Whether under its founding name of C.C. Schueing and Son Funeral Home, or, from the 1930s onward, under the name most Cullman residents know it by today, Moss Service Funeral Home has operated locally since the late 1800s. It’s a business that’s always kept close ties with its founding families, and in many ways, the long-serving members of its small staff work together like family.

That’s why the past week has been especially tough for those close to the funeral home and its people.

On April 5, David Grady Moss — son of Grady Moss, who bought the business from the Schueing family in 1938 — passed away at the age of 80. That same day, Moss funeral director Keith Pattillo, whom many locals know from his former career as the longtime school principal at Fairview, also passed away at the age of 75.

Moss was a lifelong Cullman resident, working with his father at the funeral home through his retirement in 1993. He carried the family’s commitment to the Cullman community into all aspects of his public life, serving as Cullman County Coroner and on the Cullman Industrial Development board. Public service, in fact, has run in the Moss family through its generations: Moss is survived by three adult children — one of whom, David Moss, Jr., currently sits on the Place 3 seat of the Cullman City Council.

Pattillo was a lifelong Cullman County resident whose lengthy career as an educator forged especially close bonds among families on the county’s east side. He taught and coached at Baileyton Junior High school early in his teaching career before eventually accepting the job as principal at Fairview High School in the 1970s. He would stay in the position for the next 25 years, retiring in the early 2000s. He second career at Moss lasted until April 5, the day he passed away this week.

One longtime local leader whose professional life brought him close to both men during their careers is current Alabama House Rep. Randall Shedd (R-Fairview). As chairman of the Cullman County Commission from 1977 to 1985, Shedd worked alongside Moss during Moss’ earlier tenure as coroner. and as a Fairview resident and former mayor, Shedd has shared his home community with Pattillo through most of his life.

“I actually go back with Mr. Pattillo to the time when I was going to school at Baileyton,” Shedd recalls. “He was practice teaching there then, while I was a student. Then later, when I was mayor [of Fairview], he was at Fairview as the school principal.

“My biggest memory of Keith comes from when the school burned at Fairview in 1999. Before that happened, he had been planning to retire — but then came the school fire. I remember after the fire, he and I went and sat down on one of the concrete benches in front of the burned school, and we just talked. I told him, ‘Mr. Pattillo, we really need you to stay on as principal for one more year.’ Of course I’m not saying that I talked him into it, but thankfully, he did stay on the following year as principal. He recognized that our community needed him.”

Moss’ elected Coroner position overlapped with Shedd’s two-term stint as county commission chairman into the mid-1980s, and Shedd retains uniquely fond memories of his former colleague.

“The most important thing is that he was a wonderful individual and always pleasant to be around,” says Shedd. “But the most interesting story I have about him — and one of the most interesting stories I know about politics in general — is the time that he and his father Grady ran against each other for the coroner’s job.

“Grady,” Shedd explains, “had decided and kind of hoped that it was time to pass the torch, so to speak, on the coroner position. He was hopeful that his son would be coroner after him. and so, in a fun way, they ran against each other in the race that got David elected. I remember mister Grady telling me one day at the All Steak: ’It’s tough when your own wife won’t vote for you!’ — because she’d committed to voting for her son, of course. It just shows the humorous character that they both had, and how they enjoyed life.”

Funeral Service for Keith E. Pattillo will be held today at 2 p.m. at Moss Service Funeral Home.

Visitation for David Grady Moss will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. today at Moss, followed by a graveside service at 11:30 at the Cullman City Cemetery.