Heritage Funeral Home and Crematory, located in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia was founded by Russell Friberg and Mrs. Thelma Ross Lane in November 23, 1997 to serve the North Georgia and Chattanooga community. Over the past 20 years, the staff at Heritage has had the privilege of serving countless families during their time of need.  

Fort Oglethorpe’s Battlefield Parkway looked a lot different back in 1997. Only a small number of restaurants and businesses were open on the Parkway, Walmart had just opened at their current location, and much of the area was still pastureland. 

Russell Friberg and Ross & Thelma Lane decided a funeral home should be built to serve the growing community. Russell, Ross & Thelma had already been serving the community for 40 years so they were welcomed from the start. Ross Lane unfortunately passed away months before opening day at Heritage Funeral Home but his wife Thelma Lane poured her love on the families served at Battlefield for the next 15 years.  

Since their beginning Heritage has been blessed with an amazing staff many whom have been a part of the team for over 15 years. When the staff at Heritage aren’t serving families they can often be found participating in a multitude of community functions i.e. chamber of commerce, community events, supporting church events as well as other local businesses, civic functions, and supporting local emergency agencies and personnel. 

Heritage is still operated by the founding family member, Ben Friberg (funeral director/embalmer). Alongside Ben are colleagues, David Cummings (funeral director/embalmer), a well-known North Georgian having served families at Heritage since opening day, Dewayne Gravley (funeral director/embalmer) who has been with Heritage for 7 years, Payton Vaughn (apprentice funeral director/embalmer), and Taylor Vick, the office administrator.

Heritage Funeral Home has been honored to receive first place as the best funeral home in North Georgia 10 years in a row in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Best of the Best North Georgia contest. Thank you so much to everyone who has voted through the years. Your vote and this award mean a lot. 2010 was the first year they received the award and it has been received annually since then. It was also humbly received again in 2019.  

Heritage has a reputation for maintaining a clean, modern, and comfortable environment for families hosting visitations, funerals, memorial services, or Life Celebrations. They are conveniently located on Battlefield Parkway, easily accessed by the interstate, and in close proximity to Catoosa, Walker, and Dad Counties in Georgia and Hamilton County, Tennessee.