Our Staff

Jason was born in Marion, SC, a son of Pete and Shirley Hucks, and moved to Aiken in 1991 to attend the University of South Carolina Aiken on a baseball scholarship, subsequently graduating in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. He began working at Shellhouse Funeral Home as a funeral director and embalming apprentice in January 1996. Jason received his Associate of Science in Funeral Service from Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service in 1998, becoming fully licensed in South Carolina and Georgia soon after. He also serves as a member of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT), having deployed to missions in response to Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti Earthquake, Puerto Rico hurricanes Maria and Irma, and COVID-19 missions in Atlanta, GA, and Amarillo, TX. Jason, his wife Leigh, their son Hunter, and daughters Madison and Whitney, reside in Aiken. He attends Cedar Creek Church.

Mitch Rivers is a native of Chesterfield, South Carolina and is a graduate of Gupton-Jones College of Mortuary Science in Atlanta, GA where he was a member of and served as chapter president of PI SIGMA ETA, a national scholastic mortuary science fraternity.

He has been involved in funeral services since 1978. Formerly of Spartanburg, SC, he came to Aiken in 1990 and was a former vice-president and general manager of George Funeral Homes during the early to mid-90s. He and his former wife, the late Erin McClellan Rivers, founded Rivers Funeral Home in 1997. The funeral home merged with Shellhouse Funeral Home in 2003.

Mitch is the father of three, a daughter Sydney in Columbia, SC, and two sons; Cam, and Clark both in Aiken. He is an active member of St. John's United Methodist Church. He formerly served on the executive committee of the South Carolina Funeral Directors Association and has also served on the Boards of Directors of The Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Aiken County.

Graham was born in Augusta, GA, the only son of Laura and Robert Hall, and spent his childhood growing up on his parent’s horse farm in Aiken. After graduating from Aiken High School in 2003, Graham attended Clemson University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Piedmont Mortuary College where he received a degree in Mortuary Science. Graham is married to Breigh Anne Hall and has two children, Pierson and Charlotte. He and his family are members of St. John's United Methodist Church in Aiken. Graham serves on the Board of Directors for the Aiken Center for the Arts and is a member of Palmetto Golf Club.

Emilie “Christy” Sturkie is a native of Wagener, SC. She graduated from Piedmont Mortuary College in 2009 while serving an apprenticeship with Shellhouse and Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Homes. Christy joined the United States Air Force at the age of 17 and was stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Kaiserslautern, Germany. During her military career, Christy was deployed to Doha, Qatar in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. She was also a member of the search and recovery team and assisted the Army with the preparation and shipments of fallen service members and their dependents. Christy has been in the funeral industry 17 years and is a licensed funeral director, embalmer, and certified crematory operator. She is currently the lead embalmer for both Shellhouse and Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Homes. Christy specializes in the preparation of babies and children, as well as airbrush and restorative art for traumatic cases. She also offers lifecasting keepsakes at the request of a family, she makes 3D replicas that capture every detail of a baby’s hands, feet and occasionally their face. This can be done on adults as well. Christy is raising three daughters, Bella, Paisley and Bonnie and in their spare time they enjoy fishing and off grid camping.

Randy is a native of Augusta, Ga. and moved to Aiken, SC in 1980. He is a graduate of Piedmont Technical College of Mortuary Science in Greenwood, SC.

He has been involved in funeral services since 2005. Randy is married to Pamela L. Morgan and has two children, Brandon (Michelle) Morgan, and Heather (John) Bolin and has two grandchildren, Isabella (Izzy) and Kinsey Bolin. He is also a member of Millbrook Baptist Church.

Heather is a native of Aiken, and the daughter of Randy and Pam Morgan. She graduated from South Aiken High School and then went on to attend Aiken Technical College where she received her Associate in Applied Science of Accounting. In 2017, she graduated from Ashford University with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting. She has been an employee with Shellhouse Funeral Home and Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Home since 2006. In 2013 she became a part of the accounting department for both funeral homes. Heather is married to John A. Bolin, Jr. and has two daughters, Isabella and Kinsey. They are a member of Millbrook Baptist Church.

Alvin is a lifelong resident of Aiken, son of the late Johnny and Betty McKeivie Glover. He is a 1985 graduate of Aiken High School, a deacon at Word of Life Assembly, and has been with Shellhouse and Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Homes for over 20 years. He was married to Chandra Glover, and they have four children; Bianca, Alvin, Jr. (Gahee), April, and Marcus.

Ikeem was born in Augusta, GA, and lives in Warrenville, SC. He is a 2016 graduate of Midland Valley High School and also attended Aiken Technical College where he studied Industrial Maintenance. He is a member of Word of Life Assembly and has been with Shellhouse and Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Homes since 2018.

Troy Murphy was born and raised in Aiken, SC. He was in the first graduating class of South Aiken High School in 1982. His career expanded several years in various industrial facilities. Troy retired from Bridgestone Americas Inc. in 2013 with fifteen years of service. He then joined Shellhouse and Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Home in 2014. He and his wife Carrie have two children, Jacob and Jessica. They attend Hillview Baptist Church, where Troy serves as Outreach Pastor.

Jim Arbaugh was born in Aiken and graduated from Aiken High School in 1972. After graduation, he volunteered & served in the United States Army for 3 years 7th Special Forces Group and 82nd Airborne at Ft. Bragg NC. Jim married his high school sweetheart, Donna. while in the Army. They have 3 children and 7 grandchildren. Jim’s career was working in scientific sales for almost 40 years with Fisher Scientific, retiring in early 2018. Jim serves as a Deacon at Talatha Baptist Church & volunteers at Christ Central. He joined Shellhouse-Rivers as a funeral assistant in the Spring of 2018.

Phillip was born in Anderson SC and raised in Greenville SC. He holds degrees in church music from Furman University and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Certificate in Higher Education Leadership from the University of South Carolina. He has served as a Music Minister in Easley SC, Louisville KY, Belton SC and Aiken SC. Phillip retired in December 2020 after serving twenty-one years in Higher Education at Aiken Technical College and Troy University. Additionally, he has served as the Music Minister for South Aiken Presbyterian Church since May of 1996. He and his wife Becky have two children, Bishop and Marlee. He is also the father of Emily (Denver CO) and Daniel (Charlotte NC).

Danny was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. He has been an Aiken resident since 2014 and serves as the Campus Pastor at Cedar Creek Church’s Banks Mill campus. Prior to joining the Cedar Creek staff, Danny served over twenty years in student ministry, primarily at North Trenholm Baptist Church in Columbia, SC. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wingate University and a Master of Divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Danny is married to Kellie and has one daughter, Brooke.

Marion was born and raised in Aiken and attended Aiken County schools, graduating from Aiken High. He served in the US Army after which he met and married Edna Collie. They have two children, David Eubanks and Pam Courtney, both of Aiken. Marion and Edna are proud grandparents of six grandchildren and great grandparents of six great grandchildren. Marion's work career was at the Savannah River Plant, and he retired from there in 1995 after 40 years of service. He has worked part time with Shellhouse and Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Homes since 2007 as a funeral assistant.

Cathy Cole is a native of Savannah, Georgia but has called Aiken "home" since 1994. A Georgia Bulldog Fan, she graduated from UGA and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and completed Clinical Pastoral Education at Memorial Medical Centers in Savannah. Cathy enjoys reading, antiquing, and playing Canasta. Cathy previously served as Chaplain at Aiken Regional Medical Centers and two local hospice organizations. She is a Stephen Ministry Leader and Deacon at Aiken's First Baptist Church and serves in various other ways there. Rev. Cole serves on one local community board.