About Us

Paul Carmichael, a native of Granbury in Hood County, came to Pampa in 1930 from Waxahachie, Texas. A 1925 graduate of the Dallas School of Embalming, Paul came to Pampa to manage Pampa Mortuary, owned by banker Bass Clay. In 1937, he partnered with Charles Duenkel to form Duenkel-Carmichael Funeral Home, which was located at 300 W. Browning. In December of 1964, the funeral home was destroyed by fire.

Paul, together with his son, Bob, and Herman Whatley, who were employees of Duenkel-Carmichael, founded Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors. A new funeral home was built at 600 N. Ward and was ready for occupancy in December of 1965. In 1974, Bob's son, Doug Carmichael, joined the firm and became a partner in 1979 when Paul retired after 54 years in funeral service. In 1982, Herman Whatley retired and Bob and Doug became sole owners of Carmichael-Whatley. Paul Carmichael passed away in 1984 and Herman Whatley died in 2000.

In 1997, Bob Carmichael retired after 47 years in funeral service and Doug Carmichael, the third generation, became president of the firm. In January of 2016, Doug Carmichael retired and Brad and Suzanne Pingel, both natives of Perryton, purchased the firm. Brad has been a 17-year employee of Carmichael-Whatley. In July of this year, Brad purchased Hughs Funeral Home of Canadian and renamed it Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors of Canadian.