Our Staff

Our dedicated and supportive staff are here to guide you through this difficult journey. We take pride in doing our absolute best to ensure your needs are met.

Joe Westbury

Owner/Funeral Director/Embalmer

E-mail: wjwestbury@bellsouth.net

Walter Joseph (Joe) Westbury was born on February 13, 1975 in Griffin, Georgia. His parents are James Richard Westbury, Sr. and the late Loretta Chambley Westbury. Joe was educated in the Griffin-Spalding School System but at the age of 14 started working part-time at his family's nursing home, Westbury Medical Care Home, located in Jackson, GA. Joe's grandfather, the late Reverend S.J. Westbury, started the nursing home in 1959. 

Joe graduated from Griffin High School in June of 1994. Following graduation Joe studied at Gordon College in Barnesville, Georgia for 2 semesters. During this time the family experienced a death, and Joe was intrigued by the care that was provided to his family at their time of loss. He went to inquire about pursuing a career in funeral service and spoke with Mike Conner, manager of McCullough Funeral Home in Griffin, GA. After the discussion Joe started working at McCullough Funeral Home part-time, while also working at the family's nursing home in Jackson. In September of 1995 Joe started Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service in Decatur, Georgia. He was invited to join the honor fraternity. Joe graduated from Gupton-Jones in August of 1996. 

Following graduation he started his apprenticeship with McCullough Funeral Home in Griffin, while still working part-time at Westbury Medical Care Home. He received his funeral director and embalmer licenses in May of 1998. He continued to work with McCullough Funeral Home and Westbury Medical Care Home until he began employment with Haisten-Woodlawn Funeral Home, Griffin, GA in February of 2000. 

During this time Joe, grew his experience as a funeral director and embalmer, having met with the majority of families and embalming most of the deceased. In March of 2001, Mike Conner and Joe Westbury, with the financial backing of Rick Towns, bought the Moody Funeral in Griffin. The Moody Funeral Home had opened in 1997 and historically performed between 40-60 funerals annually. Conner-Westbury Funeral Home opened on March 23, 2001 and by the end of 2001 had performed 146 funerals. This trend increased every year. The last full year that Mike, Joe and Rick owned the funeral home, they performed 465 funerals. 

In March of 2012, Joe and his partners collectively sold their business to Carriage Services, Houston, TX. 

He has four daughters, Kitty, Kami, Karoline and Kaysen. They are members of Rock Springs Church in Milner, Georgia.  He is a member of the Jackson Butts County Rotary Club, Butts County Leadership Class of 2014, and serves as Chairman for the Partner's for Smart Growth. Joe enjoys playing golf and riding motorcycles.

Amanda Westbury

Human Resource/Aftercare Director

Amanda handles organizing, coordinating, and managing the employees of both funeral homes. She also handles marketing both Sherrell-Westbury / Williams- Westbury Funeral Homes and Jackson Monument company.  In her spare time she loves spoiling her grandchildren and traveling.  She has been on many mission trips including India and Honduras, to which both hold a special place in her heart. Her compassion for the hurting and for single moms has been the forefront of her ministry. Amanda is a member of Christ Chapel in Zebulon.

Amanda is a mother of (3) beautiful daughters and a Gigi to (7) grandchildren. ​

Michael Lott

Funeral Director

Michael is a recent graduate of Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Services and our newest Full-time Funeral Director at both Williams-Westbury in Barnesville and Sherrell-Westbury in Jackson. Michael is a devoted husband to his wife, Beth, and father of four boys. He is also an active member of Harvest Baptist Tabernacle in Jonesboro. In his free time, Michael enjoys playing the bass guitar and piano, but his greatest joy is spending time with his family.

Savannah Leazer

Funeral Director

Priscilla Knowles

Administrative Assistant

Prissy comes to us with 24 years experience in the Heath care profession. She would like to utilize her caring, and compassion skills that she was taught in her time in heath care to help families in their time of need. 

Prissy is from Williamson, Ga and she has 3 wonderful daughters, and 1 awesome grandbaby that she loves to spoil.

In her spare time, Prissy loves helping people. She also loves shopping, going to the beach and spending time with her family and friends. She never passes the chance to share her faith with everyone she meets.  

Prissy attends Christ Chapel in Zebulon, Ga. 

David Dawson

Staff Pastor/Funeral Assistant

Terry Holcomb

Funeral Assistant

Gene Davies

Funeral Assistant

 Howard Mathis

Funeral Director

Steve Dudley

Staff Pastor/Funeral Assistant

 DiAnne Dukes

Funeral Assistant

Rudy Mangham

Speaker/Funeral Assistant 

Rudy Mangham was born in Jackson, GA and attended Jackson High School. He is a member of the Towaliga Baptist Church, works with the "Shoes for God's Children" and has been on staff since 1992. 

Rudy lives in Jackson with his wife Maureen. They have 2 sons and a daughter-in-law, Marty, Rod and Hope, 1 granddaughter, Madison, and 1 grandson, Mason.

In Memorium
James Alvin Williams
September 15, 1927 ~ December 6, 2006

Funeral Director / Founder
James A. Williams was a Licensed Funeral Director and Founder of The Williams Funeral Homes in Barnesville, Milledgeville, & Gordon. A native of Spalding County, he began his career in the Funeral Industry in 1952. He has started seven successful funeral homes in his career. Mr. Williams has been a member of The Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, and The Lion's Club. He has been a member of the Georgia Funeral Director's Association for over 43 years, and has been a member of the National Funeral Director's Association as well. James was a member of The First Baptist Church of Barnesville. He was the husband of Blanche Williams and enjoyed gardening in his spare time.