The business was started by JAMES H. COLE, SR in 1919 on the lower east side of Detroit on St. Aubin, in an area known as the “Black Bottom”. In the early 1930's the business moved to 446 E. Warren , and remained there for 2 to 3 years. That building was lost by Mr. Cole during the Great Depression, so he moved the business to 275 E. Warren and remained there until 1962. By this time JAMES H. COLE, JR had become a licensed mortician and joined the firm.
In 1962, another move took the Cole family to 2640 W. Grand Blvd. The business began to grow and in the early 1970's Mr. Cole thought it would be advantageous to open a second chapel on the Northwest side of the city, at Puritan and Schaefer. In 1979, Karla M. Cole joined the firm, making three generations of the Cole family in the business of serving the needs of the community.
In June of 1982, due to the growth of the business, the W. Grand Blvd. office was moved next door into what was then an insurance company located at 2624 W. Grand Blvd , and in October of the same year the old building was torn down. In 2007, Karla Cole's son, Antonio Green, received his license of Mortuary Science, assuring a fourth generation of the family business. JAMES H. COLE HOME FOR FUNERALS, INC is the oldest, continuously operating black funeral home in the city of Detroit .
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