November 2010. He bought into the business in November 2012."
      Mathews graduated from Bulloch Academy in 2005 and Auburn University in 2010 where he received a degree in Business Management. Mathews will graduate this spring from Ogeechee Technical College's Funeral Program with an Associate of Applied Technology in Funeral Service Education.
      "Growing up, I never thought being in the funeral business was something that I wanted to do," Mathews said. "When I moved back to Statesboro in 2010, I couldn't think of anything that I would rather be doing. I absolutely love it."
      Mathews said he has come to appreciate the role the funeral service provider plays when families are faced with death.
       "It is comforting to see a family go from being upset and grieving towards peacefulness," he said. "To see that transition, and to know you were helpful in that process is very rewarding."
       Mathews is married to Jessica Fulmer, a nurse with East Georgia Regional, and a former tennis player at Georgia Southern.
       "He is absolutely perfect for this business," Anderson said. "He is considerate, well mannered, kind, with an easy temperament. He and Jessica have become part of our family, and we are so very glad Bland is part of Joiner-Anderson's future."
       In 1998, Joiner and Anderson bought the funeral home outright renaming it Joiner-Anderson Funeral Home. In 2004, Joiner-Anderson expanded with the addition of an on-premise crematory. Joiner-Anderson Funeral Home and Crematory also purchased Bulloch Memorial Gardens, a perpetual care cemetery in 2004.