In 1844, he moved to Versailles and entered the furniture and coffin business on a spot located north of the present Kidwell-Garber Funeral Home. When fire destroyed the establishment in 1873, he built a structure on North Monroe Street, a part of which is the present funeral home and monument shop.

Dave Kidwell, the father of the late Wm. F. Kidwell, did most of the undertaking work and his brother, Josh, did the coffin making. People came from as far as Tipton for coffins, as Versailles was the coffin-making center of this territory for many years. Dave Kidwell was a charter member of the Missouri Funeral Director's Association.

The late Wm. F. Kidwell took over the funeral business in 1915 after graduating from Williams Institute of Mortuary Science in Kansas City. After a few years, he dropped the furniture business and devoted his entire time to the funeral business.

In 1919, Wm. "Bill" Kidwell put into use the first auto-hearse but for a long time people preferred the horse-drawn hearse for their funerals.

In the mid-1900's, the Wilbert Burial Vault manufacturing plant and Kidwell Monument Works were added to the business. The Wilbert Franchise was sold in the early 1970's, but Monument Works is still operated by the business.

Upon the death of Wm. F. Kidwell in 1958, the business was passed on by his will to the employees of Kidwell's Inc., with controlling interest going to Raymond Garber, Gene Bartram, and Marion Silvey. Raymond has since purchased all of the interest from the other employees. Raymond Garber went to work for Win. F. Kidwell in 1946, and has been with the business ever since then. He graduated from the Kansas City School of Mortuary Science in 1947 and received his embalmers license in 1949. He has been assisted in the business by his wife, Susanna Garber, who is also a licensed funeral director, and has been very active in the funeral profession.

Gene Bartram was a licensed embalmer and funeral director, and was a partner in the business until his retirement in the earl 1970's. Gary Garber, son of Raymond and Susanna Garber, joined the family business in 1971 and now serves as President of the corporation. He graduated from the Kentucky School of Mortuary Science in 1973 and enjoys working with his parents and assisting in the family operation.

In addition to the funeral home and monument company in Versailles, the Garber's built the Kidwell-Garber Funeral Home and cemetery combination in Laurie, Missouri, which opened in 1979.

Raymond and Susanna have two children, Gary and Sue. Gary has two sons, Nathan and Michael Garber. Sue married Larry Akin and they have two children, Suzanne and Landon Akin.

The Garber's are grateful for their family business and the happiness of being able to work together as a family. We are also very thankful for the blessings this business has given us, and for the confidence and trust that the residents of Versailles and Morgan County have blessed us with.

Kidwell-Garber Funeral Home has two locations. The Versailles location is the main funeral home with a branch location in Laurie, Missouri, which was built in 1979 and features a cemetery also. It was recently remodeled in 2004. The funeral home in Versailles was expanded and remodeled in 1998 and has a chapel with a seating capacity of 225.