Missouri's State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors has revoked every license held by James & Gahr Mortuary, located in Rolla and St. James, and Dent County Memorial Chapel, located in Salem. The count is 11: six entity licenses and five individual licenses held by Donn and Connie James. The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance published the release Sept. 24, 2026.
The license list attached to the release shows who held what. James-Gahr Mortuary, Inc. dba James-Gahr Mortuary lost funeral establishment licenses for Rolla (No. 2016038011) and St. James (No. 002033), plus a preneed seller license (No. 2009037432) and a preneed provider license (No. 2009037430), both listed at Rolla. Dent County Memorial Chapel, Inc., recorded in the list as dba James-Gahr Mortuary, Inc., lost its Salem funeral establishment license (No. 2005023374) and its preneed provider license (No. 2009037719).
The individual licenses went too. Donn James lost funeral director license No. 000876, embalmer license No. 005471 and preneed agent license No. 2010003103. Connie James lost funeral director license No. 2002025715 and preneed agent license No. 2010003101.
Grounds for the action come straight from the release: "violations of Missouri laws related to the management of preneed contracts and funds, failure to maintain a business registration with the Missouri Secretary of State's office (Salem location) and failure to adhere to the terms of a probationary agreement with the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors."
The release states the practical effect directly: James & Gahr Mortuary, Dent County Memorial Chapel, Donn James and Connie James "may no longer operate a funeral establishment, sell preneed contracts, including holding preneed funds, or represent themselves as licensed funeral professionals in Missouri."
Preneed is the industry term for funeral contracts and money paid in advance. Those contracts and funds must now move. The discipline order requires James & Gahr Mortuary to transfer existing preneed funeral contracts and funds to another Missouri-licensed preneed seller within 30 days of the order. The release does not state the order's date. Until the transfer closes, the firm is obligated to honor any purchaser's request to move their preneed contract to a newly designated alternate provider.
Purchasers hold specific rights under Section 436.458 RSMo. A purchaser, or the next of kin of a deceased purchaser, may contact the new preneed seller and designate a new preneed provider, the firm where the funeral service will be performed. The purchaser "shall not be penalized or assessed any additional fee for designating a new preneed provider." The successor seller has its own duty. It "is required to notify all purchasers upon receipt of the preneed contract and funds," and purchasers may also tell the seller which provider they want.
This is the second preneed-related disciplinary revocation by this board in 2026, and the harsher of the two. In April, the board revoked funeral director license No. 003018 and preneed agent registration No. 2010009380 held by Charles R. "Randy" Sheldon of Sheldon Funeral Home in El Dorado and Sheldon-Goodrich Funeral Home in Osceola. That action followed his "failure to comply with probationary requirements from a previous discipline order regarding the management of preneed contracts and funds." The board also ordered both of Sheldon's funeral establishment licenses revoked in that case, then stayed the revocations for 180 days, subject to conditions, because the establishments had a sale pending. No stay appears in the James & Gahr release. All six entity licenses were revoked outright.
The release does not name the Missouri-licensed preneed seller lined up to receive the contracts. It gives no dollar figures for the preneed funds involved. Terms of the probationary agreement the licensees failed to follow have not been disclosed either. KY3 reprinted the release Sept. 24 as an edited news release, placing the establishments in Phelps County, for Rolla and St. James, and Dent County, for Salem.
The probation itself was already on the public record. The board's discipline spreadsheet, released to Obitley on Aug. 10 in response to a Sunshine Law request about preneed oversight, lists James-Gahr Mortuary, Inc. on probation effective Dec. 8, 2025. Nine months later, every license held by the firm and its owners is gone.
For contract holders, the successor seller's identity is the disclosure to watch. Its notice, due on receipt of the contracts and funds, is what tells each purchaser where their preneed money now sits and which provider will perform the service.
*Sources: Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance news release on the James & Gahr Mortuary and Dent County Memorial Chapel license revocations (dci.mo.gov/node/2736), published Sept. 24, 2026; Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance news release "State Board revokes license and registration of St. Clair County funeral director, stays revocation for St. Clair County and Cedar County funeral establishments" (dci.mo.gov/node/2566), published April 3, 2026; Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors discipline spreadsheet "Discipline 2020 to Present," released Aug. 10, 2026 to Obitley under the Missouri Sunshine Law; KY3 edited news release on the Phelps and Dent County funeral home license revocations (ky3.com/2026/09/24/state-board-revokes-licenses-phelps-dent-county-funeral-homes/), Sept. 24, 2026.*
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